The First Berserker: Khazan

The First Berserker: Khazan (Korean: 퍼스트 버서커: 카잔) is a 2025 action role-playing game developed by Neople and published by Nexon. Set in a fictional European-inspired medieval fantasy world, the game takes place within the universe of the Dungeon & Fighter Series. Gameplay centers around stamina-based combat, requiring players to strategically manage their stamina to dodge, block, and launch attacks. Players are encouraged to adopt an aggressive approach to prevent enemies from recovering their own stamina. The game features a 3D cel-shaded anime-inspired art style. The deluxe edition of the game was released early on March 24, 2025, which was followed by the regular release on March 27.

Gameplay

The First Berserker: Khazan is a third-person action game in which the player takes control of the protagonist, Khazan. The gameplay emphasizes stamina management, with actions such as attacking and defending consuming stamina. If the stamina bar is depleted entirely, the player becomes temporarily helpless. Healing items refresh at checkpoints but are highly limited in general, though more can be unlocked through exploration. Enemies also have a stamina bar, which, when depleted, causes them to become staggered, similarly to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Standard blocking mitigates most incoming damage, while mechanics such as perfect blocks, parries, and reflections can reduce enemy health and stamina. During combat, the player accumulates Spirit points, which enables the use of weapon skills, that do not consume stamina.

The game features three weapons: a well-balanced dual-wield axe and short-sword, a slow and heavy great sword, and an extremely agile long-range spear. Equipment upgrades can be found through random drops in levels, such as from defeated enemies or chests. Individual weapons and armor each have an assigned rarity level, random damage and defense values, and bonus attributes such as stat bonuses. Equipping a complete set of matching gear provides predetermined set bonuses.

The game includes two primary currencies, Gold and Lacrima. Gold is used to purchase items, like consumables or new equipment, while Lacrima is required for leveling up character stats. Upon death, the player loses all unspent Lacrima, though it can be recovered by returning to the point of death without dying again, a mechanic characteristic of the Soulslike genre. Additionally, bonus Lacrima is awarded when dying during boss encounters, based on the amount of damage dealt prior to defeat.

Gameplay is structured around individual missions set within linear levels, which include unlockable shortcuts and checkpoints. Each level ends with a boss battle and contains hidden items and collectibles designed to encourage exploration of side paths. A central hub, known as The Crevice, serves as the player's base of operations. This area contains various non-player characters such as shopkeepers and provides access to completed missions and side quests that remix the main levels.

The player may also summon an NPC ally during boss encounters by using a special consumable item. These summoning items are obtained by locating and defeating mini-bosses.

Plot

General Khazan, a former hero of Pell Los Empire, was branded a traitor to the Empire along with his best friend Ozma, a powerful mage. His sentence was the severing of his tendons and his exile. As Pell Los soldiers escort him through Mount Heinmach, a ghost seeking a host to exist in the mortal world, chooses Khazan as a candidate. The ghost creates an avalanche, freeing Khazan from his chains and possesses him. While his wounds were healed, Khazan struggles for control of his own body as he tries to traverse the mountain range, fighting wildlife and Pell Los soldiers. He eventually passes out from exhaustion, and is found by Quimuk, an elderly shaman of the Bantu Tribe. Quimuk takes him to an ancient warrior's trial to face the ghost that possesses him. Khazan eventually meets the ghost face-to-face, revealing itself to be The Blade Phantom, a culmination of warriors who died in combat. Khazan defeats the Blade Phantom, but instead of expelling them, Khazan offers a truce in exchange for the Phantom's powers. The Phantom tells Khazan their goal in the mortal world: there has been an imbalance of souls entering the Netherworld, and their master Charon has sent them to find and stop the cause. Khazan must help the Blade Phantom restore balance to the mortal world and in return, they will help him with his revenge against the Emperor and all who betrayed him.

Khazan travels across the Pell Los Empire, searching for those who betrayed him, while fighting supernatural creatures that do not belong in the mortal world. He is joined by several allies such as his former soldier Tristan, shield maiden Elamein, blacksmith Qazumaka, and Netherworld messenger Daphrona. Khazan eventually finds out that Ozma was executed, and that a forbidden type of magic called Chaos, which is powerful and corruptive enough to destroy otherwise immortal souls, is the source of the imbalance of souls entering the Netherworld. While Khazan investigates a Chaos laboratory, Elemain is abducted. While Khazan tries to shut down the machine imprisoning her, it was deactivated too late and Elemain was possessed by Chaos. With no other choice, Khazan was forced to kill her. While rescuing his former soldiers from a work camp in Linon Mine, one of them, Yulian, reveales that Ozma faked his execution and was in fact working with the Emperor. Enraged, Khazan turns focus to seeking Ozma instead of the Emperor. Meanwhile, Ozma betrays the Emperor, kills him, and destroys the Capital.

While en route to the Capital, Khazan encounters a dark elf necromancer named Bellerian, who used to work with Ozma on the research of Necromancy and Chaos magic. When Ozma went mad with power and resorted to kidnapping innocent people for test subjects, she fled into hiding. She also confirmed it was Ozma that orchestrated the trap that lead to Khazan's arrest and betrayal. Now knowing Ozma is the mage causing chaos magic across the mortal realm, The Blade Phantom exclaimed their goal and Khazan's are now one and the same. Near the capital, Khazan faces off against a chaos-corrupted Reese, a priestess who was a childhood friend of Khazan and Ozma's, as well as Ozma's lover. After he defeats her, Reese pleads to Khazan with her final words to save Ozma.

Finally reaching the capital, Daphrona asks Khazan what he will do once he faces Ozma. Three choices are presented, which result in three different endings:

• Ending 1 Choosing "I will have my revenge" will result in the default ending. After defeating Ozma after 2 phases, the Empire collapses. Khazan returns to Ozma's home and mourns the death of Reese. The Blade Phantom tells Khazan that their contract is not yet complete as there is still chaos in the mortal realm, and Khazan begrudgingly complies.

• Ending 2 Choosing "I want to speak to him" will result in the good ending. To unlock this option, you must complete the side missions that unlock The Blade Phantom's sword and the Charon's chains. In the fight against Ozma, Khazan hesitates, which allows Ozma to initiate a third phase. Equipped with the chains and sword, Ozma is defeated. He sheds a tear, apologizes to Khazan, and dies in his arms. Khazan returns to Ozma's home and mourns the death of both Reese and Ozma. The Blade Phantom tells Khazan the same thing as the previous ending, but it ends with Khazan saying sorry to Ozma.

• Ending 3 Choosing "I want to know the truth." will result in the true ending. To unlock this option, you need to fulfill the previous requirements along with finding all 3 fragments of Aldevir's Disc to complete the bonus mission involving what happened to Reese. In the fight against Ozma, the same events will occur in ending 2, only Ozma will release a burst of chaos energy and call for the end of the world before exploding. From there, Khazan will return to Ozma's home and find the source of Ozma's motivation. Before the events of the game, a supernatural being in the form of a single eye showed Ozma the power of Chaos magic, and he studied it in the hopes it could help him and Khazan defeat Hismar, a powerful dragon that plagued the Empire. Khazan and Ozma eventually do slay Hismar and were made heroes. One day, the Emperor demanded Reese be made his concubine. She refused and fled into hiding, but was eventually found and executed. Enraged, Ozma retaliated and was arrested. While carted through the streets in chains, the citizens of the kingdom called him a traitor despite being the hero that saved them from the dragon. Brokenhearted and ridiculed, Ozma viewed humanity itself as a great evil, and orchestrated the plan to resurrect Reese and destroy humanity with the use of Chaos magic. Knowing that there is still a being out there that gave Ozma the knowledge of Chaos magic, Khazan proclaims his revenge is not yet complete, and unites with the Blade Phantom.