Nexon and Neople have debuted the opening cinematic to The First Berzerker: Khazan.
The trailer features the title character, Khazan, as well as his old friend, Ozma, depicting events that are very familiar to longtime Dungeon Fighter fans. We won’t spoil those here, but since you know the names of the characters involved, you can easily look it up on your own.
What we will talk about here is how The First Berzerker: Khazan iterates Dungeon Fighter in terms of game design as well as narrative. In the Dungeon Fighter timeline, this depicts events in key historical events in that world from thousands of years before.
So, if you don’t know anything about Dungeon Fighter, that’s completely fine. The First Berzerker: Khazan will be an ideal introduction to this world.
On the flip side, this game’s lore has changes through the years. Khazan was originally spelled Kazan, and Berzerker used to be Berserker. So, as Nexon and Neople felt the need to make changes to the lore through the years, they may set a new normal on what the franchise’s backstory is with this title.
Developer Neople describes The First Berzerker: Khazan as a hardcore action role-playing game, where you can upgrade Khazan’s abilities with weapons, armor, but also using different equipment, perks, and character abilities.
We don’t know so far if that means this game will have a Dark Souls level of difficulty, or a Dark Souls style of game design. While Soulslike have certainly emerged as a subgenre in this category, there’s definitely room for a new action RPG protagonist to sit alongside Link, the Assassins, and Arkham Batman.
The cinematic itself is also notable for having a moderate amount of violence. We are not quite talking a NetherRealm Studios level of unflinching graphic content.
Still, we see heads and limbs flying, and copious amounts of blood. It implies that Nexon and Neople have pushed a little farther on what amount of violence we can expect to see in this game.
Nexon has been making waves in the West in the past two years with live service titles The Finals and The First Descendant, as well as an earlier Dungeon Fighter spinoff in DNF Duel. The First Berzerker: Khazan is slated to expand Nexon’s portfolio and profile as one of the big Korean publishers hitting it big in the West.
The First Berzerker: Khazan will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X}S, and PC via Steam in early 2025. You can watch the opening cinematic below.
