‘The Last of Us’ gets video game adaptations right so far

AURORA SILAVONG Staff Writer

It is hard to get gamers to agree on anything ever, but there is one thing the community can agree on — 2013’s “The Last of Us” is nothing short of a masterpiece. Although the game turns ten years old in 2023 and spawned a controversial sequel, it is still regarded as a high point in video game narrative writing.

When news came out in 2020 that HBO was looking to adapt the game into a show, fan reactions were mixed. On one hand, people believed in the network’s ability due to their other successful shows, such as “Chernobyl” and “Game of Thrones.” On the other hand, the film and television industries are still figuring out how to do games justice — looking at you, “Halo.”

The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world paralyzed by a fungal outbreak known as the cordyceps brain infection. The fungus turns its hosts into aggressive, flesh-eating monsters, known as “clickers” for the sounds they make, and the world is quickly overrun due to the fungus’s presence in the food supply.

The stories of both the game and the show focus on cynical smuggler Joel as he escorts a girl mysteriously immune to cordyceps to researchers. The girl, Ellie, may be the key in engineering a vaccine or a cure for the outbreak. Throughout their travels, they fend off clickers, as well as other survivors trying to make it outside of the totalitarian, government-controlled quarantine zones.

Within the first three episodes, it’s too early to say if HBO has really nailed it as a whole. However, that is not to say those three episodes are not some of the finest video game adaptations to ever hit the small screen, because they totally are.

The show remains faithful to the source material, but it is not afraid to deviate in some ways and explore the world outside of what was seen in the games. It is not a shot-forshot remake of the game, and both leads were encouraged not to play the games beforehand. Despite going in relatively blind, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey do a splendid job in their roles, and they retain key elements of their characters while also bringing their own touch to Joel and Ellie.

It is not necessary to have played the games to enjoy the show. While there are plenty of references and Easter eggs for fans of the games, the show is very accessible for general audiences. The show’s commentary about society’s response to a devastating pandemic is highly poignant and relatable in our postCOVID-19 world. Despite the science-fiction overtones, the show deals in other topics affecting the real world, such as climate change and authoritarianism.

However, be warned, the show is quite graphic so be prepared for guts and gore galore. The show does not shy away from explicitly showing deceased children, which may be troubling for some viewers. On the plus side, there are few jumpscares, with scares being cultivated through tension and dread instead.

“The Last of Us” airs exclusively on HBO and its streaming platform, HBO Max. New episodes drop on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST. The first episode is currently free to stream for a limited time on the HBO website.