The First Berserker: Khazan is already testing my Soulslike skills

“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.

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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.

The First Berserker: Khazan | First 15 Minutes of Gameplay

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