Zork Is the Hero We Need in FromSoftware's The Duskbloods

You've seen the GTA 6 leaks, but have you seen Zork? No, not the text adventure—I'm talking about the gloriously weird, pear-shaped diver from FromSoftware's upcoming Switch 2 exclusive, The Duskbloods.

In the recent network test reveal, we got a look at six playable characters called Bloodsworn, and one stands out like a sore thumb—or should I say, like a beak-like mask. Zork is a man in a diving suit that resembles a pear, wielding a chunk of undersea cable as his weapon of choice. He can howl, fire a cannon strapped to his back, and launch his entire body at enemies, knocking them off the map in the ultimate humiliation move.

As someone who loves creating weird characters but often ends up with a generic Commander Shepard clone, seeing a premade character like Zork is refreshing. Usually, premade characters are safe, mass-appeal white bread. But Zork is decidedly uncool in the traditional sense, and that's exactly why he's so cool.

Even the other Bloodsworn names are a mix of simple and absurd: you've got Albert, and then you have Senator Samir Patres—a name I refuse to shorten. It's that chaotic energy that makes The Duskbloods feel like a festival, according to director Hidetaka Miyazaki.

When our own Jake Dekker asked Miyazaki about Zork, he said, "There's always going to be your traditional characters, especially in a vampire-like game. You have your traditional Victorian Gothic characters, and then you have other characters that are a little bit more off to the side with Asian influences. I think Zork is basically as far off to the side as you can get, where he's a bit of a wild card."

Miyazaki also revealed that Zork's beak-like mask is actually for drinking blood—because of course it is. "If you ever win with Zork, you'll get a cutscene that will probably reveal that a little bit more," he said. "His beak thing extends like a straw, and sucks blood up like a mosquito. That's probably another Ultraman reference of some sort."

Miyazaki himself admitted that Zork is one of his favorite characters to play in the network test, and based on the internet's reaction so far, he won't be alone. So, will you be picking Zork when The Duskbloods launches? Or are you more of a Senator Samir Patres fan? Let us know in the comments!