Easter eggs

Easter eggs refer to hidden messages and references of other media put into The Last of Us by Naughty Dog. Easter eggs may also refer to The Last of Us appearing in other media.

The Last of Us

Hometown

• PlayStation 3 console - When the player goes down to the living room of Joel and Sarah's house, there is a PlayStation 3 console on the shelf under the television set.

PlayStation 3 console

Bill's Town

• Album Covers - Many of the album covers in the music store reference references to real life bands and albums. These include: Blassard Boys (Backstreet Boys), Detroit Will Burn (Bad Religion's album, Los Angeles Is Burning) and Fullfunk (Daft Punk).
• 'The Shambalas' pamphlet - Among Bill's magazines in his secret cellar, a pamphlet for a band known as "The Shambalas" can be found. This is a reference to the hidden city sought after by Nathan Drake in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
• The Walking Dead House - One of the houses that Bill, Joel and Ellie travel through looks almost identical to the layout of the house from the beginning of Telltale's game: The Walking Dead.

"The Shambalas" pamphlet

Pittsburgh

• Uncharted Theme - When Ellie learns to whistle, the tune she whistles is vaguely similar to the Drake's Theme from the Uncharted series.
• Uncharted 13 newspaper - In the Hotel Grand, there are a number of newspapers on the ground with a headline stating: "Uncharted 13: A Lush Movie — Justin Bieber as Drake." Drake refers to Nathan Drake from Uncharted.
• Jack Sullivinsky - When Joel and Ellie are separated in the Hotel Basement, Joel must find a keycard to escape. The owner of the keycard is named Jack Sullivinsky the surname strikingly close to Victor Sullivan's from the Uncharted series.
• JAK Company poster - Near the Mob Attack Note, the player can find a poster about employee rights. This poster is made by the JAK company, which is a reference to the Jak and Daxter series, has a phone number 1-800-555-TLOU, and has the URL for The Last of Us website on it.
• Twilight Spoof - The film poster seen on the billboard just before the Humvee encounter references the Twilight saga. (It is also seen in Sarah's room in Hometown.)
• Plush toys - Right after meeting Henry and Sam, the player will be able to enter a child's room. Jak and Daxter plush toys can be found on a dresser and a Nathan Drake plush toy can be found on the bed.
• Posters Galore - Just before entering the toy store with Sam and Henry, there is a locked room one floor above. If a shiv is used to open it, there is a bedroom filled with posters and references. These include: Hair Trigger (The Transporter), The Sword Of Vengeance (The Last Samurai) and The Lost Kingdom (Indiana Jones).
• Naughty Dog mousepad - In Henry and Sam's office room, on a computer desk, the player can find a blue mousepad with the Naughty Dog logo across it.
• I Want to Ride My Bicycle - Next to the bike store, before entering the toy store, there is a poster on the wall that shows a bicycle and says "I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE". This is a reference to lyrics from the song "Bicycle Race" by British rock band Queen.
• Board games - In the toy store, on a shelf in the far end, the player can find an Uncharted board game. The player can also find a Jak and Daxter board game on a shelf just to the left of the Uncharted board game.  
• O'Sullivan's Pub - The bar found at the Pittsburgh bridge, O'Sullivan's Pub, bears a striking resemblance to the pub in the opening of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. The name "O'Sullivan's" is also a reference to Nathan Drake's companion, Victor Sullivan.
• Java Jak - A coffee cart called "Java Jak" can be found in the O'Sullivan's Pub. This is a reference to the Jak and Daxter franchise.

Uncharted 13 newspaper

Jak and Daxter plush toys

Nathan Drake plush toy

Naughty Dog mouse pad

"I Want to Ride My Bicycle" poster

Uncharted and Jak and Daxter board games

O'Sullivan's Irish Pub

"Java Jak" coffee cart

The Suburbs

• Ish - Throughout "The Suburbs" chapter, the player can find several notes that mention a character named Ish, a reference to the character Isherwood "Ish" Williams, from the post-apocalyptic novel Earth Abides.
• Don't Open, Infected Inside - Right after escaping the sewers, the group find "Don't Open, Infected Inside" written on the wall. This is a reference to the first episode of the TV adaptation of The Walking Dead, in which Rick finds a sign saying "Don't open, dead inside" on a door.

Tommy's Dam

• The Game of STRIFE - In the ranch house while Joel and Tommy are looking for Ellie on horseback, in one of the rooms there is a shelf in which a darker version of The Game of Life can be found, depicted as The Game of STRIFE.

The University

• Lev Benioff - The journalist's name in the Newspaper Clipping artifact is a reference to the novel City of Thieves, written by David Benioff, and its protagonist Lev. The developers of The Last of Us have cited the book as a major influence on the game.
• Uncharted artifacts - In one of the dorm rooms at the University, the player can find some items that resemble collectible artifacts from the Uncharted series scattered on a desk.

Uncharted artifacts

Lakeside Resort

• PlayStation 3 console - Right after Ellie escapes David into the blizzard, she goes through an electronics store. Inside the store on a shelf near the windows, the player can find a PlayStation 3 console with two DualShock controllers.
• Faithful Dog - At the Lakeside resort, there is a pet store called "Faithful Dog". This is a reference to Naughty Dog, the creators of The Last of Us.
• Uncharted 2 Phurba - After Ellie drops down into the kitchens of the restaurant, move into a back office where there will be a notice board. Here, a yellow poster can be seen which displays the Phurba Dagger from Uncharted 2.

Faithful Dog

PlayStation 3 console

Uncharted 2 - Phurba Dagger

Bus Depot

• NDI Sticker - There is a NDI sticker identical to the ones seen in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception on the wall of a bathroom stall in the bus depot.

The Firefly Lab

• Eye chart - In the Firefly's lab at the St. Mary's Hospital, there are eye charts with messages that can be read from left to right. One of them says "RUN YOU R NEARLY THERE DON'T QUIT!!"

"RUN YOU R NEARLY THERE DON'T QUIT!!"

Left Behind

• Uncharted Nathan Drake costume - In the Halloween costume store in the abandoned mall, the player can find packaged Nathan Drake costumes from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
• Jak X Jak costume - In the same Halloween store, the player can find packaged Jak costumes from Jak X, just beside the Uncharted costumes. However the costume looks more like Jak's outfit from Jak 3.
• Raja's Arcade - In the comic book American Dreams and the DLC Left Behind, there is an arcade named "Raja's Arcade" in an abandoned Boston mall. The name "Raja" is a reference to the characters Eddy Raja and Rika Raja from the Uncharted series.
• Jak X: Combat Racing arcade game - In Raja's Arcade, the player can find a dysfunctional arcade game called Jak X: Combat Racing, which is a real video game created by Naughty Dog, as part of the Jak series.
• Music record references - In a music store after Ellie kills several Cannibals there are several records found on the wall that reference real-world bands and musicians. Some include "FullFunk", in style to Daft Punk, "Blaggard Boys", in style to AC/DC, and "The Shambalas" which is a reference to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Jak and Uncharted costumes

Raja's Arcade

Jak X: Combat Racing arcade game

Music records references

Other

• Stress Cereal - In many parts of the game, including the chapters "The Suburbs" and "Tommy's Dam", a box of cereal can be found, referencing "Trix" cereal. The name "Trix" is replaced with "Stress", and the cereal's mascot holds a glass of wine.
• Jak and Daxter clothing - Upon beating The Last of Us, the player can unlock several clothing items for Ellie. These items include a Jak and Daxter Shirt, Jak (and Daxter) Hoodie, Daxter Backpack and Jak Goggles.
• Naughty Dog clothing - Upon beating The Last of Us, the player can also unlock Naughty Dog clothing items for Ellie.
• Kathryn McCormack - One of the books Ellie owns is called To Get To The Other Side!. The fictional author of this book is named Kathryn McCormack, a reference to author Cormac McCarty, who wrote the book The Road, which served as a major inspiration for The Last of Us.

Jak and Daxter shirt

Jak and Daxter hoodie

Jak's goggles with the Jak hoodie

Uncharted Series

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

• "Deadly fungus" newspaper - In the first chapter of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, on top of the bar table, the player can find a newspaper with a headline of "Scientists are still struggling to understand deadly fungus" which refers to cordyceps brain infection.

"Deadly fungus" newspaper

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

• Poster for a comic - In the epilogue a poster of a comic called The Last of Us: American Daughters can be found.

American Daughters

• There is also a Savage Starlight 2 poster present in the room as well, to the right of the American Dreams poster.

Savage Starlight 2 (Coming Soon)

Trivia

• The Uncharted board game that can be found in the "Pittsburgh" chapter is a real-life board game by Naughty Dog.
• The Easter egg of the "deadly fungus" newspaper added in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception was said of being a "screw-up." When Naughty Dog added the Easter egg, they said that they expected to reveal The Last of Us before releasing Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, although, they didn't, and they forgot about the game. They state how they almost spoiled the secrecy of The Last of Us themselves.
• What some fans thought was an Easter egg was actually a phone sex line, however this was a mistake on Naughty Dog's part and therefore not an Easter egg.
• The name of the survivor group "The Marauders" in Factions is a reference to a group of the same name in Jak 3.
• In The Last of Us art book, there is a picture of Chloe Frazer at the store in Pittsburgh.