The Last Of Us - How To Adapt A Video Game
DescriptionA review about the The Last of Us, an adaptation of the video game by the same name, and how it has seemed to do the impossible: be good.
MessageWe recommend watching The Last of Us to form your own opinions about the show.
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HBOIntroductionThe Last of Us (TLOU) is one of the most compelling "zombie" stories in recent history. Starting as a video game franchise from publisher Naughty Dog, it follows Joel and Ellie as they cross a post-apocalyptic United States to reach a Firefly outpost where a possible cure for the outbreak that happened decades earlier could be made. Recently, this narrative has been made into a hit HBO show starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, something that is actually a rarity in the world of film and television. If you just for a second peered into the past of video game adaptations, you would realize that there are way more failures than successes, like Paramount's Halo or Sony's Uncharted, where massive complaints were put forward about the projects' loyalty to the source material. But HBO's TLOU finale had almost 8.2 million views and growing, a massive victory for the series, and has had tons of positive fanfare throughout the first season. So, what did writers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann do to ensure that their adaptation was a hit? Two things: a good story, and making unexpected changes that remain LOYAL to the original.
The StoryTo start things off, the story of The Last of Us was already genius by itself. Neil Druckmann, its original creator, had complete involvement in both the game and show, ensuring that his original vision was set out as fully as possible. The narratives of the two are very similar, with very few changes sprinkled throughout.
Here's a synopsis of the game: In the year 2013, a mass fungal outbreak occurs around the world (Outbreak Day), with one of our main characters, Joel, losing his daughter. Then it jumps twenty years into the future, and we see Joel yet again, hardened by the post-apocalyptic world he lives in, becoming a basic criminal that works behind the back of the ruling FEDRA government, which are remnants of the fallen US government. His life seemingly goes on the same, that is, until he is tasked to deliver a girl, Ellie, across the country to a separatist outpost. And the reason he does this, the reason he needs to deliver Ellie, is that she has something special: immunity. She is positioned as a possible lead toward a cure for the fungal outbreak, so Joel and Ellie travel together to the other side of the nation, all in the hopes of ending the world-ending pandemic. Along the way, the two get closer and closer, Joel feeling like he finally has his daughter back while Ellie, who was an orphan, starts to feel like she has a father. The ending, to say the least, is quite tumultuous, and the best way to put it is that Joel made a promise to Ellie he can't keep.
Here's a synopsis of the show: The the same f—king thing, except the outbreak happens in 2003, not 2013, placing their adventures right into our modern-day world.
Now, why is this story so interesting? Isn't it just a basic little zombie apocalypse-like thing with a girl and a father figure? Well, yes, and no. At least in the show, there is actually very little focus on the more non-human creatures, instead pivoting toward the inhumanity that their world had reached after most lost their family, friends, and such. Within the hours shown to us, we see people kill children because they are infected, watch entire villages become cannibals due to lack of resources, and witness Ellie, who is a teenager nevertheless, brutally axe a man to death who was trying to groom and likely rape her.
The Last of Us, above anything else, purely decides to peer into the worse sides of our species, into what we do when law and order is taken over by human nature; by greed and hate. Sure, there is some infection based around a fungus that is quite deadly, but the most deadly enemy of all are not them, but other humans. Mankind is the largest risk Ellie and Joel encounter as they cross the former United States, witnessing everything stated above and so much more, all wrapped into a terrifyingly heartwarming yet cynically accurate bundle of a story. That is why it is truly the perfect basis for not only a show, but literally anything. Almost no video game has such a simple yet cinematic narrative it can follow, and most who do have had failure after failure of trying to adapt it. It seems that TLOU, and maybe the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, are some of the few that can clearly work, having both fans and non-fans loving every minute of it. Though there is another part to this all, another thing that is genius that they did specifically for the show: made changes.
The ChangesHere's the first rule of adapting anything: don't change it. It seems that if you dare, even for a second, to make small adjustments to the original work, then there will be massive outcry from fans. Just look at Paramount's Halo series, for example, which in almost no way adapts the games, novels, and other material from the franchise, instead going in a more generic sci-fi direction (read our article, Hate for Halo, exclusively on WRTN). But Neil Druckmann, who as added earlier, was an original creator on the game, was fully involved in this adaptation of The Last of Us, and that changes everything.
Here's a list of some of the changes made from the game to the series: The year the outbreak happened, how the infection spreads, the fact a plane crashes in the background instead of a car, how the infected communicate with each other, the pandemics backstory, where certain events take place, the entire plot line between Bill and Frank, Sam and Henry's characterization, and SO MUCH MORE!
There is an almost unexpected amount of changes, but most of them are so subtle and ADD to the original, not take away, something that should be duly noted. Many writers who adapt movies and shows from games rarely even play the damn thing their basing it off, believing that they're better than the original creator in every way. But with TLOU, the writer IS the original creator, along with Goddamn Craig Mazin, who made Chernobyl for HBO back in 2019, which won Best Miniseries/Television Film at both the Emmy and Golden Globe awards shows. With such a stacked team, every little nuance and alteration was made to ensure that the already genius story of the game was told in an even bigger, better way, while still holding on dearly to what the original was all about. There is no cynicism, no hate toward the IP they are directly making their art on. Love, care, and genuine craftsmanship went into making the show, and every change was purposeful and diligent, allowing both those similar to the story and newbies to be on their toes the entire time, not totally knowing what was to come next, while still feeling the safety of understanding that the creators care for the fans that made the game the hit it was in the first place.
ConclusionHBO's The Last of Us is literally a step by step guide on how to adapt a video game correctly. The story, which was already remarkable to start with, was only improved with the changes made to it, while also being a beautifully terrifying reminder of what humans can do when we are at our worse (and best in the case of Ellie and Joel). Love and hate, life and death, play a large role in the mystifying magic that moves it ever closer toward perfection. It is definitely something that anyone and everyone should watch, regardless of familiarity with the games (I've actually never played them, I just LOVED the show). And it should act as a lesson, not only to random Hollywood writers/producers/creatives, but to humanity as well, being a chilling reminder of who we are under all the layer the modern world has granted us. Enjoy what you have, the life you live, because as TLOU shows, a world without those things is something we don't want to see; something that should never come to be.
The StoryTo start things off, the story of The Last of Us was already genius by itself. Neil Druckmann, its original creator, had complete involvement in both the game and show, ensuring that his original vision was set out as fully as possible. The narratives of the two are very similar, with very few changes sprinkled throughout.
Here's a synopsis of the game: In the year 2013, a mass fungal outbreak occurs around the world (Outbreak Day), with one of our main characters, Joel, losing his daughter. Then it jumps twenty years into the future, and we see Joel yet again, hardened by the post-apocalyptic world he lives in, becoming a basic criminal that works behind the back of the ruling FEDRA government, which are remnants of the fallen US government. His life seemingly goes on the same, that is, until he is tasked to deliver a girl, Ellie, across the country to a separatist outpost. And the reason he does this, the reason he needs to deliver Ellie, is that she has something special: immunity. She is positioned as a possible lead toward a cure for the fungal outbreak, so Joel and Ellie travel together to the other side of the nation, all in the hopes of ending the world-ending pandemic. Along the way, the two get closer and closer, Joel feeling like he finally has his daughter back while Ellie, who was an orphan, starts to feel like she has a father. The ending, to say the least, is quite tumultuous, and the best way to put it is that Joel made a promise to Ellie he can't keep.
Here's a synopsis of the show: The the same f—king thing, except the outbreak happens in 2003, not 2013, placing their adventures right into our modern-day world.
Now, why is this story so interesting? Isn't it just a basic little zombie apocalypse-like thing with a girl and a father figure? Well, yes, and no. At least in the show, there is actually very little focus on the more non-human creatures, instead pivoting toward the inhumanity that their world had reached after most lost their family, friends, and such. Within the hours shown to us, we see people kill children because they are infected, watch entire villages become cannibals due to lack of resources, and witness Ellie, who is a teenager nevertheless, brutally axe a man to death who was trying to groom and likely rape her.
The Last of Us, above anything else, purely decides to peer into the worse sides of our species, into what we do when law and order is taken over by human nature; by greed and hate. Sure, there is some infection based around a fungus that is quite deadly, but the most deadly enemy of all are not them, but other humans. Mankind is the largest risk Ellie and Joel encounter as they cross the former United States, witnessing everything stated above and so much more, all wrapped into a terrifyingly heartwarming yet cynically accurate bundle of a story. That is why it is truly the perfect basis for not only a show, but literally anything. Almost no video game has such a simple yet cinematic narrative it can follow, and most who do have had failure after failure of trying to adapt it. It seems that TLOU, and maybe the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, are some of the few that can clearly work, having both fans and non-fans loving every minute of it. Though there is another part to this all, another thing that is genius that they did specifically for the show: made changes.
The ChangesHere's the first rule of adapting anything: don't change it. It seems that if you dare, even for a second, to make small adjustments to the original work, then there will be massive outcry from fans. Just look at Paramount's Halo series, for example, which in almost no way adapts the games, novels, and other material from the franchise, instead going in a more generic sci-fi direction (read our article, Hate for Halo, exclusively on WRTN). But Neil Druckmann, who as added earlier, was an original creator on the game, was fully involved in this adaptation of The Last of Us, and that changes everything.
Here's a list of some of the changes made from the game to the series: The year the outbreak happened, how the infection spreads, the fact a plane crashes in the background instead of a car, how the infected communicate with each other, the pandemics backstory, where certain events take place, the entire plot line between Bill and Frank, Sam and Henry's characterization, and SO MUCH MORE!
There is an almost unexpected amount of changes, but most of them are so subtle and ADD to the original, not take away, something that should be duly noted. Many writers who adapt movies and shows from games rarely even play the damn thing their basing it off, believing that they're better than the original creator in every way. But with TLOU, the writer IS the original creator, along with Goddamn Craig Mazin, who made Chernobyl for HBO back in 2019, which won Best Miniseries/Television Film at both the Emmy and Golden Globe awards shows. With such a stacked team, every little nuance and alteration was made to ensure that the already genius story of the game was told in an even bigger, better way, while still holding on dearly to what the original was all about. There is no cynicism, no hate toward the IP they are directly making their art on. Love, care, and genuine craftsmanship went into making the show, and every change was purposeful and diligent, allowing both those similar to the story and newbies to be on their toes the entire time, not totally knowing what was to come next, while still feeling the safety of understanding that the creators care for the fans that made the game the hit it was in the first place.
ConclusionHBO's The Last of Us is literally a step by step guide on how to adapt a video game correctly. The story, which was already remarkable to start with, was only improved with the changes made to it, while also being a beautifully terrifying reminder of what humans can do when we are at our worse (and best in the case of Ellie and Joel). Love and hate, life and death, play a large role in the mystifying magic that moves it ever closer toward perfection. It is definitely something that anyone and everyone should watch, regardless of familiarity with the games (I've actually never played them, I just LOVED the show). And it should act as a lesson, not only to random Hollywood writers/producers/creatives, but to humanity as well, being a chilling reminder of who we are under all the layer the modern world has granted us. Enjoy what you have, the life you live, because as TLOU shows, a world without those things is something we don't want to see; something that should never come to be.
