The Last of Us on HBO is an adaptation of the iconic Last Of Us video game series on Playstation. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a weary, disillusioned man named Joel who is played by NARCOS actor Pedro Pascal adopts an orphan girl named Ellie, who is played by up-and-coming actress Bella Ramsey, after the death of his own daughter years ago. Together they do their best to survive in this new world plagued by humans infected with an incurable virus that turns them into monsters.
At the time of writing, season one of The Last of Us has landed a very respectable score of 84 on Metacritic. That being said, it’s early days and that number could change. The Telegraph’s Ed Cumming deemed The Last of Us to be “the greatest video game adaptation ever made”. He wrote, “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.”
Rolling Stone’s Alan Sepinwall added that The Last of Us is “essentially a smarter and much better-executed The Walking Dead, with higher production values, and a smaller and stronger cast,” adding that the Infected (the low-level villains in the series) are “very gross, and very scary.” Daily Beast’s Nick Schager wrote, “The Last of Us is a triumph that ends any further debate about the all-time best video game adaptation ... It seems destined to be HBO’s next big blockbuster.”
Collider’s Ross 'Bonaime' emphasised that showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have “taken this unforgettable story and made it richer and more impactful, letting us live with these characters and this world in a way that we couldn’t in the game.” He deemed the show to be a “monumental success.” Empire’s John Nugent said the TV series is on par with the game. He wrote, “Comfortably the best adaptation of a video-game ever made: one that deepens the game’s dystopian lore, while staying true to its emotional core. Like the game, it’s a masterpiece, too.”
If that doesn’t fill you with hype, we don’t know what will!