I Played "The First Berserker: Khazan" at the Nexon Booth! Beautiful Graphics Add to the Highly Rewarding Combat #TGS2024

I got to play the demo for "The First Berserker: Khazan" at the Nexon booth during Tokyo Game Show 2024, Japan's largest gaming festival, which was held from Thursday, September 26 to Sunday, September 29, 2024! The exhibit with the particularly large monitor was very impressive.

About the Nexon Booth

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Nexon was promoting The First Berserker: Khazan, an action RPG scheduled for a 2025 release, on one of the largest monitors I've ever seen. I tried the demo for this game, which garnered significant attention due to its excellent graphics!

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The impressive setup included a generous 40 demo stations, but the wait time was about an hour, even on a business day. It was clearly drawing a lot of attention from people in the industry!

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Before the demo, there was a general explanation of the world and controls!

The gameplay was Soulslike, a genre often referred to as die-and-retry games, which have been gaining renewed attention in recent years with the rise of popular titles.

The basic actions were Attack, Parry, and Dodge, and each consumed Stamina when used. If your stamina ran out, you were unable to move for a certain amount of time, which could be a fatal opening on the battlefield. If you got hit in this state, even by a small enemy, you could be instantly incapacitated.

Also, by performing a Parry with good timing, you could execute a Perfect Parry and reduce stamina consumption. It seemed that mastering how to use stamina effectively would be key to clearing this game!

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In this demo, I was able to play two modes: the Mission mode, which let you enjoy the beginning of the story, and the Boss Challenge mode, which let you fight a boss!

The Mission mode started with the protagonist, Kazan, in a tattered state, captured and traveling through a snowy mountain in a carriage.

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From the very first scene, I was blown away by the graphic quality. The detailed decorations on the soldiers' equipment and the carriage were so elaborate that it made for a perfect sense of immersion.

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What I found especially detailed was the depiction of snow and blood. Footprints were left behind where Kazan walked, and bloodstains were left in the exact same pattern as the footprints.

In combat, Kazan's controls were very smooth. Even for a novice player like me, I was able to comfortably defeat the early enemies. However, in the mid-boss fight, the difficulty required a solid understanding of the enemy's attack patterns—the true pleasure of an action game. The level design felt very satisfying to play, as it was challenging but still made defeating the boss feel possible.

There was also a system that allowed you to strengthen your character. If you accumulated a certain amount of an item called Lacrima, which you got from defeating enemies, you could enhance Kazan's abilities at a point called the Vengeance Points. Lacrima was lost if you were defeated by an enemy, so remember to upgrade as soon as you found a Vengeance Point—it was another key to success!

After playing the story mode, I tried to play the boss challenge mode, but unfortunately, my time ran out. The 30-minute demo passed in the blink of an eye. It was a demo that made me feel like I absolutely had to buy the game when it was released!

The First Berserker: Khazan is scheduled to be released in early 2025. While the wait for the release is long, a closed beta test will be held starting on Friday, October 11, 2024! If you're interested, be sure to check it out!