Okay, so I had never heard of the Dungeon & Fighter (DNF) series until the release of the trailer for the game we’re currently previewing, The First Berserker: Khazan. Apparently, this upcoming game is at least partially connected to the DNF series, which mostly consists of online MMO games (which I couldn’t care less about), with perhaps the most well-known game in the franchise being DNF Duel, a 2D fighting game akin to the Guilty Gear series. My research led me to notice a more than passing resemblance between the Berserker character in DNF Duel and the titular protagonist for this game, Khazan. So, yeah, The First Berserker: Khazan takes place in the same universe as the Dungeon & Fighter series but about 500 years before the events of these other games. Fine, whatever. The First Berserker: Khazan caught my interest all on its own solely based on what it showed me: a badass warrior using deadly weapons to do unspeakable things to all kinds of human and monstrous enemies through ferociously fast-paced combat, all taking place in a high but also dark fantasy backdrop.
My time with the demo has cemented my belief that this game is going to be a standout title for 2025 and perhaps one of the few Souls-likes that can match the likes of Nioh. In fact, I can see certain similarities between The First Berserker and the Nioh games. Both feature fast-paced and brutal combat against challenging enemies where you make use of attacking, blocking/parrying, and dodging, both feature a loot system where weapons and armor can be picked up from fallen enemies or earned by completing certain tasks, and both are mission-based, with each level being set in a mostly linear map that does allow the player to go off the beaten path here and there to acquire extra items and pieces of lore. You also earn gold as you defeat enemies, and while there’s no use for any of this gold in the demo, it’s clear that the full game at some point will feature some sort of market/blacksmith to buy and upgrade weapons and armor, among other things.
Khazan acquires three types of weapons as you progress through the demo (which covers the full game’s prologue): the dual wield sword/axe combo, the greatsword (hell yeah), and the spear. Each weapon has its strengths and weaknesses, and each one’s effectiveness is based on Khazan’s main stats (strength, vitality, proficiency, etc.). The weapons also have their own skill trees that let you acquire many useful weapon skills and combos using skill points earned from fighting enemies.
Aside from the tough yet fun combat, the other main Souls-like feature this game possesses is the use of checkpoints that restore health/health items, allow you to upgrade Khazan’s stats with XP, and cause all regular enemies to respawn. Furthermore, you lose your XP (Lacrima) upon death, though you can retrieve it from the spot where you died, assuming you can reach that spot without dying again; otherwise, you’ll lose all your Lacrima. There’s one other aspect with regards to Lacrima that is actually quite different from what we’ve seen in Souls or even Souls-like games. Apparently, after dying to a boss and retrieving your Lacrima, you can also gain back some bonus Lacrima if you managed to damage the boss that defeated you by a certain amount, and the more you damage a boss, the greater the extra Lacrima earned.
I’m honestly not entirely sure how I feel about this feature. On the one hand, I can see how useful it can be. I, for example, died many times to the last boss in the demo, though I came (frustratingly) close to winning several times, which earned me a lot of bonus Lacrima. Some people can take advantage of such a feature and use this bonus Lacrima to upgrade Khazan’s stats further and potentially increase his survivability or damage output, giving you more of a fighting chance on subsequent attempts against whatever boss is giving you a hard time. I, on the other hand, didn’t take advantage of this feature when fighting the last boss. I stubbornly wanted to beat this boss at the same level I was when I first started fighting him; I wanted to win “honorably” without taking advantage of what could be considered a handicap (and I eventually accomplished this…but at what cost?). Maybe I’ll change my tune if I end up running into a REALLY tough boss in the full game. We’ll have to wait and see.
In the end, I’m hoping the full game of The First Berserker: Khazan is at least just as exciting and engaging as the demo showed. We already know the full game will feature some elements not shown in the demo, such as the use of gold to buy and/or upgrade weapons and armor (maybe even craft some), and the story looks to be quite epic in scope and presentation. The 3D anime aesthetic is also pretty neat looking, making the character models and environments appear quite vibrant. Most enemies and mini-bosses in the demo were tough enough to keep me on my toes, but it was really just two mini-bosses that offered any sort of real challenge; meanwhile, the two main bosses were definitely the stars of the show. Finally, the demo’s saved data can be transferred to the full game, so if you completed the demo, you’ll be able to start the full game from the end of the prologue and continue the main adventure. I’m pretty sure I’ll just start fresh from the very beginning once I get the full game since I want to re-experience everything from a fresh perspective. But mostly, I want another crack at the last demo boss. He pissed me off, so I wish to claim vengeance upon him. Looking forward to the rematch and continuing this promising game come March 27th.