[Riffs] Surviving the Clickers: My Epic Journey in 'The Last of Us: Factions'

Author: Mal Keecher

This is a TLOU piece (yes, it's a bit untimely—over 11 years since Factions MP was available on the PS3 platform before its' servers were taken down several years later to make way for superior gameplay on the PS4 and PS5). The Last of Us has stood the test of time, beginning with the highly popular and defining RPG release by Naughty Dog in 2013. The third installment is rumored to be in production and is highly anticipated.

Like most gamers historically invested in The Last of Us: Factions online multiplayer, my journey began with the storyline playthrough of The Last of Us Part I and was further expanded upon in The Last of Us Part II. With protagonists Ellie and Joel at the helm, this story arc is engaging, captivating, and at times horrifying, particularly due to the ‘clickers.’ These creatures use a variation of echo-location combined with effective zombie horror tropes to terrify players into an unavoidable panic when encountered.

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Then there are the ‘bloaters,’ which resemble inflated corpses riddled with hardened, overgrown tumors, further solidifying the terror. When 'clickers,' the recently 'turned,' and 'bloaters' confront your character simultaneously, sometimes the best option is simply to run! According to the TLOU Wiki Fandom, bloaters are described as "…infected that are covered in thick fungus that effectively acts as armor plates." Do you concur? I certainly do.

A Bloater charges at Joel

Running like heck is one of the strategies you can use in TLOU Factions (Survivors). It often serves as a last-ditch effort to escape a barrage of weapon fire from a ravenous team of four human players, especially if you’re the last survivor in your group. This situation can be daunting, and it worsens significantly if they know where you're hiding and are covertly flanking you on both sides of the map.

The key term here is "marked." A quick press of the PlayStation R3 button while aiming will reveal the enemy player's location to your team, albeit momentarily. When your weapon loadout is pitiful—perhaps you only have a handgun—your health is low, a sniper is looking to take you out, and you're desperately crafting a bomb with scavenged items to set as a last resort, you know you’re deep in TLOU Factions MP (at least in Survivors mode).

The aim throughout the TLOU story mode and TLOU MP Factions mode is simply to survive. Through wit, ingenuity, cunning, strategic and quick planning, and a desire to enjoy the experience, your character becomes an extension of yourself for a short time. Perhaps that's why so many gamers become emotionally invested in the story, the drama, and the action. It can feel like a response to potential annihilation. Players invest not only emotionally but also in time, money, and effort into games like TLOU. The drive to win at all costs is palpable; although we know it's just a game, much like real life, we often get caught up in reacting and surviving rather than realizing it’s all play at the end of the day.

You know it’s Factions when you’re overrun by international players who decide to "teabag" your character—as if I really need to explain that—while you're hit by a single shot and forced to crawl, with no teammates to help you. This is usually when my real-world avatar needs to tap "mute all," allowing my sensory overload to settle down before the next round begins. Then, our band of post-apocalyptic, randomly assigned comrades gets a chance at redemption—hopefully not in red and certainly not dead (pun intended). What an epic adventure it has been, both in and out of the game so far!