The Final of Us appears to introduce a brand new sort of contaminated — new, not less than, to individuals who have but to play developer Naughty Canine’s online game. It’s early on in The Final of Us season 2 when Ellie and Dina, on patrol, enter an deserted grocery retailer to select off a pair contaminated. When Ellie falls by the second-story flooring and onto the principle degree, she shortly realizes that she’s being hunted.
The Final of Us creator Neil Druckmann hinted on the inclusion of the advanced contaminated sort in an interview with Empire On-line from March: “It’s saved sure components of their mind alive, so they’re smarter,” he mentioned. “They coordinate and conceal and do issues that we’ve by no means seen another contaminated do on this present.” And the present’s model differs considerably from its sport counterpart — for starters, the viewers sees it searching Ellie earlier than she does, so we see much more about what goes into its stalking abilities.
Ellie can hear the Stalker earlier than she sees it. It sounds noticeably extra human than the eerie sounds of Runners and Clickers; it extra resembles a human moan than anything. Stalkers are harmful within the sport as a result of a part of their mind continues to be alive: They received’t simply run immediately at a human, as a substitute opting to hunt their prey very equally to how people — like Ellie and Dina — hunt contaminated. They’ll keep low, beneath cowl, to maintain from being seen. They cover and bait people out to make the right assault. The one which assaults Ellie has fungus rising out of its head like a crown, however in any other case seems just about like a human — albeit a reasonably beat-up one.
Moments earlier than Ellie encounters the Stalker, she and Dina are making a plan to bait out an contaminated. Then the scene is flipped on its head, when the Stalker does the identical to Ellie. Naturally, Ellie and Dina report the contaminated again to the Jackson council, who’re considerably skeptical of the declare.
On this planet of the present, Stalkers appear to occupy a center house between Runners (the super-fast contaminated) and Clickers (the contaminated that use echolocation resulting from mushrooms of their eyes); Runners are the quick, aggressive sort that appears to be appearing on pure animal intuition, whereas Clickers are a sophisticated type of the fungal illness, which depends on different senses to make up for intensive fungal development. Stalkers have mind exercise, however maintain the identical athleticism as Runners, because the fungus hasn’t restricted their physique simply but.
There’s solely that one Stalker within the first episode of The Final of Us’ second season, however given the introduction, it’s seemingly we’ll see far more — both right here or within the freshly greenlit season 3.
