Who Are The Clickers In The Last Of Us
Short Answer
Clickers are humans in an advanced stage of Cordyceps infection whose heads have been overtaken by fungal growth, forcing them to hunt using sound instead of sight.
How Infected Evolve Into Clickers
As Cordyceps grows throughout the body, fungal plates eventually burst through the skull and destroy the victim's eyesight. The infected adapt by using clicking sounds and echolocation-like behavior to locate prey.
Why Clickers Are More Dangerous Than Runners
Clickers are physically stronger, faster, and more aggressive than newly infected humans. Their hardened fungal armor also makes them difficult to kill.
Why Clickers Became Iconic
The Clickers became one of the most recognizable monsters in modern horror because they combine body horror, realism, and tragic humanity.
Related Characters, Places, and Concepts
More Questions About Clickers
Cordyceps is a mutated fungal infection that takes control of the human brain and body, transforming infected humans into violent creatures connected through a massive biological network.
The infected evolve through multiple stages as Cordyceps gradually overtakes the human body and transforms victims into increasingly dangerous fungal creatures.
The Cordyceps outbreak likely began through contaminated food supplies, allowing the fungus to spread globally before authorities could respond.
Clickers are late-stage infected who have lost sight and hunt through sound, making them one of the clearest signs of Cordyceps taking over the body.
The world of The Last of Us is built around one central idea: survival alone is not enough. The collapse of civilization forces people to decide whether love, morality, and human connection still matter in a world defined by fear and loss.
Cordyceps represents a world where human connection can become both salvation and danger, turning bodies, communities, and families into networks of dependence.