Published , by Lexi Luddy
Published , by Lexi Luddy
The Dungeon & Fighter franchise has been huge on mobile devices for almost two decades but it's only recently that developer Neople (with the support of Nexon) has moved into the traditional console space as they seek to expand the franchise. In 2022 the Korean studio partnered with Arc System Works on DNF Duel which, while positively received by critics, struggled to find a foothold in the FGC.
However, what that game did succeed in was bringing a large roster of colorful characters from the mobile game to the attention of a new audience. Now four years later, Neople is hoping to go further by creating an action game that will fill in new players on the history of this long-running series.
The First Berserker: Khazan, unlike DNF Duel, takes place before anything else that Neople has done in the DNF universe. Also, unlike the previous spin-off, this game focuses just on one character, Khazan, a legendary warrior who is said to be the ancestor of all Slayers in the DNF universe. The First Berserker picks up with Khazan having just been framed for treason and follows his downfall after he was exiled from the empire that once revered him.
The First Berserker has a much more traditional narrative than other Soulslikes. Instead of reading item descriptions of clues about what is going on, Khazan is a voiced protagonist (courtesy of the dulcet tones of Ben Starr), who even has someone (in his head) to constantly talk to thanks to a small case of near-death spirit possession.
This isn’t the only thing that sets Berserker apart from other Soulslikes, as while character movement and the camera angle look like they are just out of a FromSoftware game, things control very differently in combat. For one, attacks are not on the triggers, instead being on the face buttons (circle and triangle on the PS5 controller I was given), while dodge is on the cross button. This makes sense once you start fighting enemies and you realize that the pace of Khazan is much faster than something like Dark Souls. Khazan will let out flurries of attacks that combo together in impressive style, which is only enhanced by the cartoonish cell-shaded artstyle. However, this is where problems start to arise. While these attacks look great, you still have to manage a stamina bar, à la Dark Souls. And just like most Souls games, even a single attack can use up a quarter of your stamina. This means you’ll often find yourself comboing together these impressive-looking strings (which do frustratingly little damage to the bosses I encounter), only to realize you are out of stamina to block or even dodge.
During our demo with The First Berserker, it felt like I was playing a game at odds with the genre it is built upon. While plenty of games have attempted to add speed to the Soulslike genre, the most successful version of this has come from FromSoftware itself in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a game which totally broke down the standards of the genre to accommodate that speed.
There is still plenty of time before The First Berserker: Khazan releases sometime in 2025 so I am hoping that there is time to refine the gameplay to match the enticing concept.