Zorlok
Zorlok is an interactive fiction game following the bizarre misadventures of a demon with no memories and the nerdy high schooler they're bound to serve. Uncover mysteries and cause mayhem in this dark comedy about monsters, found family, personal identity, and the line between good and evil.
The setting and story are inspired by campy horror movies, classic murder mysteries, and an old Monster of the Week campaign. The first demo release was on May 13th, 2022. The most recent update was on May 13th, 2025 and included the first part of episode 1. The next update will likely be in August or September.
Warning: Zorlok is rated 17+ for swearing, alcohol and drug use, sexually suggestive content, violence, self-harm, discussions about religion and mental health, and death.
You were a terrifying demon who wielded hellfire, fought angels, and corrupted souls... At least, you think you were. You can no longer be sure, not since you made a deal with Tommy—some nerdy high schooler willing to sell you his soul to become cool.
That should have been easy, right? If anyone can bend and manipulate the minds of pathetic humans, it's a ruler of Hell. But, no! Before you could even begin, Tommy accidentally made you forget your past (and all because he wanted to call you "Zorlok").
So, now you're Zorlok. A demon, sure, but a demon with no sense of self and no clue what the hell being a demon means—you don't know why or how you became like this, how to control your infernal powers, you aren't even sure how these pacts are supposed to work.
But who are you now? Truly? With your memories and identity stripped away, where does that leave you? You are a demon, but are you still demonic?
And just in case your amnesia and subsequent identity crisis weren't enough, you've gotten involved with a group of monster hunters working for a local fey council. Now you and two random humans are supposed to protect the city of Casper from vicious predators, investigate strange deaths, and fight off "evil." Whatever.
You're just glad to get a break from doing Tommy's math homework.
- Embrace the chance to redefine yourself or attempt to regain your former identity
- Uncover the secrets of your past
- Customize your gender, pronouns, and identity
- Design your human vessel and gradually unlock a more demonic appearance
- Choose an alias and pass yourself off as a "regular human person"
- Name your loyal hellhound and select what animal it's disguised as
- Continue to rail against your situation or decide that maybe this isn't so bad
- Learn to control your infernal powers and choose the three domains at your command: either Fire or Ice, either Sight or Spirit, and either Corrupting or Shifting
- Tell elaborate lies or risk unveiling dangerous truths
- Watch Tommy's personality change as a direct result of your influence
- Help Tommy survive high school (or sabotage him at every turn)
- Explore Casper, WA—a strange little city either surrounded by or inhabited by monsters (depending on who you ask)
- Set everything on fire... accidentally
Tommy Osorio
The 15 year-old you're forced to help who accidentally made you forget your past. Once Tommy becomes "cool" you'll probably regain your memories, but after learning what that word means to modern humans, you're starting to wonder if this is an impossible task. To read more about Tommy click here.
cis male (he/him)
The Hellhound
Your faithful "dog". A hellish creature sworn to protect and serve you. For more on the Hellhound click here.
genderless (any pronouns)
Dev Vaghela
The charismatic leader of your monster hunting trio, Dev used to be a career criminal but since returning to the small town xe grew up in, xe has apparently turned over a new leaf. It's not xyr fault if trouble follows xem everywhere. Right? For more on Dev click here.
RO + Gender Selectable: nonbinary (xe/xem), cis female (she/her), cis male (he/him)
E.J.
Dev's childhood friend, your new roommate, and a reluctant member of your monster hunting team. EJ is an ordinary human who managed to live a (somewhat) normal life until you showed up at their door. Still, strange, unexplained phenomena have followed EJ for decades and their uncontrolled arcane powers have only grown more volatile since you moved in. For more on EJ click here.
RO + Gender Selectable: nonbinary (they/them), cis female (she/her), or cis male (he/him)
Adam / Eve Park
A talented, young detective dedicated to protecting the people of Casper, WA from harm. Like most citizens, A/E isn't aware of magic's existence, but they have their suspicions and realize more's going on here than meets the eye. They also firmly—and somewhat correctly—believe that their former friend turned bitter rival, Dev, is involved with the strange phenomena plaguing the city. For more on A/E click here.
RO + Gender Selectable: trans male (he/him) or trans female (she/her)
Ainsley Sirico
The leader of a rival monster hunting team. Ainsley is an incredible hunter who's spent most of her life dedicated to this craft, earning great respect from her community along the way. She comes across as warm, welcoming, and caring (almost too much so?) and, given the way she treats you and Ciel, Ainsley doesn't seem to hold any prejudice against monstrous beings. For more on Ainsley click here.
cis female (she/her)
Lucía Reyes
A member of Ainsley's team. Lucía is a park ranger, an impressive feat given that the forest surrounding Casper is "infested" with monsters. As far as you can tell, something has drawn her to this forest, but you don't know if she's looking for something or hiding from someone. Lucía keeps her secrets tight to her chest and most people at the business end of a notched arrow. For more on Lucía click here.
RO: cis female (she/her or they/them), lesbian
Ciel Renault
The last of the rival team members. Ciel is a mystery to you—an acerbic, hot-blooded, goth mystery to be exact. They appear human at first glance, but the longer you look at them, the more you notice strange features: yellow eyes, pointed ears, short fangs, and a conspicuous bite mark on their neck. You don't know exactly what Ciel is, but they certainly aren't human. For more on Ciel click here.
RO + Gender Customizable: nonbinary (she/they) or nonbinary (he/they)
Danny
An unlucky soul that crosses your path. Danny is a shadow of their former self by the time you properly meet them but becomes a steadfast companion—whether they like it or not. For more on Danny click here.
RO + Gender Selectable: nonbinary (any), cis female (she/her), cis male (he/him)
The Celestial
A figure from your past. The Celestial is a trickster who's known you—or, more specifically, the being you used to be—for most of eternity. Eir main objectives are unknown to you but, even though ey's a "fallen angel," the Celestial seems to want what's best for you. For more on the Celestial click here.
RO: omnigender (ey/em)
Oren Rose
A widower, single father, and high school music teacher. Rose seems to be an ordinary person just trying to get by. A caring, light-hearted, and somewhat goofy optimist, Rose just wants to help improve the lives of those around him, however he can. For more on Rose click here.
RO: cis male (he/him), gay
[redacted]
You don't who they are. You don't know where they are. You don't know what they are. All you know is that they're watching. Waiting... who knows what for?
RO?: unknown
BLOG | AUTHOR | CONTACT | KO-FI | PLAYLIST
Special thanks to the Zorlok playtesters: Arc, Aspen, Aster, Beckdeck, Cassie, Crash Sjordal, Crouton, Equus, Ghost, Jinx, Kazoowhiz, LeafGoldKing, Mansym, Monday, Oddington, Sneky, and Snooga
Development log
- First Episode 1 Update11 days ago
- Summer Dev Goals & Minor Updates72 days ago
- Prologue Re-release!Mar 02, 2025
- Prologue Update March 2 + Future PlansFeb 16, 2025
- Zorlok Plans for 2025Jan 19, 2025
- An Update (Chapter 1 Delayed)Jul 07, 2022
- First UpdateMay 20, 2022
- Zorlok Prologue ReleasedMay 13, 2022
Comments
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This was a lot of fun!
Ok but first off the game is great, I loved it, I love the interactions between tommy and our demon (or well maybe the ones I choose) and the amount of customization you can do to it, but I have a question...were you prepared for somebody to name the demon Ares? Honestly if I was you I would also expect it who wouldn't name a demon Ares is like the best name out there for one (In retrospect I think I made the most stereotypical demon-looking guy but give me faith)
My hell hound: GREG
Amazing, I love Greg
This game is really really awesome so far! I'm impressed at the sheer amount of effort put into just the first part of the IF. The coding, the customization options, the aesthetics, awesome!! I'm at the Miss Stella shop part. Though I noticed when I tried to save it gave me an error, though I figured that wasn't too bad. Until I tried to save to disk and realized that was also giving me an error! The autosave kind of lags behind, and I like my freedom with my save points, so hopefully this can be fixed soon! Unless the error's on my end I suppose?
Here's the error. It appears to be the same one for both the save button and the save to disk button.
Thank you! And interesting, I'll look into this. So, to confirm/claridy, when you click the save button it doesn't save and gives you this error instead? Also, what do you mean by the autosave lags behind? Like is the game lagging when trying to autosave or is it autosaving to a place that isn't where it should be? Also what browser do you use?
Sorry for late reply! And yes, it does not create a save nor will it save to disk and just gives me that error. And by autosave lagging I mean it's usually a page or two behind the one I'm on. I assume the autosave just saves every time a certain amount of time passes, not every time a choice is made or the IF continues to the next page. This isn't actually a problem, as I assume this is how the autosave is intended to work, I just mentioned it so you'd know why I wasn't just using the autosave, as I prefer manual saves is all.
Loved the update! Super excited for more!
I like Tommy but I literally want to strangle him after he made me into Zorlok because right now my character is like a hissy, sopping wet cat in the rain. Great writing!
Holy crap, okay, this was such a fucking ride and I love it. I named my demon's alias 'Magdalene' thinking nothing of it, and Tommy actually pointed it out! I was not expecting that! Makes me wonder what other names I can put that gets different responses.
You've really thought of everything, author, bless
The writing is good and the music adds to the atmosphere, but up to the point I read you have more control over Tommy than Zorlok. Even though the synopsis makes it clear that you are supposed to play as Zorlok.
To be honest it feels like Tommy is supposed to be the main POV character.
Edit: What I wrote above only applies to the prologue ^_^
At the start of Episode 1 you are in Zorlok's POV and I also would not change it because the way the reveal is written is really cool.
Yeah, as the rest of the game comes out you'll play more as Zorlok. Tommy is the POV character for the prologue, which is most of what's been released at this point, but that's it.
I continued reading and I ended up really liking the way you handled the POV switch. I never read anything like that before in IFs.
Thank you! :)
Perfect timing for the update as I'm stuck with only my phone and essentially no internet for today. Glad to have this to read :)
>"Wait!" Worry saturates Tommy's thoughts. "Lilith? That's pretty... conspicuous. Are you sure that's the best choice?"
Damn I'm getting called out here
Oof tommy is so accidentally infuriating. I like the kid but i also simultaneously want to zip his mouth shut. He's giving my poor demon a headache 😭 kid is a walking trouble magnet and i can't wait for my mc to be in complete denial about caring for him later 🤣♥️
My wait finally ended.
This game is awesome. I know it's just the prologue, but I am loving it already! I especially like the the way you're coding it, there are many (fun and interesting) choices in the game and they are incorporated into the writing in a very even, fluid engaging way. (If you know what I mean). Oh and the music! I especially love the main theme. Anyway, I think I've gone on long enough. I am very intrigued, I will wait patiently for the first chapter.
So stoked to see this updated! The new and improved Prologue was tons of fun.
I have waited.
Patiently.
And finally, it has returned.
Zorlok has returned.
And it is better than I ever expected.
Absolute cinema.
I WAITED THREE YEARS FOR THIS WE ARE SO BACK!!!!!!!
i'll comment more but for now i just want to say you're a genius for having the tone tag indicator thing. this is genuinely such a lifesaver I CANT WAIT TO PLAY!!!
God this is so good, everything about the UI was immersive and I was so invested... dammit I knew Tommy was gonna fuck it up! UGHHHJHDKDJISJFHIAKDJ
I decided to play through this again when I remembered that the demo was rereleased with some changes and WOW did it not disappoint. I actually really feel bad for the demon (before Zorlok) because from the beginning they were really chill and just talking to Tommy, especially the questioning scene. It was like they were really bonding and it genuinely made me distressed seeing the demon's whole identity and memories being erased. And the betrayal they felt when Tommy unknowingly made those changes!
In the original demo, there wasn't any sort of that bonding moment (from what I remember), it was just a contract gone wrong and the demon being a stereotypical demon who would take advantage of Tommy. But this demon actually really made me feel a connection and man, it must have gutted Tommy to realize that Zorlok isn't just a random name, it's a name that holds an identity in Tommy's head that the contract clung to and changed the demon.
I'm hoping that the demon isn't too pissed off at Tommy but then again, their entire identity was erased for that moment. I'm hoping they went into hibernation or is watching everything from inside their body watching over the entire fiasco because then it would soothe my heart. Aaaa I'm so looking forward to July 13th! I hope we get to have more scenes of Zorlok and Tommy navigating this confusing part because without the knowledgable and experienced demon, they're literally newborn babies.
2yrs ago i thought this was the best if game i've ever played, today it's even better. i'm crying. i have tears in my eyes. it was so worth the wait, thank you so much
having to experience your consciousness and entire sense of self being erased was uhh nightmare fuel. but the demo was really good
NOOOOO WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE A DEMO, AND WHY AM I (Tommy) SO STUPID, NOW ZORLOK IS IN PAIN NOOOOO (this was an awesome game and the writing was amazing! Gotta love it. But also-) NOOO IT HAD TO ME A CLIFFHANGER NOOOO.
First of all, amazing writing. Honestly better than some actual books I've read. Additionally, the amount of customization really surprised me, especially the fact that it all actually affected dialogue. The minuscule details of glasses and claws being the only abnormal features that I chose each had their own line, it makes me want to just replay the customization to see what other unique lines I could get.
Wow...just...wow. I never thought that just the prologue of a game would be so entertaining. The world-building has been great, you set out a clear (albeit unorthodox) objective, and fairly extensive customization options. I'm excited to see how this will go so please, despite what anyone might say, don't feel pressured to get out a new update when you still have concerns.
WHAT THE FART I LOVE THISSS
can't wait for an update.
We're so back (thoroughly enjoyed the prologue re-release as much as I did reading Zorlok the first time)
Remember kids, always read the fine print, otherwise you might lose your sense of self due to some idiotic wording.
WE ARE SOOO BACK ?!?!?!
This reminds me an awful lot of the Webtoon, Love Advice From the Great Duke of Hell.
I only learned of this webtoon a few weeks ago from an anonymous fan suggesting it to me (I honestly don't read webtoons, there's just other things that draw my attention more). So, I'm not sure if this is meant as an accusation that this is stealing a concept from that story or if it's merely an observation, but I feel the need to point out either way that stories take inspiration from each other all the time (to that point, I am sure that webtoon, like my story, is inspired by Faustian pacts but that doesn't mean we're both stealing from Dr. Faustus). Even if I had read this webtoon and decided to write this (which is not the case) then cool. Who cares? There's a lot of other stories that did inspire this one, and I'd be happy to talk about that if you (or anyone else) is curious. :)
he probably isnt. Just pointing out it has same vibes. Honestly I loved this game and I was so sad it was just a demo. I really wanted more content
Yeah, they might not be, and I hope that my response didn't sound harsh or anything, but that's a sentiment/critique I've seen a lot online and really can't tell their intent with the text available. And thank you, there's more content on its way soon :)
I didn't mean it as an accusation, I'm sorry if it came off that way.
I was only pointing out the similar feel it had, as it's one of my favorite webtoons. I'm looking forward to more updates! The writing so far is great, and the dynamic Tommy has with the demon sets it apart from other IF's I've read.
Sorry for replying to this so late, but thank you! I really appreciate that :)
Oh I love the new prologue. So hooked by the ending!
We are so back. New ending is way better than the old one, can't wait for more.
IT'S BACK!!!
Woah it's back! Super excited to replay the prologue and can't wait for more
I am so happy this is back, it's amazing and I cannot wait for more!
NO WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM!?
Love the new prologue and the reason that human error causes the demon to forget instead of Tommy intentionally doing it.
soo i named the hellhound giggleshitter mcgee and made the pronouns my bbg/my bbg and i couldnt take this seriously
you are my idol
FINALLY SOME GOOD FOOD ON MY 2025 MEDIA PALETTE
Just a small question I've gad since its first release. Are we Tommy or Zorlok? Or are we going to control both?
Zorlok is the MC and the one who's perspective the rest of the story will be told from, though there may be sections in the future (like the prologue) that allow the player to see Tommy's perspective. Those would most likely be flashbacks, specials, or Zorlok looking through Tommy's eyes (via their bond).
Awwww i loved this so much!!! So glad it's back! 💖💖💖
Honestly I'm a big fan of the new prologue. Other than just the fact that I think it's better, it feels a lot more in line with Tommy I think. He doesn't basically erase someone for his own sake, instead it's all cause of 1 single sentence basically that was a pure accident.
Im actually going to cry happy tears this is the best early birthday gift ever!
I love love *LOVE* the rewrite and YVGNTVTBHUCFYHYV i just cannot say how much i love this enough!!
Cannot wait for more! (Obviously no rush at all though!!!)
Aw, thank you :) And Happy early birthday!!