FromSoftware’s The Duskbloods is already shaping up to be one of the strangest multiplayer games on Nintendo Switch 2, but one Bloodsworn has completely stolen the spotlight: Zork. This bizarre bird-like warrior rolls into battle inside a gigantic industrial-era deep-sea diving suit, swings an outdated undersea cable crackling with electricity, fires a speargun, launches himself like a rocket and somehow drinks blood through his beak like a mosquito.

Zork is one of six Bloodsworn available in The Duskbloods’ closed Network Test, with 10 Bloodsworn planned for the full 2026 release. Players have already turned the armored sea creature into an unlikely internet celebrity, creating fan art, joking about “Zorkin’ it,” and embracing the character’s completely unhinged design. Now, creator Hidetaka Miyazaki has explained how Zork came to be—and the answer makes his appearance even more ridiculous.

The biggest surprise is that Zork is not simply a joke character hiding inside a giant diving suit. He is a fully playable, slower and heavier Bloodsworn built around absorbing punishment and delivering serious damage. His design also connects directly to the game’s wider goal of creating a chaotic multiplayer “festival” filled with characters from wildly different eras and aesthetics. And yes, there is a very real reason that strange beak sticks out of his helmet.

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Zork Is Basically an Armored Sea Chicken With a Rocket on His Back

The first thing players notice about Zork is the armor. His enormous diving suit makes him look like a mechanical deep-sea monster pulled straight out of a steampunk nightmare. Then comes the beak.

Underneath that intimidating equipment is a sapient bird-like, or chicken-like, bipedal character who comes from deep beneath the ocean. Zork belongs to a clan of water-dwelling Bloodsworn connected to diving equipment and a survival-of-the-fittest philosophy. That combination has naturally earned him fan-made descriptions such as “armored sea chicken” and “deep-sea robot chicken.”

Despite the meme-worthy appearance, Zork serves a clear gameplay role. He is a slower and heavier Bloodsworn who can take punishment while delivering powerful attacks. His deliberate movement is balanced by heavy impact, hyper armor on certain attacks and considerable offensive power. In other words, players who want to hit hard rather than zip around the battlefield have a very strange new tank-like option.

His main weapon is arguably one of the most FromSoftware things imaginable: the Undersea Cable & Speargun. Zork carries a severed section of an outdated undersea cable that still has sputtering electrical current running through it, using it as a melee weapon. For ranged combat, he has a speargun that can also be charged for a more powerful shot.

Then the game looks at this enormous diving-suit bird and apparently decides that he still needs more.

Zork has a propulsion system attached to his back. His Human Rocket Bloodsworn skill deploys that mechanism from the diving suit, putting him into flight mode and allowing him to charge forward at high speed. The move can damage enemies, knock them backward and potentially send unlucky opponents flying straight off the map.

There is also a Missile ability that becomes available through leveling. It deploys a cannon from the back of Zork’s diving suit and fires a volley of missiles, giving the character another layer of absurd firepower and drawing comparisons to the kind of weaponry associated with Armored Core.

Zork is not finished there. His kit also includes a howl called Dread Resonance, or a similar sonic ability, which can be extended. Other parts of his abilities tie directly into his deep-sea origins. One ability can increase his maximum HP when he defeats other Bloodsworn, although that additional power comes with the risk of losing it.

So the final character is basically a deep-sea chicken in industrial diving armor carrying an electrified cable and speargun, with a rocket booster, missile launcher and sonic ability.

And somehow, that is still not the strangest part.

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Miyazaki Says Ultraman Helped Create Zork

The reason Zork looks so wildly different from many of The Duskbloods’ other characters comes directly from Hidetaka Miyazaki, who discussed the Bloodsworn during an interview with GameSpot.

According to Miyazaki, Zork’s original design brief was surprisingly simple: “a Bloodsworn that has sort of risen from the deep sea.”

The concept went through several iterations before the team landed on the character players now know. Miyazaki explained that the ultimate inspiration came from Ultraman and specifically Ultra Seven, particularly the monsters that rise from the depths of the ocean.

That influence helps explain Zork’s bizarre monster-like appearance. Miyazaki noted that the inspiration was likely reflected in the design notes, although the final character became somewhat different while keeping that same general feeling.

Zork’s place in The Duskbloods is deliberately unusual. While some Bloodsworn lean into traditional Victorian Gothic vampire imagery and others draw from Asian influences, Zork represents the opposite extreme. He pushes the game’s visual identity beyond the Industrial Revolution and becomes one of the most unusual characters in the entire roster.

Miyazaki described him as “basically as far off to the side as you can get” and called him a wild card. That was apparently intentional.

The director explained that having characters like Zork is fun because there will always be players who gravitate toward those unusual designs. Since The Duskbloods features maps taking place across different eras, the developers wanted the game to contain something that was not locked inside the Victorian Gothic period. Zork represents the far end of that approach.

He is clearly not what most players would consider a traditional vampire, but Miyazaki believes he has a place in the game.

That philosophy also connects to Miyazaki’s larger vision for the multiplayer experience. He wants The Duskbloods to feel almost like a festival, where completely different characters come together and create a chaotic battlefield. The Bloodsworn are supposed to look and feel dramatically different from one another, and Zork is very much part of that plan.

As Miyazaki put it, Zork is essentially “just a weird guy who’s in the midst of it.”

That may be the most accurate description of the character possible.

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And Yes, That Beak Is Actually a Blood Straw

The Bloodsworn may look different from one another, but blood-drinking is a major part of The Duskbloods. Players can stagger enemies and bite them to deal damage, recover HP and potentially transform weaker opponents into minions.

Naturally, that creates one extremely important question for Zork.

How does a bird inside a giant diving suit drink blood?

Miyazaki was asked about the strange protruding beak, and his answer somehow makes Zork even more ridiculous.

According to the director, players who win with Zork will eventually see a victory cutscene that reveals more about him. His beak can extend like a straw, allowing him to suck up blood “like a mosquito.”

Miyazaki also suggested that this could be another Ultraman-related monster reference.

So the armored sea chicken is not just carrying a beak for visual flair.

It is a biological blood straw.

And apparently, during his victory sequence, Zork drinks blood from a chalice through that extended beak like a mosquito. The full explanation is tied to the victory cutscene, meaning players who want to see exactly how this bizarre mechanism works will need to win with Zork themselves.

At this point, calling him an armored sea chicken almost feels unfairly normal.

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Zork Is Also One of Miyazaki’s Favorites

The Zork hype is not limited to players. Miyazaki himself confirmed that Zork is one of his favorite Bloodsworn in the Network Test version of The Duskbloods.

The director also singled out other characters. He enjoys Sniper Layla because of her ranged playstyle, while Samir stands out to him from a lore perspective. Still, Zork clearly has a special place among the game’s bizarre cast.

That makes the character’s rapid rise as a fan favorite even more fitting.

During and after the Network Test, Zork quickly became a meme thanks to the sheer number of ridiculous ideas packed into one character. A bird wearing a massive diving suit, carrying an electrified underwater cable and speargun, firing missiles, launching himself with a rocket and drinking blood through a mosquito-style straw sounds like a character created by putting random concepts into a hat.

Yet the design somehow works.

There is also a funny gameplay problem attached to Zork. His rocket ability can make it surprisingly easy to launch himself off a cliff. So while Human Rocket can potentially send an enemy flying across the battlefield, it can also turn Zork into his own worst enemy.

The Network Test also saw relatively few Zorks appearing in actual matches. Instead, many players gravitated toward Layla after discovering how powerful her sniper rifle could be.

Even with limited representation during matches, however, Zork managed to become one of the most talked-about characters from the test.

And that says a lot about the character.

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The Duskbloods Is Clearly Designed Around This Kind of Madness

Zork starts making even more sense once The Duskbloods’ overall structure comes into focus.

The game combines PvP and PvE elements, putting players in control of Bloodsworn during battles set across maps representing the “dusk of humanity.” Each Bloodsworn comes with unique weapons and skills, giving every character a distinct way to approach combat.

The game also introduces Sigils, which can alter character backstories and objectives and add role-playing drama to individual matches. Players can use Kin, summonable spirits that add another layer to combat.

There are also Virtue points, systems designed around culling lower-ranked players and final arena battles. Together, these mechanics create a multiplayer structure that goes beyond simply putting players into a standard competitive match.

At the center of all of it are the Bloodsworn themselves.

They are intelligent beings with their own philosophies, cultures and histories rather than mindless monsters. That means Zork’s bizarre appearance is not really a contradiction within the world. He looks like a chicken that wandered into a Victorian vampire story wearing a diving suit, but he still belongs to the same larger setting as the rest of the Bloodsworn.

And that unpredictability appears to be exactly what Miyazaki wants.

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The Network Test Left One Huge Zork-Sized Mystery

The recent Network Test gave players a chance to experience The Duskbloods and encounter its strange cast, but it also left plenty of questions unanswered.

Some players were able to see Zork’s special victory sequence during the test, although coverage noted that surprisingly few Zorks appeared in actual matches. Layla dominated many games because of the strength of her sniper rifle, while Zork’s Human Rocket created its own hilarious problem by making accidental cliff launches possible.

The test also left players asking some extremely specific questions about the game’s world.

Why can a senator transform into a dinosaur? Why is Bloodhand Jan still walking around in pajamas? What exactly is Zork—a bird, a mosquito or some kind of sea monster? And why are all of these completely different characters fighting each other in a gothic-inspired town?

Those answers are expected to become clearer with the full game.

For now, The Duskbloods is scheduled to launch in 2026 as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. The full roster is planned to contain 10 Bloodsworn, compared with the six available during the closed Network Test.

There is also plenty of room for the game’s bizarre mythology and character designs to reveal more surprises before launch.

For players already watching Zork become the unexpected face of The Duskbloods, though, the formula is simple: give a deep-sea bird a giant industrial diving suit, hand him an electrified cable and a speargun, attach a rocket to his back, add missiles, make his beak function like a blood straw and let Miyazaki call him one of his favorites.

That is apparently all it takes to create FromSoftware’s next internet icon.

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Sources and Disclaimer

This article is based on the information and source material provided, including reporting from GameSpot, Kotaku, IGN and Polygon, along with additional previews and hands-on impressions from GameSpot, IGN and The Verge covering The Duskbloods and its Network Test.

The character details, abilities, gameplay systems, story elements and other features discussed above are based on the available Network Test and preview information. Gameplay details and other features may change before The Duskbloods officially launches in 2026.

Sources:

• GameSpot – Hidetaka Miyazaki On The Duskbloods
• Kotaku – The Duskbloods’ Beloved Armored Sea Chicken, Zork, Drinks Blood With His Beak ‘Like A Mosquito’
• IGN – Why Everybody Loves Zork, The Duskbloods’ Weirdest Character and Miyazaki’s Favorite
• Polygon – The Duskbloods’ Full Character List Officially Revealed
• GameSpot – I’ve Never Played Anything Like The Duskbloods…
• Nintendo Life – All The Duskbloods characters revealed so far

Featured Image Credit: FromSoftware