Of course, the developer could just choose to introduce a new infected type and find a logical way of explaining why it hasn’t been encountered yet. But there are a couple of ways Naughty Dog could get around this. The problem with this is that during The Last of Us 2’s timeline the outbreak has been going on for 25 years, so if there are new infected types out in the world, it would be strange for the main characters to not be aware of them. RELATED: The Last of Us 2 Multiplayer Will Be 'Worth the Wait'Īt this point, Naughty Dog has stayed silent on whether another sequel for The Last of Us 2 is happening, but should it go ahead, the studio will have to find new ways to keep the infected enemies interesting. However, this doesn’t mean there aren’t more instances of infected like the Rat King lying in wait out in the game world. The question is, after a creature like the Rat King, where can a The Last of Us 2 sequel possibly go from here? This explains why more of these infected types aren’t seen as the Rat King was locked underground for 25 years, which is also what allowed it to mutate so far, so it wouldn't be that common of an occurrence in the natural world. The Rat King is a singular occurrence in The Last of Us 2, with the explanation being that the creature formed after being trapped there at the beginning of the pandemic. The creature is known as the Rat King and is a twisted combination of Clickers, Stalkers, and a Bloater that have fused together after decades of underground containment. While playing as Abby in the second half of the game, players will encounter possibly the hardest boss fight in The Last of Us’history. Naughty Dog kept one very horrific infected stage under wraps until after The Last of Us 2's release. Both types have been mutated far beyond recognition by the cordyceps brain infection and which also makes them more dangerous. But beyond these established stages of infected in The Last of Us, no other zombie types have been seen or referred to in the game. The next step up from Clickers is Bloaters and Shamblers, the heavy-type enemies in The Last of Us 2. Clickers are the most widely known infected type in The Last of Us, but Naughty Dog managed to make them even deadlier in the sequel with the addition of a ‘bark’ move that allows the creatures to see players even when they aren't moving. But the next stage, known as Stalkers, is where the cordyceps lore kicks in, as they have more prominent fungal growth, but still appear mostly human. The early infected stages, such as Runners, are more akin to typical zombies. The virus is spread via bites or spores, and seeing spores or overgrown fungus during The Last of Us is a telltale sign that there are infected nearby.
Rat king the last of us 2 series#
Naughty Dog has taken this concept and applied it to a virus for people, which resulted in a series of different infected stages in the game. These enemy types are all grounded in science around the in-game cordyceps brain infection. However, the cordyceps virus is actually based on a real-life fungus that is known to attack and subsume other species, mostly in plants and insects. For some background, there are several known infected types established so far in The Last of Us games.