The First Berserker: Khazan is one part of a greater puzzle. Spun off from the Dungeon & Fighter series, The First Berserker: Khazan has a hefty timeline supporting its storytelling and fitting right into its hardcore action RPG genre.
Set to release later this March, The First Berserker: Khazan can already be experienced through a playable demo. This demo shows off some of the key parts of Khazan's story, much of which is the same as the story detailed in Dungeon Fighter Online. It describes Khazan's fall from grace, a military general in the Pell Los Empire who was framed for treason by a jealous Emperor. However, his exile is cut short when he escapes his prison procession due to an avalanche, creating a divergence in the character's original DNF story where he ends up striking a deal with the Blade Phantom, plotting to take revenge on the Emperor.
Learn Everything You Need to Know About DNF Before Khazan Releases
- Why The First Berserker: Khazan Explores a New Story for the Beloved Character
- How The First Berserker: Khazan's Ties Into Dungeon & Fighter Lore
The First Berserker: Khazan's Timeline Explained
Despite this divergence, The First Berserker still takes place within the DNF timeline, and thus it keeps to many of that timeline's events. There's still a possibility that things may converge back to normal—that Khazan dies and becomes the God of Destruction, rejecting Ozma's offer to destroy the world and wandering aimlessly—spreading Khazan Syndrome, a curse of rage, throughout the world. If players can prevent this, that's not currently known. Several known events take place before the game properly starts, though, that are the same between The First Berserker and the mainline series.
- Arad Year 152: Khazan and Osma defeat the Berserk Dragon Hismar
- Arad Year 157: The Emperor Betrays Khazan and Ozma
- This is when The First Berserker: Khazan takes place, breaking from the franchise timeline.
- Arad Year 158 (Normal Timeline): Khazan dies in exile and rises as the God of Destruction.
- It's possible, although unknown, if The First Berserker: Khazan completely breaks the timeline or returns to the events of Arad Year 158.
- Arad Year 252: Ozma returns to Arad with an army of shadows
- Arad Year 347: Ozma is defeated
- Ozma resurfaces once again, hundreds of years later, in Dungeon Fighter Online 800.
Arad Years 152-157, Khazan's Backstory
The time units of DNF are measured in Arad Years, named after the setting of Dungeon Fighter Online and The First Berserker. It's in Arad Year 152 that Khazan and his mage friend Ozma are cemented as heroes of the Pell Los Empire, as it's in this time when the pair would defeat Berserk Dragon Hismar, a great blight on the Empire's people
After taking down this threat, both heroes would become well respected among the people of Pell Los. Khazan would become a military general in the Empire, with Ozma always by his side. However, the Emperor would grow jealous of the pair's success and the adoration they received. In Arad Year 157, he framed the duo for treason, torturing them and bringing torment to their families. Khazan was gravely wounded, the tendons in his arms cut so he'd never wield a weapon again, and was exiled into the Stru Mountains. Ozma was thrown into the sea after being told his wife had become a concubine of the Emperor, but would soon rise again.
This is where things diverge, though; in the mainline canon, Khazan dies in exile and rises as the God of Destruction in Arad Year 158, thanks to the machinations of Ozma. Ozma himself rose as the God of Chaos this year, plotting to destroy humanity. However, in The First Berserker's timeline, Khazan escapes his exile via an avalanche and regains the use of his arms. He strikes a deal with the Blade Phantom, a specter from the Netherworld, and allows them to possess his body to lay revenge against the Emperor.
The Future From Dungeon and Fighter
Dungeon & Fighter's take on Khazan doesn't go much beyond his turn to godhood in Arad Year 158, but Ozma plays a much larger role. After turning to godhood in Arad Year 158 and unleashing a Curse of Blood, he fully reappears in Arad Year 252 with an army of shadows, though he's defeated in Arad Year 347. He resurfaces as a boss in Dungeon Fighter Online 800 years after his original death, and, though it seems as if things will go a bit differently in The First Berserker, this level of importance makes it seem like he will appear in Khazan's new adventure.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 83%
- Released
- March 27, 2025
- Developer(s)
- Neople
- Publisher(s)
- Nexon






