The review round-up is here and some are calling The Last of Us TV series from HBO the best video game adaptation ever made.
That is no doubt a bold claim to make and it’s important not to get carried away. We’ve seen it before when a series launches and knocks it out of the park for the first few episodes. However, plenty has dwindled as the series progresses.
That being said, it’s difficult to find negative reviews for The Last of US TV series, though there are some. However, keep in mind that all opinions are subjective and we’ll all get to forge our own opinions next week.
Here’s what some of the critics are saying about The Last of Us TV series:
BBC 4/5: “It doesn’t feel even remotely controversial to call this the best video game adaptation ever made.
“For fans of the game, it is an adaptation of the utmost skill and reverence, yet one still capable of surprise; for people who have never picked up a controller. It is an encapsulation of the game’s heart and soul. Its full-blooded characters, it’s neat plotting, its mature themes of love and loss. It is, to finish Ellie’s joke, “outstanding in its field.”
GameSpot 9/10: “The HBO adaptation doesn’t need to be better than the 2013 game, nor does it need to be better than The Sopranos or Six Feet Under. It stands proudly as one of the best video game adaptations ever, and a clear signal that PlayStation is right to pursue a future where its already reputable video games are reborn on TV.
“The show is brought to life by a cast and crew that seems hellbent on living up to its name and their own already-glowing reputations. That’s a formula that can be repeated in some other instances, and I’m eager to see how those turn out down the line.
“For now, though, I’m most excited to see The Last of Us find new life in ways that are similarly haunting and gorgeous, while still being importantly unique in ways I’ll never forget.”
The series is scoring high!
IGN 9/10: “You really get a sense that Druckmann is relishing revisiting his story and adding in sections, such as an early stopover in Indonesia, that just wouldn’t have made sense to have in the game.
“It also takes time to explore themes shared with Mazin’s previous work on Chornobyl – primarily the valiant fight of working-class people against hopelessness and failures of government.
“Never once, though, does it take its eye off of the very personal human impact that a world changed forever makes on its people in different ways. There’s a real sense of a creative partnership working at the peak of its power here as old and new ideas blend, and ultimately triumph.”
The Telegraph: “Although the drama mixes up the narrative with flashbacks – including an unexpected film-within-a-film in episode three – The Last of Us’s origins as a game are occasionally visible in the relentless sequence of challenges that Ellie and Joel must face.
“At nine episodes, it feels a little long, even if it is truncated compared to its source material. But in its scale, depiction of dread and its believable vision of friendship in disaster, The Last of Us is a rare piece of television: an adaptation that makes you want to rush out and play the game.”
Not everyone agrees
Slantmagazine 2/4: “As The Last of Us progresses through its brutal take on the archetypal hero’s journey, its insistently grimdark vision of human nature appears more and more to be a fashionable façade.
“Ellie’s confrontation with David (Scott Shepherd), the leader of a cannibalistic cult, in the eighth episode provides a pair of suspenseful scenes and a showcase for Ramsay, but as it plays out here, the plotline’s trajectory is too clearly telegraphed from the outset, and the way that Shepherd’s duplicitous villain serves as a foil for Joel’s caring paternalism is too plainly laid out.
“In the end, by stripping out the gameplay from a vivid genre game that’s fleshed out by cinematic and televisual tropes, the series ends up as mostly just the latter: all flesh, no bones.”
The Last of Us scores high on Rotten Tomatoes
As it stands, The Last of Us TV series also has a critique Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%. What’s more, it’ll be interesting to see scores from critics and fans after the final episode airs on March 13th.
The Last of Us TV series from HBO looks to be a very faithful adaptation of the Naughty Dog classic. However, there will be some deviations such as “tendrils” spreading the virus instead of Spores. Thanks, Eurogamer.
When is The Last of Us TV series release date?
The Last of Us TV series will premiere on HBO Max in the US on January 15th. Then on Sky Atlantic in the UK on January 16th.
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While you’re here, be sure to check out our video of the week. 10 of the scariest horror games of all time are shown off. What is your favourite horror game?
While you’re here, be sure to check out our video of the week. 10 of the scariest horror games of all time are shown off. What is your favourite horror game?
Featured Image Credit: Naughty Dog/HBO