With its focus squarely on thrilling combat and jaw-dropping boss battles, The First Berserker: Khazan has struck a chord with genre enthusiasts and fans of FromSoftware’s classic hits. This game masterfully balances familiar nods with fresh ideas, bringing new dimensions to the Soulslike genre while paying homage to the design framework set by FromSoftware’s Demon’s Souls in 2009. It’s no wonder, then, that Khazan doesn’t shy away from including one of the most divisive features from FromSoftware’s games: the infamous poison swamp.
Known for their polarizing presence in the Soulsborne series, poison swamps (and creator Hidetaka Miyazaki’s apparent fondness for them) are staples of FromSoftware’s catalog. They often either vex those who dread them or delight fans with a nod to the signature style of a Souls game. Unsurprisingly, these swamps have become a recurring element within the Soulslike subgenre, and The First Berserker: Khazan is no outlier in this regard. Skoffa Cave presents one of the game’s initial survival challenges, a contentious area that could either captivate or frustrate players early on, depending on personal taste.
Nestled within the game’s fifth main mission, “Strange Stench,” players must brave the treacherous Skoffa Cave to reach Palemion, passing through its notorious Poisoned Depths. However, reaching the swamp is no small feat; the cave itself is filled with hurdles that arguably make the swamp seem less intimidating in comparison. Loaded with peril at every corner, Skoffa is almost a gauntlet where the swamp may feel like a momentary breath of fresh air.
The path to the Poisoned Depths is infested with spiders, bats, and undead adversaries. Simply reaching this perilous zone is a feat in itself. Players face the plague-inducing undead for the first time, combining their attacks with the spiders’ poison-inflicting abilities to create a truly deadly concoction. Skoffa Cave emerges as the game’s first significant environmental hurdle, presenting a survival trial which makes the rewards all the more gratifying.
Making it through Skoffa Cave and its infamous poison swamp leads to an encounter with one of the game’s finest beastly adversaries—the formidable spider, Aratra. Defeating Aratra paves the way to unlocking the Blacksmith back at The Crevice, providing players a chance to customize their gear and builds, shifting the game dynamics considerably. Yet, the lessons embedded within the caves are as invaluable as the progress itself.
By the time players clear Skoffa Cave, they grasp the crucial role of safeguarding against status effects in The First Berserker: Khazan—a lesson partially driven home by a preceding boss encounter, Volbaino. Like any exemplary Soulslike, Khazan imparts wisdom through the player’s trials, emphasizing the importance of preparation against crippling status ailments, a skill that proves essential as the game escalates in challenge and complexity beyond the notorious swamp.
