About Tricksters and Leprechauns
Since the reveal of the new killer today, some people have been really upset about the design choice. In the beginning, I wasn't fond of the killer as well. However, I have been thinking about it for a while and I have come to a conclusion that made me appreciate the character.
Since the start of DbD, BHVR has taken inspiration from various aspects of horror, its themes, characters, and genres. Hillbilly was a clear homage for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, while Spirit had a clear resemblance to The Grudge. The Doctor and The Legion take a more urban approach to the slasher. The Clown is a killer that is supposed to feel like your neighborhood serial killer. The Plague and The Twins design uses a lot of body horror. So on and so forth...
For The Trickster, people were saying that he didn't fit DbD at all, but here is what I have to say: He doesn't have to fit DbD, because he wasn't supposed to fit DbD's explicit horror theme at all. As I see, The Trickster is supposed to be an homage to parodies and comedy that subverts the common horror movies. Horror and comedy have been walking together for a long time in cinema, so much so that there are already a bunch of these kinds of movies. You can use as an example Scary Movie, a direct parody from multiple horror films popular at that time. Or you can look at the Leprechaun series, which portraits such a goofy killer that it became a comedy itself and the creators recognized that.
So it comes to Trickster. First of all, the idea of a K-Pop idol killer is so absurd by it itself that for anyone hearing that, it will cause some doubt if the idea is for real. For the character itself, it really isn't a horror villain, neither I think it is supposed to look like one. He is really handsome, from his face to his body, in a way that makes people more attracted to him than actually scared. His style is very colorful and flashy. All his animations also look really weird, the normal walking is goofy, his throwing knife is funny and made even True laugh, his mori is hilarious and he even winks at you in the lobby. Not to mention that his power is so over the top that he looks like an anime character of all things.
For all things, I can easily compare him to the Leprechaun, since they are both killers that try to imitate horror but end up being comical not by accident, but by choice, and that's why I have come to not dislike The Trickster at all. However, none of the DbD killers have such a comical appeal. The most we got so far was with Ghostface's mori, which is also very funny. Of course, there are some funny cosmetics too such as Mr. Puddles and Bunny Legion, but they are not lore official so I don't count them. So in practice, The Trickster is the first comedy special killer in DbD. My problem with this is that once the joke and the pun are over and everyone already had a good laugh at the K-Popper serial killer, the character may just lose their appeal, and then they will be indeed out of place and lose their value.
I can't blame the players who couldn't come to like The Trickster at all. He is a very bold approach to a killer that takes on a very controversial genre of horror. So I thought of a solution that would please everyone. In 2020, Riot Games reworked the champion Volibear. The players were expecting a more darker theme to the bear but they didn't receive it, so to please the player base, they gave a free skin to everyone who already owned the champion. This skin embodied the darker themes expected and everyone was happy. I do suggest that BHVR does the same thing, giving a free cosmetic to everyone who buys the chapter, a cosmetic that would make The Trickster a real creepy serial killer. That way, both the players that don't like the idea to play as a Korean singer that throws neon knives and the players that want to stick to the darker aesthetic of the game will be happy.
So what do you think about my suggestion? For it to become a reality, we have to pressure BHVR to show them that we really like the idea.
Comments
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What do you mean by "Explicit Horror Theme"?
Also, you say he isn't a "horror villain". American Psycho, Perfect Blue and Silence of the Lambs (to name a few) show this is actually an incorrect statement and a poor stance to take. Edit: He's also a dead ringer for a reference to Ichi the Killer.
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When I said he isn't an "Explicit Horror Theme" I was referring to the fact you can't exactly identify if he is supposed to be the killer or not. Let's take Deathslinger and Legion for example since they are the most human-like killers. If you take Deathslinger in a DbD match contest, you immediately identify that he should be one to be feared as, although human, he definitely doesn't look like the survivors for his old cowboy clothing, for his broken jaw and his malicious expression. The same can be applied to legion to some extent because all of them are wearing a mask that is supposed to be creepy and use clothes that give a "don't want to be seen doing mischief" kind of style.
If I take The Trickster out of context, I wouldn't really be able to identify if he is supposed to be threatening or if he is a yaoi character. Even if you compare him to those horror villains that are made to make you fear your everyday neighbor, The Trickster ends up being so flashy that it fails to pass this feeling as he is such a distant figure from a normal citizen reality. Silence of the Lambs for example thrives on the possibility that the Average Joe can be a psychopath, but The Trickster is not a normal person and doesn't transmit that. And, as I said, it is not only his physical appearance that gives a comedy vibes, as his animations are goofy and his power is so extra that it ends up being funny. That's why I came to the conclusion that he was supposed to be a parody.
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Feels more like "K-pop is popular lets mash that into DBD".
When I think horror I don't think K-pop.
Even with the stylized psycho attempt at justfying his inclusion it still feels out of place.
His pouty duck face glamour shot potrait is kind of jarring in between all these great looking horror icons and ideas.
Everything about him is just kind of jarringly out of place, his awkward run animation, his pink glow bat with a blade in it because hey why not, I'm kinda dreading the eventual up tempo poppy menu and chase music.
To quote family guy "These are Korean Tacos 'cause, whatever the hell nowadays" It kind of feels like that.
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I really think that if they wanted to make a Korean celebrity killer they could have done it in another way to make it seem more serious somehow, and I really do believe that the design team has the sensibility to know if their work is gonna be taken seriously or not. They just released The Twins and I think that it was absolutely genius design. So for me it seems really weird that they would release The Trickster and hope that it wouldn't become a comedy killer.
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