Before Nexon would have one of its greatest breakthroughs in Western markets via this year's The First Descendant, the company would achieve considerable success with the Dungeon & Fighter franchise worldwide, including its myriad spin-offs like DNF Duel. Nexon subsidiary Neople, the studio behind the Dungeon & Fighter games, has continued to expand the DNF universe in a variety of different genre titles, one of which is the upcoming action RPG The First Berserker: Khazan. And while the general consensus around the title was that it was yet another Soulslike, there's enough at play in its mechanics to help it stand out from the growing crowd in the subgenre.
The Best War Games recently sat down with the game's executive director (and Neople CEO) and creative director. While the developers behind Khazan acknowledged that the game has Soulslike elements, they were quick to point out that its lineage within the Dungeon & Fighter universe gives it just enough unique mechanics to where it straddles the line between being a Soulslike and a more traditional action RPG.
The First Berserker: Khazan Places its Story Front and Center
One thing that The First Berserker: Khazan places a premium on is its story, which gives players some insight into the Dungeon & Fighter universe character Khazan and his quest for revenge. While most Soulslike stories and lore are delivered through environmental storytelling and item descriptions, The First Berserker: Khazan takes a more direct approach. This emphasis on connecting the gameplay elements to the title's story was something that Khazan's developers wanted to emphasize to help the game stand out while also connecting it to the larger DNF lore. As creative director Lee Jun-Ho explained,
"The story is really about uncovering the conspiracy behind his exile while also incorporating the drama of his quest for revenge. Khazan sacrificed everything in service of the Empire, and the Empire in turn sacrificed Khazan. The story of the revenge is shown through the art, the game's mechanics, the battle, the action; all of these elements try to support the story."
Several of the major story beats present in The First Berserker: Khazan are direct callbacks to things that players familiar with the DNF games will recognize from that universe. By placing the story front and center, Khazan leans more toward being a traditional action RPG rather than a pure Soulslike, hoping to reach a broader audience in the process. Khazan's executive director and Neople CEO Yoon Myeong-jin notes,
"Dungeon & Fighter has been active for a really long time, but we’re still trying to reach Western markets and introduce them to the game. We believe that Khazan is a great starting place."
Character Progression and Builds Are Major Elements in The First Berserker: Khazan
One area where The First Berserker: Khazan proudly wears its Dark Souls influence is in the depth and variety of its character builds. Like in FromSoftware's action RPG games and the myriad of titles they've inspired, Khazan gives players an impressive number of armaments to choose from, and the player's choice in how they outfit their character has a direct impact on how Khazan performs in battle. As far as what players can expect, creative director Lee Jun-Ho notes:
"In terms of variety, each weapon has its own characteristics. You have two-handed weapons like great swords, which have high weight and are slow but also powerful. Spears are fast, making a flurry of attacks possible, and so on."
Ultimately, one of Neople's goals was to provide a strong balance between both build variety and build depth, in the hopes that the game would appeal to fans of the genre. As Jun-Ho puts it, "We believe that there's no set answer to “What is the right style to play the game?” We try to incorporate both variety and depth into the builds so that players can enjoy the game in a way they love".
The First Berserker: Khazan is scheduled to release in 2025.