Everyone wants Dead by Daylight’s new Killer to step on them

Dead by Daylight has a varied cast, from an old-school Wild West bounty hunter to a Japanese school girl turned tormented spirit. No one is quite like the game’s new killer, though. The Trickster is a sexy K-pop star who loves murder more than he loves music, and he looks like he’s ready to perform. Unlike the horror game’s other monsters, he’s not covered with grime, wearing a mask, or heavily scarred. Visually, he’s a big breath of fresh air — and his design already has fans wanting more.

The Trickster is not the first Dead by Daylight Killer to get a fanbase of adoring fans. The Legion and Ghostface are both very popular killers, and they’ve inspired fan fiction and fan art from players who like imagining their lives outside of the 4v1 competitive game. The Trickster is in a league of his own, however — he has already made a huge splash, and he’s not even officially released yet.

“I love the Trickster because the first time he winked at me I knew he could [murder] me and I would thank him for it,” says CollapsingStar, a long-time Dead by Daylight fan who spoke to Polygon via Twitter. “I mostly play survivor but I definitely think he’s my favorite Killer now!”

Not everyone is a big fan of the Trickster; he’s a bit of a polarizing character. Some players have compared him to Jared Leto’s Joker, and others think that he looks wildly out of place among the rest of the Killers. After all, he’s joining a gang full of people who wear burlap, stained hoodies, and hideous masks.

A fan named Sunny, who created the artwork above, has been in the Dead by Daylight community for over three years. She’s also a TikTok content creator who focuses on slasher fandom. “We have seen the general killer designs for DbD,” she wrote to Polygon over Twitter messages. “Dull colors, all beaten up, dirty, very. Even human killers appear to be inhuman.”

The Trickster, on the other hand, is absolutely stylin’. Sure, he’s got some blood on him, but that’s fine. That’s OK! It’s this contrast with the rest of the cast that makes him so satisfying for many fans. “He is unique and bold and I love it. Something about the bright colors, and more clean appearance just makes him a very pleasing eye-catch,” said Sunny.

He’s very unique, but it doesn’t hurt that he’s actually, well, “a pretty boy.”

The Trickster’s lore makes it clear that he absolutely belongs with all of the cannibals and serial killers prowling around Dead by Daylight. He left his original bandmates to die in a fire … which couldn’t be proven as criminal, but it still isn’t great behavior. Then, he started killing people and mixing his songs with their screams. Not good! Once he got his creative control cut down, he went ahead and killed all of his producers, except one — she’s the game’s new Survivor.

For Dead by Daylight fans, the Trickster being a terrible person is all part of the fun. It’s great to think about him being snubbed by the rest of the game’s Killers, or ponder on his relationship with his producers. It’s fun, pulpy horror with a novel twist, and it’s enough to get fans’ imaginations revving.