The First Berserker: Khazan GDC 2025 Interview: Myeongjin Yun and Ben Starr Discuss Khazan, Combat, and Emotional Rawness

A hardcore action RPG based on the Dungeon & Fighter universe, The First Berserker: Khazan will let players embark on Khazan’s path of revenge.

Gamers Heroes recently spoke with Neople CEO Myeongjin Yun and Khazan’s voice actor Ben Starr at GDC 2025 to discuss The First Berserker: Khazan’s lead character Khazan, its rich combat, and its emotional rawness.

The First Berserker: Khazan GDC 2025 Interview: Myeongjin Yun and Ben Starr Discuss Khazan, Combat, and Emotional Rawness

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Gamers Heroes

First off, I wanted to congratulate you on the upcoming release – definitely an exciting time! I’m looking forward to it myself. 

As the previous General Director of Dungeon & Fighter, what has it been like adapting this ttitle for The First Berserker: Khazan?

Myeongjin Yun

It was an absolutely great experience! 

It was also very challenging too, because the original Dungeon & Fighter on PC has now turned 20 years old, and that’s a long time we’ve been servicing the game. 

We have been very popular in specific regions like Korea, China, and parts of Asia, and we had a lot more to say and communicate in the Western regions.

While building and making Khazan, we wanted to reach out to the wider audience and tell them what a great story Dungeon & Fighter was, and really connect with players outside of these previous regions. 

On that note, working with Ben had also been a massive pleasure! 

It was such a great experience building the character of Khazan, bringing him to life, and really portraying what it means to be in the Dungeon & Fighter universe.

Gamers Heroes

Absolutely!

This question is for Ben: I saw the sheer power, the “emotional rawness” as you say, that went into voice of Khazan from the previously released behind-the-scenes video. 

How have you been able to strike such a balance for this role?

Ben Starr

It all starts in the writing, doesn’t it? I can only just really say the words that are written down. 

It is such a savage game in many ways, because you’re hacking things whatever weapon of choice you choose. 

And the game speaks for itself, so you don’t really have to worry about that!

You get to play Khazan and experience how much he basically hacks things to death, but it’s about giving that purpose. 

I think what’s amazing is that he starts off at his lowest point. All kinds of good game protagonists need a foil, and the best way of doing that is to provide one – and that’s what we get in Blade Phantom. 

I think Khazan could just be this singular person, but you’re going to experience that push-and-pull experience because of Anthony’s amazing performance as Blade Phantom. 

Without spoiling anything, Khazan goes through a lot in this story. 

He starts at his lowest ebb, and then it’s about learning how to kind of rebuild yourself in that and learn the truth of what happened and seek revenge. 

He isn’t just a one note character – who really isn’t? – because what happens in this story is going to not just change him, but change the world around him. 

It’s about what happens when the very foundations of the thing you thought you knew are completely pulled out from under you. 

It’s a really fun story! More important, it has been really fun game to play, and it’s been a huge honor to bring him to life.

Gamers Heroes

That leads me to my next question – I know Khazan is a master of combat, and the title give players weapons like spears and great swords. 

What went into the combat design of this title?

Myeongjin Yun

First and foremost, we can definitely say that our development team is a massive fan of action games! We take a lot of inspirations from our favorites. 

We have heard that Khazan sort of feels like a Soulslike, and the development team loved playing Nioh and Sekiro. 

The best inspiration – the core inspiration – was the original Dungeon and Fighter. What we really wanted to do was bring that sense of building your own gear, building your own build, playing your own way, and progressing your own way in Khazan. 

When you see the game, you see that the gear has different options, and you can mix and match to fit your playstyle. 

You can also choose from different skills and play with the skill tree to explore that as well. 

If you look at the attacks of Khazan, they’re very aggressive and flashy. You can do a lot of combos, and skillfully use that to take down massive monsters like bosses and go through that challenge your own way.

As a story in 3D, we really wanted to hone the original essence that was Dungeon & Fighter and bring it to a new experience.

Gamers Heroes

Talking about the Blade Phantom – this question is for Ben – I’m sure it was an absolute thrill working with Anthony Hill. 

What was it like working with somebody who encompasses so many characters – so to speak?

Ben Starr

I’ve known Anthony for a long time – we worked together before, but never intimately. I’m such a huge fan of his work. I was aware of his work before I even met him, and went up to him as a fan. 

It’s very fun working with your friends – and it’s very fun when your friends are really talented!

His role is so complex, because Blade Phantom isn’t just one being; it’s a number of beings that have different sections of their personality – and he brings that out so vividly.

I remember him being in sessions longer than me, because he’d have to record three different times – it’s a testament to the quality of the sound team! 

There’s this amazing, otherworldly sound out of Anthony’s voice, which is so resonant, deep, and rich. 

That’s another thing about this game: The sound is incredible! 

It feels so crunchy with every hit. I think it really accentuates the real kind of grit Anthony brings to him. 

Among other things – while not really a buddy cop, it’s two beings trying to figure out how to navigate this world and pursue their wants and desires. Although those wants and desires may be different, they have to work together in order to do it. 

I think there’s a really lovely dynamic between both of them!

The first thing you hear him say is that he needs a body, and it’s Khazan’s body he chooses to use. I think it’s a really fun thing to explore through that and through game mechanics. 

Who better than Anthony Howell to bring to life an otherworldly, god-like sword, spear-wielding demon? 

It’s amazing!

Gamers Heroes

So we’ve talked about the sound design, which is incredible. 

We’ve talked about the combat, which is incredible. 

I’d like to talk about the graphics too. Khazan features incredible cel-shaded art and realistic textures. It is a truly incredible looking title, channeling the vibrant look of animated films. 

What inspired the creation of these graphics?

Myeongjin Yun

We have had a lot of like discussions internally whether we should go photo realistic or do more of a cartoonish style. 

Thinking about the original Dungeon and Fighter – the original is pixelated art; it’s more 2D and cel-shaded. 

We really wanted to make sure we stayed true to the original character that was Khazan in the original story. While doing that, we also wanted the art to portray the hardships Khazan is going through, the challenges, the difficulties.

If we wanted to do a photo-realistic version, then it would deviate too much from the original version. 

We did toon shading for Khazan, but if you look at the backdrop, it’s feels more real, more photo-realistic. 

We also wanted to create a style a little bit more mature, so we could get these feelings across to the player. We took these two different styles for the player: for Khazan, and also for the backdrops. 

Some might think those are two very different styles, but when playing the game you’d feel that it creates a beautiful atmosphere that really conveys what Khazan is going through.

This especially shows up very well in the later chapters after the demo! So we look forward to players experiencing that.

Gamers Heroes

Thank you. I look forward to the full release!

The First Berserker: Khazan will come out for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on March 27. pre-orders of The First Berserker: Khazan can be done via the official website.

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