Why Zork Became The Duskbloods Breakout Star and Miyazaki Favorite
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
FromSoftware director Hidetaka Miyazaki recently explained the origins of Zork, the bizarre deep-sea diving suit character in The Duskbloods who has quickly become a community meme and the director personal favorite.
FromSoftware is known for bleak dark fantasy, but the roster of the upcoming multiplayer title The Duskbloods features a wild card that has taken social media by storm. Sitting on the far right of the character select screen is Zork, an armor-clad combatant wearing a deep-sea diving suit with a prominent beak, wielding a worm-like sword, and sporting a jetpack alongside a mortar-style rocket launcher. In a recent interview with GameSpot, director Hidetaka Miyazaki revealed that the unusual design was ultimately inspired by classic tokusatsu kaiju like Ultraman and Ultra Seven, pulling influence from deep-sea monsters to anchor the far end of the game past the Industrial Revolution.
Beyond his chaotic design, Zork brings a distinct mechanical flavor to the experience. His jetpack allows him to close distance with a powerful knockback charge, while his manual-aim rockets introduce a subtle Armored Core sensibility to the traditional combat loop. Even the game's signature vampiric bite mechanic gets a delightfully absurd twist with Zork, as Miyazaki confirmed that his beak extends like a mosquito straw to drain enemies upon victory. This combination of high-mobility mechanics and sheer visual absurdity has quickly made Zork a community favorite, with players already flooding feeds with memes and highlights.
While The Duskbloods leans heavily into competitive multiplayer, players will still have opportunities to uncover lore through hub-based cutscenes tied to match participation rather than just victories. Miyazaki admitted that Zork is currently one of his personal favorites from the network test, proving that even a legendary studio known for oppressive atmosphere can still embrace a bit of sci-fi absurdity. As the community continues to dissect every detail ahead of launch, this mechanical oddity has successfully established himself as the undeniable mascot of the entire roster.
Tags: The Duskbloods, FromSoftware, Nintendo Switch 2, Gaming News, Hidetaka Miyazaki
Original article: IGN South Africa