‘The Last of Us’ Is a Good Video Game Adaptation: 6 Reasons Why It Succeeds

Video game adaptations are generally hated by fans, mainly because they are not similar to the game or cannot replicate it. However, HBO’s “The Last of Us” series does not seem to follow this trend.

Since 1993 Hollywood has made an adaptation of ‘Super Mario Bros. and became a box office failure, the movies or video game series have gained a reputation for not being as good as their original counterparts.

An example is the Netflix series “Resident Evil” (2022) and the films “Doom” (2005) with Dwayne Johnson and “Assassin’s Creed” (2016) with Michael Fassbender.

But not all adaptations have received the hate of fans, as there are some that stand out for their fidelity to the video game. Such is the case with ‘The Last of Us’, whose first season has been well received (at least so far). Here we share some keys to its success.

His memorable scenes “The Last of Us” is almost identical to those of the video game

One of the things that many critics and fans of the 2013 video game have praised about the series is how the sets, characters, environments, and scenes are identical in both productions.

Every time a chapter of “The Last of Us” is released, you can find side-by-side comparisons on social networks and both images look like they are the same, even with the same dialogue.

This is something that many adaptations like “Mortal Kombat” (2021) don’t do and instead just make the scenes look similar or include “easter eggs” that only experienced players can recognize.

‘The Last of Us’ expands on the video game’s story without straying from its essence

But not everything in the series is identical to the video game, otherwise there wouldn’t be much point in making an adaptation. One difference is that the series format allows you to expand the story and develop the characters further.

The series, unlike the game which is more direct, elongates certain narratives such as the origin of the fungus that contaminated the food. It also provides more time to fully understand characters like Bill and Frank.

Other adaptations, such as “Uncharted” (2022) with Tom Holland, take only the general story of the video game and create a narrative that often feels very far from the original.

The creator of the video game is also the writer of the series‘The last of us’

To ensure that ‘The Last of Us’ series perfectly captures what made the game so special, the creator and writer of the PlayStation classic, Neil Druckmann, was hired.

This is not the case in other adaptations, where the creators of the video game are not considered and even screenwriters are hired who have never been in contact with the games and do not know what made them successful with the players.

Evidence of this is the statements of Beau DeMayo, former producer and writer of the Netflix series “The Witcher”, who told “The Direct” in October 2022 that other writers “actively mocked the source material” (books and games).

Technology made the world of “The Last of Us” possible.

The video game format has always transported players to magical and incredible worlds where they are in control and can feel like they are living in them.

For years, realizing these worlds was complicated, and many films and series that tried failed. However, special effects have advanced so far that it is now possible to show an apocalyptic world covered in mushrooms.

This also helped fans of this story feel like it’s the same world as the video games. This also helps to “immerse” the general audience in the situation experienced by the characters.

‘The Last of Us’ doesn’t fit into a movie, that’s why it’s a series

Some failed video game movies, such as ‘Warcraft’, ‘Assassin’s Creed’ or ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’, made the mistake of wanting to adapt the story into a film. Many of the games have deep and complex narratives, so trying to tell them in a few hours makes them flat or loses their most interesting elements.

Thus, “The Last of Us” knows that in order to tell the story of the video game it is necessary to do so in a series of chapters of more than 40 minutes each, in such a way that the universe and its motivations are clearly explained by the characters .

“The Last of Us” was created by a generation that loves video games

Another thing that plays into the success of the HBO series being a faithful adaptation of the video game is that the people working on the production are fans of it.

In 1993, when the first ‘Super Mario Bros.’ came to cinema, video games were just beginning to become a global phenomenon and were considered exclusively for children.

Three decades later, the children and youth who grew up with video games are now adults, and those in the entertainment industry know what makes games special and can put that on the screen.

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