There is a certain romance to first-person action games.

The sight of a razor-sharp blade inches from your monitor, the frustration of having your skull cracked by a morning star swung from behind before you even knew what hit you. The thrill of perfectly predicting an enemy's attack, parrying it, and landing a critical hit. Yes, there is romance in that.

The reason its cousin, the FPS, has remained a popular genre since the dawn of gaming is likely that same 'romance.' A fair fight decided purely by skill. Whether it's a bloody duel, a holmgang, or a fight to the death, there is romance in combat. However, those who find the lightning-fast, gunpowder-fueled resolution of shooters a bit lacking tend to gravitate toward first-person action, just like me. It’s a style of combat decided by steel rather than sparks, and by might and tactical sense rather than explosions and aim.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, the Dishonored series, Vermintide, Darktide, the Chivalry series, and Mordhau—gamers who have truly enjoyed first-person action know the electric thrill of the blade. The problem is that while we know the fun, games that satisfy that itch are few and far between.

That was when 'Fatekeeper' caught my eye. Among the new titles pushed by THQ Nordic—a publisher known for its quirky and unique lineup—this one stood out the most. The moment I saw it, I knew I had to play it.

I’m pushing forty and work as a game journalist, but I still have a spark left in me. How long has it been since I played a first-person action game like this?

Is this that 'Unreal 5' thing everyone talks about

I bought the game for the price of a bowl of gukbap—a metric as reasonable as the Big Mac Index here in Korea. But the file size was surprising: nearly 40 gigabytes. A game that costs less than ₩10k is this big?

Once I booted it up, I understood why. The graphics are impressive. I knew it used Unreal Engine 5, but even accounting for that, it’s not just some slapped-together visual job. Usually, games that boast about their engine tend to get lost in the tech and fail to develop a unique identity, but this one maintains a reasonable balance for its price point.

The visibility, which I was worried about, is also decent. A common mistake games with high-end graphics make is chasing spectacle at the expense of substance—like making the screen so bright that enemies disappear, or using UI colors that clash and fail to convey information intuitively.

At the same time, the 'action'—the core of the game—is excellent. Blood splatters, enemies stagger or fall when hit, and landing a finishing blow results in limbs and heads flying off in a way that feels authentic. German-made games sometimes have restrained combat due to high censorship standards despite government funding, but Paraglasial, despite being a German studio, delivers unbridled action.

In short, the first impression is a pass.

Fun to play, but sometimes serious

First-person action games have a unique charm that other genres can't replicate. They make your actions and their consequences feel incredibly immersive, fast, and intuitive.

In a first-person shooter, hitting an enemy just makes them collapse. Third-person action is exciting, but it feels like my character is fighting, not me. First-person action is different. The result of my action is immediate. If I punch, they stagger; if I kick, they fall; if I strike, they tumble. Getting this right is the key to capturing the fun of the genre.

And 'Fatekeeper' has really polished this aspect. While the game’s overall level of polish is still lacking in some areas, the reason it remains a title worth looking forward to is precisely because you can see these 'immediate consequences of your actions.' Gamers who were impressed by 'Dark Messiah: Might and Magic' will likely understand its unique appeal. Beyond just clashing swords, 'Dark Messiah' provided intuitive feedback for every action you took.

If you lay ice in front of a charging enemy, they slip, flail, and tumble off a ledge; if you kick an enemy near a cliff, they fall to their doom; you can even drop a wooden barrel hanging from the ceiling to crush the enemies below. Who among those who have played 'Skyrim' hasn't used 'Fus Ro Dah' to send an enemy flying off a cliff, or who hasn't scored an environmental kill with a knock-back in 'Overwatch'? That’s the fun part. It’s even more engaging in first-person, and 'Fatekeeper' has nailed this execution—so much so that it brings to mind 'Dark Messiah' from 20 years ago.

Honestly, this alone makes the game fun enough to be worth the price of a meal. The enemies in 'Fatekeeper' are strangely resilient. Its direction differs from Fatshark’s games, such as 'Vermintide' and 'Darktide.' While those games rely on the exhilarating thrill of smashing through hordes of enemies, 'Fatekeeper' focuses on the satisfaction of using the environment and your wits to pick off these tough, persistent foes one by one.

Of course, the boss fights are a more serious affair. The current build features two bosses, and the combat is as tense as any Soulslike. If you get hit, you’ll be knocked down and rolling just like the enemy. If you take a solid hit, you’ll be sent tumbling, and unlike other games, the minor enemies won't just stand around watching. If you get caught, you’ll be rolling on the floor before being lynched and sent straight to the checkpoint.

Bring more! More! More!

To be clear, 'Fatekeeper' is an unfinished game. The current build is a demo with about three hours of content, and the world-building and narrative are still opaque. There are only two bosses, and despite a vast skill tree, less than 10% of the skills are actually available. Furthermore, there is no Korean language support yet. On top of that, there’s no FOV slider, which even caused me—someone very resistant to motion sickness in 3D games—to feel a bit queasy.

However, even in its current build, the developer, Paraglacial, clearly demonstrates what 'Fatekeeper' aims to be and the direction they are taking it. In terms of design and concept, 'Fatekeeper' is a 'two-tone' game. It features a two-tone structure of skill-based 'combat' as the core, complemented by a 'progression' system. It also balances the two-tone nature of creative, environmental, and magic-based combat against mobs, contrasted with serious, no-retreat 'boss battles.'

In many ways, it’s like 'gizzard shad sashimi' (jeoneo-hoe). You don't get much meat from one fish, and the bones can be a bit bothersome, but the rich, seasonal flavor is incomparable. Even if you want to enjoy it longer, once autumn passes and the fish loses its fat, you just have to wait for the next season. It’s my way of saying: keep developing it and bring us more.

It won't be for everyone, but it has strengths that will definitely appeal to fans of first-person action. I don't know when the full release, planned for 15 hours of content, will arrive, but if you're waiting for it, now is probably the best time to jump in. Betting on a 13-person team like Paraglasial to keep up this passion until launch feels like a bit of a gamble, but for now, I’m willing to believe.