The Last of Ushas always done a marvelous job at depicting how much more foul and abhorrent humanity can be than the infected monstrosities that have claimed certain pockets of the world. That said, it will always be commendable and appreciated thatThe Last of Uswent with its mushroom-themed ‘infected’ rather than generic, ubiquitous zombies. Each infected type has its own quirk that makes them troubling to deal with, whether runners can quickly gain on players or stalkers can ambush players from a corner, and dealing with infected versus human factions adds a wealth of gameplay variety inPart 1andPart 2.
The Last of Us Part 2debuted shamblers, suggesting that any new mutations could sprout and join runners, stalkers, clickers, and bloaters, and a unique boss encounter debuted the Rat King. Unfortunately, whileThe Last of Usshould surely continue to unveil brand-new infected variations in every entry, shamblers and the Rat King aren’t exceptional for long and could realistically be outdone by whatever infected types appear inPart 3, assuming there will be a third installment.
The Last of Us Part 2’s Shamblers aren’t the Prettiest Mushrooms on the Bark
Shamblers aren’t terribly intimidating, however; they’re fairly weak, and players need only keep a bit of distance and be mindful of their AoE spore bursts. Shamblers are only threatening when they arrive within a pack of infected of any variation as runners and stalkers can hyper-stun players until shamblers can close the distance.
It’s great thatPart 2added a new infected type toThe Last of Usso that there could be a tiny bit more variety, but the bloater infected type still reigns supreme and is even more terrifying and omnipotent inPart 2. Likewise, runners and stalkers were upgraded to pose a far greater threat in melee combat since they can interrupt players’ attacks with a series of their own.
Therefore, shamblers shambling over and releasing AoEs doesn’t quite scratch any gnawing itches and is in fact even more of a nuisance than anything. Ultimately, shamblers fail to dethrone clickers asThe Last of Us’ most immediately lethal and dangerous infected type to see in an ordinary mob.
The Last of Us Part 2’s Rat King is a Shiv in a Haystack
The Last of Us Part 2’s Rat King is upheld by a huge amount of suspense leading up to its reveal in the Washington Liberation Front-occupied Lakehill hospital’s abandoned lower level. Here, players traverse a fungi-overgrown lab and can read patients’ and employees’ lamentations and concerns while witnessing some of the mosthorror-leaning imagery inThe Last of Usto date.
This appropriately sets the tone for the Rat King’s reveal as a hulking mass of infected bodies, and when enough damage is dealt to it an elite stalker cleaves off from it and joins the boss encounter. The Rat King makes for an excellent boss, but it’s unlikely that players will ever see anything like it again in the future since its mutated amalgamation is quite specific to the events that occurred in the hospital beneath the WLF base.
The Last of Us Part 2’s No Returnfeatures the Rat King as a recurring boss encounter amid several others, breathing new life into it via a roguelike mode.
So, unless another ground zero hospital wing is visited elsewhere that was also left to fester and rot,the Rat King will probably be unique toThe Last of Us Part 2. Nonetheless, the Rat King is a great example of how rare circumstances can lead to an authentic infected variation, and aPart 3will hopefully conceive of something exceptionally gruesome.
