Nexon and Neople’s upcoming action RPGThe First Berserker: Khazanis more than just another game joining the ever-growing Soulslike subgenre. After an initial reveal under the working title “Project BBQ,“The First Berserker: Khazanis nowNexonand Neople’s latest entry in the developer’sDungeon & Fighteruniverse, continuing to develop the characters and lore of the massively popular online beat ‘em up franchise.
While there are plenty of nods toFromSoftware’s legacyinKhazan’s gameplay, its beat-‘em-up and fighting game lineage shines through in its boss encounters.
A recent hands-on preview ofThe First Berserker: Khazanat Gamescom 2024 featured a climactic battle with one of the game’s several boss enemies, prompting some inquiry into how the game will approach its other challenging fights. In a discussion with the game’s developers,Khazan’s creative director Lee Jun-Ho revealed that its place as a game intheDNFuniversehelped contribute to how the team designed the mechanics of its boss encounters in the hopes that players would find some common ground with the various games that inspired it.
Fans of Fighting Games Will Find a Lot to Like About The First Berserker: Khazan’s Boss Fights
While there’s no doubt thatThe First Berserker: Khazanis an action RPG, the title’s connections to theDungeon & Fighteruniverse and games likeDNF Duelhelp its combat to stand out. Similar to bothSoulslike gamesand more traditional fighting games, the key to success inKhazan’s most challenging encounters lies in observing the enemy and responding to its behaviors. Creative director Lee Jun-Ho was quick to point out that the team’s design philosophy toward boss encounters was in support of this idea.
“With each boss battle, there will of course be both failures and successes. Even in defeat, we didn’t want the player to give up. It was important for us to make sure that the visibility of attacks was factored into each boss’ design so that the player could read and learn their patterns. That way, when they do win, it’s not just due to a stroke of luck, and if they lose, they’ve learned more about the boss’ patterns to help them next time.”
The bosses themselves are large and imposing figures like some of the more memorable foes from other Soulslikes.Khazan’s emphasis on framing these encounters as major narrative turning points gives each battle the feeling of a one-on-one bout against an enemy that is the player’s equal, just like agood fighting game. In terms of how these battles are framed within the context of the rest of the game, Jun-Ho notes,
“It’s about facing challenges, overcoming those challenges, and achieving victory over the boss enemies.”
