The Last of Us 2 Grounded Permadeath glitch abruptly ends a playthrough

The Last of Us 2
(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

A The Last of Us 2 player making it through the game's Grounded Permadeath difficulty mode died in the worst way imaginable.

Just below, you can see a clip that emerged on The Last of Us subreddit. In the clip, you can see the player making it through an encounter in the Seattle area as Ellie on day two. They successfully manage to make it past a Seraphite ambush, only to drop through the world when going through a door and die immediately, rendering all their progress useless.

Died In my Grounded PermaDeath Run in a weird way from r/thelastofus

That sure would be a tough pill to swallow, were we in their situation. If you're unfamiliar with the mode, Grounded Permadeath mode in The Last of Us 2 is the game at its toughest, forcing you to survive insurmountable odds where a single bullet can kill you. If you're killed, you forfeit all progress made, and are forced to start at the very beginning of the entire game.

It makes the accidental death due to a glitch all the more painful to watch. Underneath the subreddit post, you can see countless commenters sounding off on the pain of watching the glitch claim the four hours of progress the player had survived through up until that point. We'd probably rage quit the game right then and there if this happened to us.

If you're going to brave the brutality of The Last of Us 2 on Grounded or Permadeath difficulty, you might want to take advantage of a recently-discovered trick. In one clip that emerged earlier this week, a player discovered that if you dodge back as Ellie or Abby and press aim on the controller, you'll find yourself lying on the ground with your weapon primed and pointed right at your opponent. This is something that could really save your bacon in a Grounded run of Naughty Dog's sequel.

For anything else you might've missed in Naughty Dog's ambitious sequel, head over to our Last of Us 2 easter eggs guide for more.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.