It has been a little over a month since The Last of Us 2 was released, and although the game received mostly positive reviews from critics, it has fans split right in the middle. Due to its many plot twists and the death of a major character, many longtime fans of the franchise criticized Naughty Dog for making huge creative risks in the sequel.
Despite the backlash on its story, one thing that most gamers and critics would agree on is The Last of Us 2's amazing gameplay, which is made even better by its unique take on the infected enemies. Although The Last of Us 2's infected creatures are mostly the same as the first game, the sequel introduced two new types of infected, the Shambler and the infamous Rat King.
The Cordyceps Infection Explained
Before diving deep into what is the Rat King and how it came to be, it is worth doing a quick recap of the Cordyceps Infection for the benefit of those unfamiliar with how it works. To start, the Cordyceps Brain Infection is a parasitic fungal infection and that broke out in the United States in late September 2013, which triggered the events of the first game. The fungus grows while its host is still alive and will undergo several stages of infection.
Within the first few days of infection, the host loses higher brain function and becomes what is known as Runners. As its name clearly suggests, Runners are known for their intense speed and tendency to attack people in hordes. Interestingly enough, when a Runner is idle, players will notice that they appear to be crying or struggling with their growing infection. Some believe that the host is somewhat still conscious but is unable to control its actions. The next stage turns infected into a Stalker, which spans from two weeks to a year after being infected. Unlike Runners, Stalkers hide from their prey and attack at opportune moments. They also latch onto walls to allow the infection to grow faster and would break free and attack unsuspecting prey.
After about a year, infected people turn into what is known as Clicker. Looking at the appearance of a Clicker, the Cordyceps fungus has already spread all over the host's body, most specifically its face, which results in the host becoming blind. However, the loss of eyesight is compensated by its ultra-sensitive hearing, using echolocation to find prey. Unlike Runners and Stalkers, Clickers are physically stronger and can easily take down humans during close quarter combat. The fourth stage are Bloaters which are people who have been infected for several years. Due to the long exposure from the infection, Bloaters have developed some sort of an armor plating, making it strong and resilient. Additionally, Bloaters can tear fungus from their bodies and use them as spore bombs to kill their prey.
In The Last of Us 2, Naughty Dog introduced a new type of infected called the Shambler. Although the Shambler is new to the game, it is implied that this specific infected has existed alongside the others. Although Shamblers are not as physically strong as a Clicker or a Bloater, they are able to grapple prey and expel large spore clouds from their bodies. These spore clouds cause acidic burns on the skin of the prey, and when Shamblers are killed, they release a final burst of contagious spores into the air. Of course, Shamblers are not the only new type of infected introduced in The Last of Us 2. Towards Abby's part of the game, players will encounter what is known as The Rat King. But what is it? And how did it came to be?
What is the Rat King?
Technically, the Rat King is not a new type of infected given that it appears to be an anomaly after other infected types fused together into one super-organism. Although it is pretty hard to tell from looking at it alone, the Rat King is composed of several Stalkers, Clickers, and a Bloater that are all connected by the Cordyceps fungus. Due to its huge size, the Rat King possesses incredible physical strength and resilience. During Abby's encounter with the creature, the Rat King was able to easily smash through walls, which clearly shows that it is physically stronger than a Bloater.
One interesting part about the Rat King is that after taking a considerable amount of damage, some of the infected that is fused into the creature can break off and kill prey on its own. During Abby's trip down the hospital basement, she witnessed a creature that looked like a Stalker break off from the Rat King. However, unlike any normal Stalker, this particular one was able to throw sacks of acidic fungus to its prey, similar to Bloaters. Given this, it is likely that every single infected connected to the Rat King is alive independently, instead of being a single creature. This makes sense in that i's name is also in reference to a type of oddity where several rats are accidentally intertwined by the tail.
How The Rat King Came To Be
Based on Nora's comments prior to Abby meeting the Rat King, it appears that the Rat King is made up of the very first infected people in Seattle. During the initial outbreak, the emergency room of the hospital in Seattle was quickly overwhelmed with infected and was immediately sealed to protect survivors. Now, after 25 years of staying in a sealed environment full of spores, it appears that these infected creatures somehow merged into each other, and thus, the Rat King was born.
At the moment, there have been no reports on claims that other creatures similar to the Rat King have ever existed in The Last of Us' universe. After Abby saw the creature, it is obvious that this is the first time she ever encountered one, and after defeating it, she even remarked that no one would believe that it even existed. This suggests that the Rat King found in the hospital in Seattle is the first, and possibly the only one, of its kind.
The Last of Us 2 is out now exclusively for the PlayStation 4.