Review | HBO drama review: The Last of Us may be the best video-game adaptation yet – PlayStation-based zombie horror stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey

From Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin, this series about fungus-infected undead bucks the trend of game adaptations making bad TV, with stellar writing and acting

Featuring eerie dystopian cityscapes, the show is visually superior to The Walking Dead. Game of Thrones alumni Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are superb

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Pedro Pascal in a still from The Last of Us, also starring Bella Ramsey and created by Craig Mazin. Photo: HBO

USA TODAY

Published: 7:15pm, 17 Jan 2023

As a general rule, video games don’t make for good TV.

In spite of their often moving narratives, startling imagery and millions of fans around the world, turning even the most popular games into creatively and commercially successful films and TV shows has been devilishly difficult for Hollywood.

There are the decent, if slightly mawkish adaptations, like Netflix’s The Witcher (also based on a book series); the boring ones such as Paramount+’s lethargic Halo; and the unspeakably terrible ones, like the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film, which plays like a bad Saturday Night Live sketch (an upcoming Mario film, featuring Chris Pratt voicing the titular plumber, has already been maligned online ahead of its release).

This is why it feels like HBO’s adaptation of acclaimed PlayStation game The Last of Us, now streaming on HBO, is such a big achievement. From Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin, The Last of Us is a high-gloss zombie apocalypse story like The Walking Dead, but with just as much feeling as fighting.

The Last of Us HBO Launch Trailer - (TLOU HBO)

Starring Game of Thrones alumni Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, it brings the visceral, intimate quality of a video game without feeling like you’re stuck in an uncanny valley playing one.