HBO's The Last Of Us is an elevation of everything that makes the game great

This is a spoiler-free review.

HBO’s The Last of Us is triumphant far beyond being the greatest video game adaptation ever created. In a post-apocalyptic America, smuggler Joel is tasked with transporting teen Ellie across the country. There’s a reason why I’ve always felt very attached to this game. It explores a world that’s so vastly different to our own and yet, it intensifies the very real things we all experience and go through. This is a tale of finding and losing love, of facing your fears, of desperate attempts to keep the beating heart of humanity alive. Most importantly though, The Last of Us is a tale of hope - and HBO’s take on the game elevates the story to soaring new heights.

These universal themes will undoubtedly resonate with audiences beyond those in the gaming sphere, but for those who are familiar with the story already, there is plenty of new material to deepen your understanding of this world. The Last of Us, as a game, is widely considered to have one of the strongest openings of all-time. I’ll admit, I didn’t think it could be topped or improved yet I was very wrong. The opening half of the premiere episode perfectly sets the precedent for what is to come. Hope is followed by devastation. Devastation is followed by renewed hope.

If you haven’t already, check out the trailer for the show below.

The world these characters inhabit is affected by the Cordyceps fungus. The fungus assumes control of the mind, turning humans into zombie-esque creatures known collectively as Infected. To outline this principle, The Last of Us opens with a short scene that features several scientists discussing the notion of such an eventuality on a 1960s talk show. I expected the scene to feel jarring, but The Last of Us cleverly grounds itself very early on in scientific principles and that sense of grounding prevents the series from feeling like your average horror romp. I say ‘scientific principles,’ Cordyceps does exist in our world but it cannot affect humans just as the scientists explain in the opening scene. The Last of Us eventually asks the question, ‘What if it could?’ It’s certainly a question that grasps your attention.

In fact, Infected play a very small role in the series. Their existence creates a set of circumstances for our key characters - and it’s their experiences that lie at the centre of The Last of Us. The show’s casting directors did not take a single step wrong. Watching Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey bring Joel and Ellie to life felt both familiar and new. It proves that Joel and Ellie transcend any one performance. Pascal and Ramsey are embodying two well-beloved characters in the cultural zeitgeist but that pressure never comes across. Joel’s stoicism perfectly juxtaposes Ellie’s pluckiness but the groundwork is also being laid for what is to come. There’s a moment where Joel raises his eyebrows at Ellie as if to say, ‘Go on. Try me.’ It had a playfulness to it - a rarity for Joel. It served as a reminder that there is so much to unpack with these characters across the next nine weeks. We’ve barely scratched the surface.

HBO

It would be an injustice not to appreciate what Nico Parker brings to the show as Sarah, Joel’s daughter. The character leads us through the episode’s opening. This is a show surrounded by hype and expectation, but Parker is our gateway into understanding this world and she handles that task with skill and ease. Her performance as Sarah is beautifully nuanced. There’s a quiet strength hidden behind the character’s youthfully exuberant joy, and it won’t be long before people see how so much of this forms the bedrock of who Joel is. It didn’t take me long to attach to Sarah, thanks to both Parker’s work and Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann’s well-paced script.

Several reports have touched on just how much money HBO has thrown at The Last of Us - and those eye-watering figures don’t seem quite so surprising once you’ve actually seen the show. Characters will spend mere seconds in beautifully crafted sets that most TV shows just wouldn’t be able to justify. The opening episode ends on what you’d probably call the ‘money shot.’ It’s the kind of visual that will leave you shouting for the next episode. Sets are also littered with fun easter eggs for diehard fans. Seeing Joel pick up a ‘Curtis & The Viper 2’ DVD, a quick reference to a throwaway line in The Last of Us Part II, brought me immense joy.

HBO

In creating this series, showrunners Mazin and Druckmann have managed to do that very, very rare thing. They’ve got everything right. Already, I am intensely excited to discuss the show with both those who have played the game, and those who have no idea what lies ahead of them. The Last of Us can be a heart wrenching story, but the hardest thing about watching it may just be having to wait one week for each new instalment. As is said in the show, “When you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light.” The Last of Us is dazzling. That light isn’t hard to find.

The Last of Us premieres on HBO on 15 January in the US, and on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV on 16 January in the UK.