10 Video Games That Reused Enemies (And Made Them WORSE)

The Last of Us’ Bloaters are The Infected at their most dangerous, with their mutilated build acting almost as a shield, and are thus routinely difficult to kill.

The first Bloater you encounter - in the gymnasium during chapter four, Bill's Road - is a juggernaut compared to its successors, being tougher to incapacitate and can withstand plenty of shotgun shells and molotov cocktails, providing Joel with one of his toughest challenges of the entire award-winning title.

You'll notice that every Bloater after this has a strangely reduced health bar, in spite of the creatures being physically identical to each other, which itself, naturally, makes it easier to slay. You've also got a more extensive dispensary of weaponry at your disposal that, although not unlimited, is enough to make the intended intimidation of each subsequent Bloater ineffective to your progress.

Bloaters were clearly designed to provide a daunting challenge on your Last of Us quest and Naughty Dog did a fabulous job of conveying this the first time. There's nothing overtly daunting about a Bloater which you can kill so easily and so rapidly.

A shame, really, as they're one of the franchise's most dynamic enemies.