The First Berserker: Khazan is an upcoming Dark Fantasy Souls-like RPG developed by NeoPle and published by Nexon for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. It is a Spin-Off of NeoPle's flagship MMORPG Dungeon Fighter Online and is an Alternate Universe take on a key period in the game's history.
Set in an era of Arad long since past, The First Berserker follows Khazan, a powerful warrior formerly of the Pell Los Empire and close friend of the archmage Ozma, who found himself betrayed by his country as the Emperor feared his power. Exiled and reduced to nothing, Khazan swears revenge on the Pell Los Empire and begins carving a path of bloodshed across the Aradian continent.
The game was revealed at The Game Awards 2023, whose trailer can be seen here
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This game contains examples of:
- Art-Shifted Sequel: The game's visuals as seen in the trailer are incredibly realistic, a far cry from either DFO's 2D pixel art or DNF Duel's anime-style 3D cel-shading. The characters are, however, still subtly cel-shaded to stylize them in such a way that they resemble their original artwork.
- Counter-Attack: Khazan is shown parrying an enemy's attack with his blade in the trailer, staggering it and opening it up for attacks.
- Darker and Edgier: While DFO is not exactly sunshine and rainbows, it is visually vibrant and bursting with life. The trailer for The First Berserker, by contrast, shows very gritty and muted colors, very prominently dominated by greys and blacks.
- Dual Wielding: The game's trailer shows off Khazan dueling foes with a sword in his left hand and an axe in his right.
- Genre Shift: The original DFO is a 2D side-scrolling Beat 'em Up and MMORPG hybrid, while The First Berserker will be a single-player Action RPG.
- Inconsistent Spelling: The game's trailer seems to contradict several existing translations given by the English DFO localization.
- It is spelled "Khazan" in this game with an "h", rather than "Kazan" in the original game.
- Originally referred to as the "Pelos Empire" in DFO, it is now spelled as "Pell Los Empire", likely to make the connection with its future counterpart, the De Los Empire, more obvious.
- Promoted to Playable: Khazan, a major antagonist in DFO lore, makes his playable debut in this game.
- Red Right Hand: Both of Khazan's arms are shown transforming into a demonic red hue in the trailer, similar to how Slayers afflicted by Khazan Syndrome would appear in the present day of DFO.
- Slasher Smile: The end of the trailer shows a man who appears to be Ozma standing over the body of another human in a destroyed throne room before smiling viciously.
- Video Game 3D Leap: While the original DFO is in 2D and DNF Duel plays in 2½D, The First Berserker will be the first DFO game to feature full 3D gameplay.
- What If?: In the original DFO, it was Ozma who swore revenge against the Pell Los Empire while Khazan wanted nothing to do with his former friend's schemes. The synopsis of The First Berserker given by the game's trailer indicates that it is Khazan who will be enacting revenge instead. This is indicated by the logo appearing at the start of the trailer, which tags it as DNF if.
