Khazan over the past week and a half. My hands ache, my brain is fried, and I’ve often had to step away in frustration. It’s a brutally difficult game, one often expecting near-perfection in its toughest encounters.

Khazan has all the familiar hallmarks of a souls-like--from a bonfire-esque checkpoint system that respawns enemies to XP you can lose upon death--yet its primary influences might not be what you would expect.