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Amongst a cacophon video game series to source material Thi games, and indeed blatantly callous tre picture One could g transposing written word to the screen, considering the vast difference between the two mediums Those adapting video games have no such excuse, however In many cases, the only difference between a good story-focused game and a movie is the presence of gameplay mechanics; if you remove them and recreate what remains, you have a competent adaptation already

Thankfully, there’s been an upswing in the quality of video game adaptations in recent years Beginning with Detective Pikachu in 2019, a wonderful live-action depiction of the world of Pokémon, adapters have slowly begun to appreciate the value of respecting video game source material After a disastrous reveal trailer, the 2020 film Sonic the Hedgehog surprised everyone when the final product turned out decently, as did its 2022 sequel In the last two years, Netflix subscribers were blessed with two excellent series: Arcane, an adaptation set in the world of online battler game League of Legends, as well as Cyberpunk Edgerunners, a story that takes place in the same universe as the somewhat controversial role-playing game Cyberpunk 2077 (itself an adaptation of a tabletop game) Both were excellent, but they also highlighted a common feature of this new wave of gaming adaptations: all of them tell new stories that simply share a setting with their respective video games, rather than retell an actual video game story They’re spin-offs, which can still easily be considered adaptations, but don’t quite fit the criteria for many gamers wishing to see the events of their favourite game unfold on the big (or in the case of television shows, medium to small size) screen

Upon the release of The Last of Us first episode, it quickly became clear that the show was taking a different route The action-packed instalment, depicting the moments before the world descended into a fungal apocalypse, mirrors the beginning of the video game almost perfectly, replicating the exact same camera angles and lifting dialogue word-for-word The show feels like a love letter to fans; even obscure gameplay details like scouring containers for items and sneaking past enemies from cover-to-cover are shown The mycelium monstrosities known as ‘clickers’, who serve as The Last of Us substitute for zombies, behave in a near identical manner to the video game, allowing their iconic clicking noises to inspire just as much dread in the show’s audience References to the video game are abundant in each and every episode, but they’re not just cheap fan service; their inclusion is an essential component of the adaptation, ensuring that the show retains the spirit of the video game it owes its existence to

Most importantly, HBO’s The Last of Us is unique amongst adaptations of video games in that it leaves its original storyline and characters mostly untouched This can be attributed to both of the series’ showrunners: Neil Druckmann, who knew exactly what made the original video games tick after his work on them as a creative director, as well Craig Mazin, who made the rare decision to actually listen to those responsible for the source material’s success As a result of this, series leads Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal are able to bring one of gaming’s most beloved duos to life, and have rightfully been lauded for doing so The fact that Ellie and Joel’s relationship is just as compelling in the show as it is in the game speaks to their immense talent, considering the actors achieve this with less than half of the screen time the characters share in the game The important beats of their story are all present in the television show, and while that does lead to a somewhat predictable experience for fans of the original game, you’d be hard pressed to find one upset about it

That said, HBO’s The Last of Us does have a few tricks up its sleeve to keep fans of the game on their toes, and to make the story more suitable for television viewing For one, this means scaling down the amount of brutal murder significantly Video games need gameplay to be enjoyable, and in the original game this comes in the form of mowing down endless swarms of raiders, soldiers, and infected It’s not meaningless violence story-wise, as it contributes to the bleak atmosphere of the game, but most television shows would be pressed for runtime if they had to squeeze in high-stakes clashes every five minutes Accordingly, HBO’s The Last of Us is more sparing with its fight scenes, and it’s all the more watchable for it; when violence does make an appearance, it stands out and leaves a lasting impact There’s still plenty of blood and guts to go around, but the relaxed frequency of these occurrences frees up time for character development and dialogue, which serve as the real soul of the series Other minor changes to facilitate the game’s conversion to television include a general streamlining of exploration segments, cold openings that explain the background of the apocalypse, and the sadly necessary removal of collectable items; as fun as it was in the game, nobody wants to watch Joel running around collecting comic books for an hour every week

Another significant but ultimately beneficial deviation in HBO’s The Last of Us can be seen in its treatment of side characters In the original game, players’ perspectives are near-exclusively bound to Joel and Ellie as a result of their roles as protagonists and playable characters This means that the presence of other characters is limited to scenes shared with either Joel or Ellie However, the show’s omniscient perspective allows us a glimpse of these side characters on their own, giving additional insight into the world of The Last of Us The series even dedicates an entire episode to a relationship between two side-characters that is only briefly mentioned in the game, and the resultant subplot bolsters the themes of the main story while simultaneously expanding on one of the game’s untold tales to create a poignant standalone narrative.

Those who have yet to experience the story of The Last of Us can’t go wrong with either playing the original game or watching the TV show; for the first time in history, a television adaptation of a video game has managed to deliver the same quality of storytelling as its source material Nevertheless, it’s worth doing both if you can, and those who are too impatient to wait for season 2 of the series can access it in video game form With season one wrapped up, and the recent release of remake of the first game, there’s never been a better time to jump into the delightfully dark world of The Last of Us