“Khazan has fallen!”
As these words flashed on my screen for the upteenth time, I ground my teeth down as I prepared for another attempt at a boss that just had it out for me. Indeed, The First Berserker: Khazan, an upcoming action RPG from developer Neople and publisher Nexon, really gave me a run for my money.
As someone who’s well-versed when it comes to Souslike titles, I eagerly dove into a demo of Khazan during the Tokyo Game Show. I’ve already found a challenging action RPG that should put die-hard genre fans to the test. But for developer Neople, there’s an even tougher existential task: transitioning a hit series from a free-to-play game to a premium one.
From the world of DNF
The First Berserker: Khazan is a spinoff of Dungeon & Fighter (DNF), Neople’s wildly successful free-to-play, hack-and-slash game that’s been around since 2005. The title itself, along with related media, gained traction in South Korea (where Neople is based), as well as Japan, China, and other parts of Asia.
According to CEO and Executive Director Myeongjin Yun, while their past releases tend to be quite ambitious projects in their own right, Khazan is fairly unique since it’s Neople’s first “package game.” That term refers to single-player or paid games, which are vastly different from the free-to-play offerings that the studio has developed in the past. It’s also one that aims to introduce the DNF universe and lore to a global audience.
Lore-wise, the character of Khazan does make appearances and is referenced often in DNF media. He is said to be the ancestor of the Slayers, one of the classes in DNF. The demonic curse named after him, the Khazan Syndrome, is actually what distinguishes the Berserker subclass from its counterparts. This extends to DNF Duel: Who’s Next?, a fighting game where the Berserker is a playable option.
As you can tell by the title alone, The First Berserker: Khazan tells the origin story of this particular hero. Once a heroic general of the Pell Los Empire, Khazan was exiled for a crime he did not commit and forced to wander the frigid wastelands. Now, he has to vanquish his foes and fulfill his oath of vengeance.
Soulslike influences
As soon as I started playing The First Berserker: Khazan, I knew I was in familiar territory. I made my way through the snow-capped mountain passes and dark tunnels of Heinmach, whereupon I came across a Blade Phantom. This entity called out to Khazan, acting as a waypoint/bonfire of sorts throughout my journey. As expected, tagging this waypoint restored my health and flask charges, while also causing non-boss enemies to respawn. I was able to allocate Lacrima (i.e., souls/runes) into five attributes: vitality, endurance, strength, willpower, proficiency. Naturally, I prioritized vitality because we can all agree that extra HP is important (sorry, “just don’t get hit” crowd). Of course, dying meant losing all current Lacrima, and I had to retrieve the resource where my character last perished.
I noticed more of the usual Soulslike staples as I continued my trek. My warrior has fast normal attacks, as well as heavy blows that can break an enemy’s defenses. Some attacks can be dodged, though parrying at the perfect time was ideal since it also helped stagger my foe. I was able to equip a greatsword, dual-wielded blades, different armor sets, and a javelin (which is a throwing skill). Attacks sound and feel vicious, as Khazan cuts through enemies with reckless abandon.
Bosses, meanwhile, certainly posed a challenge. The first, Volbaino, is a goat-headed giant who dual-wielded great hammers. I had to learn his combo patterns to ensure that I could deflect all the blows. The second, Rangkus, is akin to a bandit leader who has a quaking smash in melee range and a ballista bombardment ability at long range. I had trouble with both as I was never dealing as much damage as I expected, but I’ll chalk that up to the preset build I was playing with during the demo for now.
According to Creative Director Junho Lee, the team was inspired by many Soulslikes and action RPGs, such as Bloodborne, Nioh, and Dark Souls. I did notice that the fluidity and attack animations were faster than a traditional Soulslike title. Special abilities themselves were activated by holding either bumper and pressing any of the four face buttons, which allowed for unique attack sequences and combinations.
Fueled by vengeance
As I concluded my interview with Neople, I recalled how many free-to-play titles don’t have high barriers to entry. I asked the team how they sought a balance between two clashing concepts: making the game approachable to DNF fans and those who aren’t familiar with DNF.
Yun noted that they envisioned The First Berserker: Khazan as a way to introduce more players to the DNF universe, but that would mean aiming for a broader audience. The studio even considered adding difficulty options at one point, though Art Director Kyuchul Lee admits that this has led to many contrasting opinions among team members. Ideally, though, Lee prefers that players find ways to get past the difficulty by relying on available means in-game, such as fine-tuning their build, over-leveling, or coming up with viable strategies.
We spoke about whether Neople’s first foray into premium games was always meant to be a Dungeon & Fighter spinoff, or if they had considered creating a completely new IP. Yun said that the studio decided early on that the game should be based on the DNF universe given the rich backstories that could still be explored. They did have other candidates among the available characters, though they felt that Khazan was one of the most important in the franchise.
To that end, I recalled how other studios found success when they started with free-to-play offerings, which allowed them to create single-player titles based on a series that they’ve built and expanded in previous years. Perhaps The First Berserker: Khazan will find glory not just as a Soulslike, but also as another example of how South Korean studios can achieve success with package games.
The First Berserker: Khazan launches in 2025 for the PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
