The series The Last of Us will premiere on HBO and HBO Max this Sunday (15th), but critics have already released their first impressions of the PlayStation-exclusive game adaptation, and they’re overwhelmingly positive.
In the first few hours since the first reviews were released with the embargoes lifted, the series boasts a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (as of press time) and the reviews indicate that critics are considering it. The Last of Us as the best adaptation of a video game ever made.
Game adaptations usually suffer when they get to cinema and TV, with what is considered a “curse” around this type of product. However, the creators of the series had already said they knew why game adaptations, in general, don’t work. Apparently, they’ve done enough to get around this problem, at least in the opinion of several critics of international big-vehicles.
Stephen Kelly, dad BBC, is one of those who consider the series to be the best game adaptation ever made. “It’s an essence that has been deftly captured in this small-screen iteration by Druckmann and co-showrunner Craig Mazin, the writer behind HBO’s equally dark and atmospheric 2019 drama, Chernobyl. It’s a faithful adaptation in everything from looks to scoring, with the first few episodes in particular following the game almost beat-for-beat.
Additionally, Kelly praises Bella Ramsey, who lives Ellie in the series, stating that the young actress “steals every scene she’s” in. Though she clarified that this isn’t a perfect production, but that “still, it doesn’t seem remotely controversial to call this the best video game adaptation ever made,” says Kelly.
Entertainment critic Nick Schager del The daily beasthighlight it The Last of Us is a series “designed to please both fans and newcomers”, that is, “like its source, it is both familiar and original, action-packed and sad”. He further adds that, “except for some calamity […], [The Last of Us] looks set to be HBO’s next big blockbuster.”
Richard Lawson del vanity fairconsider The Last of Us as one of the best video game adaptations ever made, giving credit to Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal for making the series worth watching. However, he did point out that the game’s material was already pretty good. “The series didn’t take juvenile, weak source material and somehow polish it into prestige. The video game itself is a finely crafted entity. There was little added to the show’s ambition to make it worthy of an HBO Sunday night.”
The Last of Usthe series, arrives on HBO and HBO Max next Sunday (15).
The post The Last of Us: The series is considered the best game adaptation ever made first appeared on Olhar Digital.
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Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
