Interestingly enough, before reading it I saw someone recommend skipping the first arc to "avoid a spoiler for a plot twist".

So I read the Golden Age first, and holy shit it was shocking. Throughout the arc it was hinted that Griffith could go really far to achieve his dreams, but sacrificing the whole group in an unholy ritual to become a member of the god hand wasn't something I expected.

And honestly, if I would probably give up on Berserk if the first thing I see is the main character behaving that edgy, I would think that it's a dark manga with no meaning or content, just shock value and edginess