HBO’s the last of us has taken the brilliant world of the TLOU video game franchise and brought its story to life with a TV adaptation. Thankfully for fans of the video games, the show follow’s the plot of the game very closely, including all of the unique names given to identify characters, organizations, and species within the post-apocalyptic world. Keeping all this in mind, you may just be wondering what the zombies are called in HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us. We’ve got all the information you need to know, so follow along below.
What Are the Zombies in HBO’s The Last of Us Called? Full Explination
As of the first episode, the zombies in HBO’s The Last of Us have only been referred to as the Infected. The Infected is the umbrella term used when referring to zombies as a collective, as well as used in general with any of the infected’s sub-categories.
However, as the show is following the game franchise very closely, it’s presumed that the other names for the different staged of the Infected will be revealed in the episodes to come. Here’s a full breakdown of the different forms of Infected found in The Last of Us’ game franchise, so you can become an expert on the different species before you next see them in the show.
Runners
- Runners are recently infected humans, and can be identified with their intense rushes of speed, as well as their tendency to be found in and attack people with hordes, such as when the outbreak first occured.
Stalkers
- Stalkers are humans that have been infected from a period between two weeks and a year. As their name indicates, they hide in the dark and stalk their prey, attacking when the opportunity arises. Some Stalkers have also been shown to attach to walls, and allow the infection to fester, keeping the host alive until someone walks into their trap.
Clickers
- Clickers are humans that have been infected for at least a year. Clickers are identifiable by the fungus that has spread all over their body, especially the likes of their faces. Clickers are granted increased strength, but also blinded due to this infection, so rely on their sense of sound to locate their prey through echolocation.
Bloaters
- Bloaters are humans that have been infected for several years. The fungus has completely taken over the body, leaving the Bloaters blind and slow/sluggish. However, this fungus also works as an armor-like plating. Bloaters can also tear off chunks of their fungus to use as devastating, thrown spore bombs towards their enemies. Despite the fungal growth giving them a bulky resistance, Bloaters are more vulnerable to fire.
Shamblers
- Similarly to Bloaters, Shamblers are humans that have been infected over several years. However, Shamblers are found inhabiting areas that seem to have strong sources of water. Shamblers are known to grapple their prey and expel spore clouds from their body, resulting in acidic burns on their prey’s skin.
Rat King
- The Rat King is a unique stage of infection found in the second TLOU game, so it’s unlikely it will be appearing in the show any time soon. However, it was formed over many years in the Seattle Hospital, due to several Infected fusing into one amalgamated being. The Rat King has devastating strength and size, and is able to tank damage from the likes of bombs, guns, and fire. Even as the Rat King takes damage, it does not die, but instead the various Infected pieces start to break apart and attack alongside the colossal being.
So far, as of Episode 2, we’ve only seen regular infected and Clickers appear in the HBO show, though there will definitely be more variants coming soon. That’s everything you need to know about what the zombies are called in HBO’s The Last of Us.
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