The next action RPG from developer Neople The first berserker: Khazan It is another ambitious project that arises under the umbrella of the parent company Nexon. The first berserker: Khazan builds on the basis of Abandoned duel provide players with an action RPG with a heavy emphasis on the “action” part of the equation. Although Khazan is a character who occupies a prominent place in the Dungeon and fighter universe, Nexon The first berserker: Khazan is meant to give players an important insight into their background and motivations.
At Gamescom, Game Rant spoke with JazanCEO and Creative Director regarding game mechanics, stylistic influences, and narrative connections to the popular Neople. abandon games. The following transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
The First Berserker: Khazan represents a bold new chapter in the DNF franchise
Q: Can you start by introducing yourself to the readers?
Myeong-jin: My name is Yoon Myeong-jin. I am the CEO of Khazan and CEO of Neople.
Jun Ho: My name is Lee Jun Ho. I am the creative director of Khazan. Thanks for your time.
Q: How are the most “unconditional” elements of The first berserker: KhazanDoes the gameplay relate to the main character’s story?
Jun Ho: The main character, Khazan, is the great general of the Dungeon and fighter universe. In the original story, the Empire accuses him of treason, sends him into exile, and dies. In The first berserker: Khazanhe is still sent into exile, but somehow he is able to survive.
The story of how he survives will unfold as players play. The story is really about uncovering the conspiracy behind his exile while also incorporating the drama of his quest for revenge. Khazan sacrificed everything in the service of the Empire, and the Empire, in turn, sacrificed Khazan. The story of revenge is shown through art, gameplay, battle and action; All of these elements try to support the story.
Q: What would you say is the role of The first berserker: Khazan is in the general abandon universe?
Myeong-jin: In it Dungeon and fighter universe, we have a very important class called Slayer. These Hunters have red ghost arms and players might wonder where they come from. In The first berserker: KhazanIt explains why the Slayers have these weapons. In The first berserker: Khazan, Players can witness how the disease that causes ghost arm is invented. There are so many incidents that happen in the abandon universe and that which involves Jazan He is also very critical.
Through this game we try to explain what happened there and tell the story. Dungeon and fighter It’s been active for a long time, but we’re still trying to reach Western markets and introduce them to the game. We believe that Jazan It’s a great starting point.
Q: Neople is calling The first berserker: Khazan a “hardcore action RPG” versus a full-blown Soulslike. What do you think are the defining differences between this game and the traditional Soulslike formula?
Myeong-jin: Is Jazan Completely different from other Soulslikes? Probably not. There are many similarities between the two, and while we hope there isn’t a very clear line that can be drawn between them, we wanted to pay homage to the original franchise (dark souls). With the monster battles so high-pressure, it can be a bit similar to Soulslike games.
Once you progress through the game, in the later parts, you have many abilities – you have things that will encourage you to grow Khazan beyond what players are used to in Soulslike. There are lavish combos that pay tribute to abandonso I think it is a clear differentiating point compared to Soulslike games.
Q: In action RPGs, settings are always very important. Some sets offer a wide variety of configurations compared to build depth. When it comes to that balance, creating variety versus creating depth, what is your approach? The first berserker: Khazan?
Jun Ho: We get variety and depth when it comes to basing builds around weapons and gear. In terms of variety, each weapon has its own characteristics. You have two-handed weapons like great swords, which have a lot of weight and are slow but also powerful. Spears are fast, making a flurry of attacks, etc. possible. I know that players enjoy the game in different ways, and we try to design the game in a way that they can find the version they like and also try that version and try different versions.
Internally, within the Neople team, we have action game lovers, we have console game lovers, so we were able to identify that players have different styles. Sometimes they like to be more proactive in their playstyle, while other times they prefer a single strong hit that can take out the enemy in one go. We believe there is no fixed answer to the question “What is the correct style to play?” We try to build variety and depth into builds so players can enjoy the game the way they love.
Q: Were there any specific guiding principles at play when designing The first berserker: KhazanThe bosses?
Jun Ho: What we thought was very important when designing the bosses was the feeling that Kazan needs to go into combat and win that battle against an imposing enemy. That kind of narrative element was very important when designing the boss battles. That includes the appearance of the boss, but also the addition of a justification for each battle.
It’s about facing challenges, overcoming them, and achieving victory over enemy bosses. We wanted it to be challenging but not make the player feel like they can’t win, and part of making players want to overcome that struggle is reflected in the narrative justification of each battle. In every boss battle, of course, there will be both successes and failures.
Even in defeat we didn’t want the player to give up. It was important to us to make sure that the visibility of attacks was taken into account in the design of each boss so that the player could read and learn the patterns of it. That way, when they win, it won’t just be a stroke of luck, and if they lose, they’ll have learned more about the boss’s patterns to help them next time.
The first berserker: Khazan Its launch is scheduled for 2025.