No matter how long a studio works on a game, or how polished it ends up being, there will always be glitches. While sometimes, bugs can have devastating effects on gameplay and cause issues for players, often they are harmless little errors that can border on the amusing. Take the glitch in Red Dead Redemption 2 in which mirrors don't always reflect what they're supposed to. Even award-winning games like The Last of Us are not immune from funny glitches, as one user discovered.
Posting a short clip to Reddit recently, user TheNorwegianNOKAS found that, while playing The Last of Us, and despite Joel standing still and having his rifle on his back, an animation began to play randomly which made it look like the gun was being loaded automatically. The twelve-second video shows bullet after bullet being loaded into the chamber of their own volition, with no input from the player or any other animation playing out. It's actually a little bit creepy, as it almost looks like a ghost is loading Joel's gun for him.
TheNorwegianNOKAS doesn't go into any detail about whether the rifle had actually been loaded with multiple bullets. It's more likely that it's just a glitch with the animation, but it's amusing all the same. It's almost as amusing as the bug which accidentally gave Ellie a gun when she shouldn't have one. This particularly incident occurred during a segment of the game where Ellie is not in combat, and is simply following Joel through a series of scripted events. For a game that revolves around narrative and excellent writing, it seems there are times when it just wants to give guns during unnecessary moments, or load ammunition during idle periods.
At least this latest bug is inconsequential. Having a bullet animate itself into a rifle chamber is hardly going to change the outcome of the game. The same cannot be said for one streamer, who's permadeath run of The Last of Us 2 was ruined when the protagonist fell through the floor due to a bug, killing them instantly and ending the playthrough.
Glitches aside, TLoU is still considered a marvel of video game development and storytelling. With Naughty Dog embracing LGBTQ+ characters in the series, both games are celebrated as being some of the studio's finest work. Given the popularity, it's hardly surprising that fans are hoping for a third installment, not to mention the HBO series that's coming as well.
The Last of Us is available now on PS3 and PS4.