The First Berserker: Khazan

The DNF (Dungeon & Fighter) universe is not very well known in the western territories. But The First Berserker: Khazan, which is set in this universe, should change that, because the soulslike from Neople and Nexon offers action role-playing fans great combat and other good ideas.

The First Berserker: Khazan, is a hardcore action-RPG adventure, or rather a soulslike, set 800 years before the events of the Dungeon Fighter Online (DNF) universe. The franchise is not as well known in the West, but the original game, Dungeon Fighter Online (2005 in South Korea), had over 850 million players worldwide and generated over $22 billion in revenue as of Q4 2024. The game is a multiplayer beat 'em up action role-playing game. It was followed by a spin-off for Xbox 360 (2012), two mobile games (2016 + 2022) and a 2.5D fighting game (2022). The First Berserker: Khazan was first announced in 2018 with the working title "Project BBQ. However, the final name was not revealed until 2023 at The Game Awards 2023.

In this game, players will experience a journey to the continent of Arad and discover the story of General Khazan. The great General Khazan is falsely branded a traitor and tortured. After narrowly escaping death, Khazan forms an unlikely alliance with the ghostly entity Blade Phantom and gains otherworldly powers. The game follows Khazan as he seeks revenge and becomes the first Berserker in the DNF universe. However, no prior knowledge of the series is required, and the story kicks in quite late, if at all, as The First Berserker: Khazan is all about fighting, and this is where the title, developed by Neople, a subsidiary of Nexon, comes into its own. It's a better "souls" game, somewhat on the level of Lies of P and far ahead of Lords of the Fallen.

Combat is precise, powerful, fluid, and intense. Weapon feedback is great - though, as is typical of the genre, it often comes down to learning your opponent's attack patterns, dodging or parrying (a perfect guard costs less stamina than a normal guard), and defeating them accordingly. There are only three types of weapons: two-handed weapons, spears, and great swords. But there are more than enough ways to collect, upgrade, and combine these weapons with different sets of armor.

Players can develop Khazan's abilities through multiple skill trees (weapon-specific and general), stat upgrades (by collecting Lacrima; similar to Souls), crafting, and more, allowing players to customize their play style and specialize in different combat techniques. It is also possible to reskill at any time during the game. Later on, equipment becomes the main aspect of progression, including augmentation, which involves sacrificing items to enhance others. Then there are the Phantoms, which provide support with passive effects and abilities, and even increase the stamina players need for almost every action. Phantoms can also be upgraded through combat, which increases their passive effects.

Not surprisingly, The First Berserker: Khazan is a really challenging game, especially after the third boss fight. But there are some nice ideas. On the one hand, there is the "easy" difficulty level, which is only unlocked if you have completed a certain area or have bitten the dust too often in the beginning, and on the other hand, there is a catch-up mechanism for boss fights. When players lose a boss fight, they gain resources (Lacrima) based on how low they got the boss. So there is a reward for getting closer to the boss, and the player gets the resources before the boss arena.

The game doesn't have an open world, but rather a central hub from which missions start, with combat at the forefront, but also some exploration. The quest design is mostly straightforward. However, the game could offer more variety when it comes to environments, especially since the style is quite unique with its mixture of cel-shaded art and realistic textures. By the way. The game uses the Unreal Engine 4, is optimized for DirecX 11 and showed no traversal stutter.

The First Berserker: Khazan will be released on PC via Steam (verified for the Steam Deck), PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on 27 March 2025 at full price. The console versions for PS5 and Xbox will also be available in retail stores, published by Fireshine Games in partnership with NBG in Germany. The Deluxe Edition, which costs ten euros more, offers 72 hours of Advanced Access and includes bonus items such as armour and weapon sets, as well as a digital art book.

Conclusion

The First Berserker: Khazan is a strong, combat-heavy and challenging soulslike game with good ideas and a recognizable art style.

Features

• Outstanding and powerful combat
• Versatile and dynamic skill and equipment system
• Really challenging, but with good catch-up ideas