What did you think of the clickers in The Last of Us?

[Saucycarpdog]

Just wanted to see some different views of the "zombies" in the last of us.

Personally, I liked them. They were a fresh take on zombies since the genre has been done to death. Their change in appearance really gave me the chills and their clicks got me tensed in many parts of the game.

 

[tippy2k2]

I love the clickers

Some of the scariest and most intense parts of the game (so far) have been when I need to sneak by these clicking bastards. The AI on them is also erratic (the good kind) where they are constantly whipping around and generally don't stick with a standard path so you can't just waltz by them like you can the predictable humans.

Also, the fact that you can't fist fight them makes them a foe to be reckoned with. Most enemies can just be punched if they get too close. You make that shot count when he's rushing at you or you are going to die. The majority of my deaths in this game have been by clickers when they see me and I panic and miss my shot...

 

[Mr Cwtchy]

They looked cool, but the oneshot mechanic is total bullshit. Just like it is in any game I've ever played.

 

[The Wykydtron]

They were cool, even if the friendly AI kind of ruins stealth immersion at times. I always thought the instakill animation was kind of weird, they sort of meander over to you and give you a little lovebite on the neck then gg reload save.


The party AI is literally obeying a completely different set of rules to you. I know it's so people don't rage at Ellie if she runs out into the open when you're being stealthy but still.

"I didn't know you could just bump into them..."

 

[votemarvel]

I hate the fecking Clickers. I'm trying to creep through an underground section and the damn clickers keep alerting everything there to my presence.

It's not even as if you have a chance to fight your way out if you are spotted. You may as well just reload instantly.

 

[Reynaert]

The clickers themselves aren't really a problem for me. I can mostly just slip by them. It's more difficult when there are other infected who can see me and alert the clickers. It's nice to have different enemies who require a different approach, it brings more depth to the gameplay.

 

[Zhukov]

Meeeeeeeh.

They're zombies. End of. Yes, they're supposed to be a different kind of zombie, but it comes down to the exact same thing. And zombies have been done to fucking death. They've been done to death, buried, dug up, reanimated, and done to death a second time.

I loved the game and all, but damn I wish they'd come up with a more interesting disaster than "zombies for the the fiftieth fucking time".

Even in terms of gameplay they were less fun and interesting that the human enemies.

 

[Toxic Sniper]

Meeeeeeeh.

They're zombies. End of. Yes, they're supposed to be a different kind of zombie, but it comes down to the exact same thing. And zombies have been done to fucking death. They've been done to death, buried, dug up, reanimated, and done to death a second time.

I loved the game and all, but damn I wish they'd come up with a more interesting disaster than "zombies for the the fiftieth fucking time".

These are my thoughts as well. The cordyceps zombie isn't a radical new concept, and they don't really go as far as they should have in making unique, interesting takes on fungus zombies. Even the Flood were more interesting, since at least they came in a wider range of forms.

 

[New World Fool]

They're annoying as fuck so far. <_<. I find it odd that for some reason a blind enemy is able to one hit kill you with no chance of escape, while the runners barely do any damage.

 

[Alfador_VII]

I really loved them as a concept, they truly are horrific when you see them up close, and knowing they can one-shot you at any time just adds to the tension.

It can get annoying when you have re-try an area for the 20th time, but that's not the fault of the mob design.

 

[Sarge034]

I liked the new take on zombies and the fact that they do one hit you. Nothing brakes immersion more then getting nommed on by zombies and then rubbing some dirt on it and being all right. Lookin at you Resident Evil. >.>

The clickers lose their scary factor whey you realize how easy it is to kill them. Throw a bottle or a brick and then Molotov them. Normally you will kill all but one in a pack, and then you shiv em. Best part, you never break stealth.

 

[Hero of Lime]

I think they were OK, nothing special. We have other "blind" enemies who hunt you based on sound in games anyway so they weren't anything new. Their insta-killing ability was the only thing that made them scary to me, not their appearance, especially when I was killed by them enough, seeing one munch on Joel was the norm by the time I finished the game.

A group of humans cornering me when I want to conserve ammo, or I'm low on health, that was much scarier than clickers, runners, or the big bloated ones.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

I think the Clickers are awesome. It's a fresh take on zombies, and considering Cordyceps is actually a real thing just makes it all the more awesome.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

I like the Clickers, even if the game feels to be scripted in those sequences...i.e. walk into a certain area, clicker decides to walk in immediately after you. My most hated part about this game is definitely friendly AI and them not being seen AT ALL. If this is whats going to happen, just have them sit in a dumpster Ashley style from RE4 until I'm done.

 

[Robot Number V]

I like 'em. This is gonna sound really odd, but I always thought fungus could be a little creepy anyway. And their design really works with the whole "nature taking the world back" thing that the game has going on. Especially since Cordyceps is a real thing. Seriously, look it up. It's pretty creepy. I tried finding a picture myself to post, but then I saw a picture of what looked like a cordyceps-infected tarantula, and I have to go cry myself to sleep. If I CAN sleep. Ever again.

As far as gameplay goes...I see why people are kinda annoyed. The one-hit kill thing DOES get pretty old after a while, and I definitely saw the Clicker's killing animation FAR more often then any other. But at the same time...I never got annoyed myself. They make it very clear that one rule of this game is "If a Clicker gets near you, you are screwed". From then on, your goal should always be "Keep Clickers as far away as possible". The only time they ever really pissed me off was in one single room, where (without giving anything away) you're forced to stand and fight a fairly large horde of zombies, complete with a few clickers, without the option of running or hiding. But for the most part, I think it works.

 

[TheCommanders]

The only time I didn't like them was any of the parts where you have to stay in one place and fight off a bunch of infected that include clickers. Because the damn things can survive multiple headshots. From a hunting rifle. Fuck. Yeah, I know, molotovs, but you can only carry three, and I usually only had one or two (I preferred to always be stocked up on med packs), and if for some reason the little green circle goes off of them the instant you hit the quick throw button, whoops, half your supply is gone. Honestly the only enemy type I thought should fuck off from the game entirely were the bloaters. It kinda broke any sort of awesome quasi-realness that the other infected portrayed. A really big guy with fungus growths that give him armor (putting aside the question of why fungi are bulletproof for the moment) I'm kind of okay with, but at the point were he starts lobbing spore grenades (keep in mind, the bloaters are blind) shit just gets silly. I know, a big bullet sponge enemy without any gimmicks is really boring... so just don't put one in! Seriously...

 

[Casual Shinji]

The only parts of the game where I'll really nitpick is concerning the cordyceps zombies...

1) How does a brain infection caused by breathing in spores travel through the saliva (bites)?
2) Going simply on sight when deciding to put on your gasmask is pretty naive.
3) When having traveled through an environment heavy with spores, shouldn't these people rinse themselves off so as not to breath in any spores which would have no doubt covered their entire body?
4) Why doesn't Joel put his gasmask on when he's removing that one zombie stuck to the door? There are obvious particles bursting free when he rips it loose. And it's made clear that these spores are produced when a zombie becomes so overgrown with fungus that it'll lay down and die.
5) When those Bloaters throw spore bombs..., aren't those too spores? As in, spores that will turn you when you inhale them? Cause Joel doesn't seem to be wearing a gasmask when he's fighting them on two occasions.

The concept is very cool, but the actual zombies aren't anything special. But then the game hardly ever focusses on them as anything really plot related.

 

[Evonisia]

They were fairly hit and miss with me gameplay wise.

Clickers are intimidating a lot of the time, especially when mixed in with regular Zombies. The first proper encounter with them and the zombies in the skyscraper is perhaps the most intense feeling I've had in a stealth game, and still grips me whenever I replay it. Usually, however, it's just really tight rooms and an over-abundance of them, leading to a game of tedium so I can just get past them. There's the odd good moment with them like the dark sewers, but that's it really.

Story wise they raise questions that Casual Shinji already brought up, but I do admit that I like them conceptually. I'm not sick of Zombies, so seeing new types of them always feels fresh with me. The Bloaters can fuck right off, though. They look and act like the Gunkers from "Gears of War 3", they're just as annoying but nowhere as satisfying to kill. The regular Zombies are fine, and I like the "Left 4 Dead" influence in them (standing around crying, the AI is programmed so they have different reactions to sound etc.)

EDIT: I've noticed this was necro'd, but still, that's my thoughts on the matter.