The First Berserker: Khazan Interview – Combat, Difficulty, Art Style, and More

Among the Soulslike games on the horizon, few have garnered as much attention as “The First Berserker: Khazan,” a gritty reinterpretation of the Dungeon and Fighter universe, developed by Neople and Nexon. With its intriguing gameplay previews, it has consistently stood out for its promising combat, distinctive, stylish art style, and strong impact in pre-release presentations. As one of the more anticipated releases of 2025, The First Berserker: Khazan boasts several appealing features that have caught our attention. We recently had an opportunity to talk with the developers about its combat, difficulty level, level design, and other aspects of the game. You can find the full interview below.

In contrast to most hardcore action RPGs and Soulsborne games that favor a surreal, intricate aesthetic with top-tier designs and visuals, our goal for Khazan is to infuse it with an animated, anime-style flair.

What’s the story behind the distinctive, attention-grabbing art style in The First Berserker that sets it apart? How did you decide on this visual approach for the game?

As someone deeply passionate about console action RPGs, particularly those reminiscent of “Khazan”, I’ve long dreamt of creating a game that embodies the spirit of that title. Since my youth, I’ve been captivated by this genre and it significantly shaped my vision for game development. Our ambition to advance and globalize the “Dungeon and Fighter (DNF)” Universe led us to reimagine its art style for a console release. Instead of following the trend of surreal, complex designs seen in many hardcore action RPGs and Soulsborne games, we intend to introduce an animated and anime-inspired aesthetic for “Khazan”. This choice honors the “DNF” aesthetic while also modernizing it for Western audiences who may be less acquainted with the universe. We aim to imbue “Khazan” with a cinematic quality typical of mature animation, focusing on intense, dynamic battle scenes and high-quality cartoon rendering to immerse players in a dark, atmospheric environment. Furthermore, we believe this animation style will more effectively communicate the intense combat experience we strive for and the action sequences present in “Khazan”. Through this approach, we hope to attract a global audience by offering intricate battles with detailed, cel-based animation.

How heavily will The First Berserker: Khazan emphasize its story and storytelling?

In “The First Berserker: Khazan”, the game’s structure, content, mechanics, and storyline are heavily centered around the narrative itself. We crafted every aspect of this game – from its systems to its gameplay – with the intent of keeping the story at the core. The main character, Khazan, is a pivotal figure in the DFO universe and its overarching tale. In the original “Dungeon and Fighter”, Khazan was exiled and killed, but in this new version, “The First Berserker: Khazan”, his story takes an unexpected turn as he miraculously survives the exile process. This twist offers returning players a fresh perspective of the universe, while newcomers can dive into the gameplay and storyline without any prior knowledge. Starting with “The First Berserker: Khazan”, the DFO Universe is set to continue its expansion.

It seems the game might follow a progression system organized by levels. Given this setup, could you provide some insights regarding the game’s focus on exploration? Are there particular aspects that players should anticipate when moving through the game world?

Indeed, our design tends to favor a closed structure, but we’ve infused elements of discovery and exploration throughout the game. The linear progression serves as a backbone, yet we’ve hidden numerous paths, secrets, powerful adversaries, and traps along the way. These challenges offer players opportunities to collect essential items, crafting recipes, and power-ups for Khazan. Our goal was to make Khazan’s journey more than just a revenge tale; we wanted players to delve into various facets of past events through this adventure and exploration. Specifically, players can discover clues leading to the director’s true ending among several possible endings.

In our design, we aimed to make Khazan’s journey transcend a simple tale of revenge. Instead, we wanted the players to delve into different facets of past events as they embark on this adventure and exploration. Notably, throughout their journey, players can discover important items that lead to the director’s true ending among several possible conclusions.

As a game designer, I’m all about crafting engaging challenges for gamers like me. When it comes to enemy and boss design, I strive to create a diverse array of foes that test different skills and strategies. You can anticipate encountering various types of enemies with unique abilities, tactics, and appearances throughout the game. Boss battles will also be distinct, demanding strategic thinking and quick reflexes. The goal is to keep you on your toes, ensuring no two encounters feel the same.

In our game design, we prioritize excitement, obstacles, and a feeling of achievement as fundamental aspects of gameplay. Though overcoming challenges may result in setbacks, we believe that these should only serve as opportunities for improvement rather than discouragement. To maintain an enjoyable experience, we offer constructive feedback at each decision-making point during challenges. Our aim is to guide players in confronting various adversaries, understanding their behavior, withstanding their assaults, and ultimately developing both the player and our character, Khazan.

Furthermore, we created a game featuring diverse player actions based on strategic choices, ensuring each action is met with appropriate feedback or results. Some attacks call for defense through guards, while others are best countered with dodges. At times, players can dodge an attack by merely moving past it; however, the direction of movement matters in this instance. Essentially, combat in Khazan is designed to empower players to triumph over each attack and defense using their unique tactics. Players have the freedom to combine various weapons, items, and skills to develop a playstyle that enables them to outsmart the boss monster once they reach a level where they can perceive and react to the enemy’s patterns. We anticipate there being as many victory strategies as there are players.

In this game, challenges such as battles against bosses and enemies, along with level layouts, are designed to present progressive difficulties that suit both the player’s and Khazan’s current abilities. Each main mission boss possesses distinct characteristics and multiple strategies for defeating them. Additionally, every time a player faces off against a boss, there’s something new to discover.

As a gamer, I’ve found that even though some sub-mission bosses might seem familiar due to their resemblance to main bosses, the team has deliberately crafted these battles to offer unique and challenging gameplay experiences, setting them apart from what you’ve faced before.

What’s the scale of advancement and personalization options for The First Berserker: Khazan, and how much does the game prioritize variety in character builds?

In the game “The First Berserker: Khazan“, the weapons available are similar to those in other games, but they offer distinct playstyles due to differences in attack power, speed, range, pace, techniques, and more. Each weapon – Dual Wields, Greatsword, and Spear – represents a unique style. The skill tree system breaks these down even further, allowing players to tailor their combat style according to their preferences. We believe that every player has a unique taste in gameplay, so the system is designed to cater to all styles. “The First Berserker: Khazan” encourages exploration, challenges, and character growth. It’s not just about choosing a weapon and a battle style; it’s about deciding on a general combat style, then refining and enhancing it using various options provided by the skill tree system, gear set effects, item combinations, and build customization. This way, players can enjoy the game with diverse appearances and character builds.

Will the game feature difficulty options?

Initially, we didn’t intend to include difficulty settings, but now we’re experimenting with an easier game mode within our team. Our initial aim was for players to deeply connect with the character and empathize with his challenging situations. However, some players asked for adjustable difficulties. Although we haven’t decided on having an easy or story mode yet, we want to attract more gamers and let them experience the core enjoyment of our game. We are currently conducting tests and assessments, and plan to run multiple internal tests before making any public releases.

While we’re yet undecided about offering an easy or story mode, our aim is to attract more gamers to enjoy our game and uncover its core entertainment value. We’re currently working on refining these features through testing and review, with plans for multiple internal trials before public release.

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of the game be?

The game isn’t strictly structured in a linear fashion; it offers adventure, exploration, farming, building options, and more, which means the length of gameplay can differ greatly depending on individual player skills and decisions. As a standalone product, we’ve packed in plenty of content. According to our development team’s usual playthrough, the time needed to reach the true ending is quite extensive.

2025-01-10 14:11

Read More