The Last of Us fans may have missed this secret years after it was released and the thought of it is just as terrifying to this very day.
The Last of Us is inspired by a 2008 episode of Planet Earth which documents a cordyceps fungus infection that can take control of insects such as ants. Once the host is being controlled, it basically turns them into zombies until it moves on to its next victim.
Check out The Last of Us Part I trailer below!
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This fungus infection was discovered in a South American rainforest and while it can infect some small insects, humans are safe (for now) due to our high body temperatures which will kill off the fungus. However, when The Last of Us was originally released in 2013, it explored the “What if?” scenario.
Without giving too much away, the opening moments of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us are one of the most memorable in video game history. It begins during the early days of the cordyceps virus outbreak with Joel’s daughter, exploring their empty house at night with all hell breaking loose outside.
During these moments, you can wander into any room in the house as you search for Joel's whereabouts. When you enter his bedroom, the TV is on but it’s playing nothing but static. However, as shown by the YouTube channel, GameRiot, certain actions will trigger another scenario.
If you exit the main menu from the game and restart the checkpoint, when you re-enter Joel’s room, a still image which looks to be of an infected ant from the aforementioned Planet Earth episode can be seen on the TV.
What makes this easter egg interesting, is that it originates from the 2013 game and not the 2022 remake. It’s also cool that Naughty Dog is subtly acknowledging its inspiration for The Last of Us from the famous documentary episode.
The Last of Us Part I is out now on PC and PlayStation.
Topics: The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog, Sony, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5