Los Angeles, USA – The Last of Us is smashing through the video game curse. It’s getting the big-budget treatment! This iteration is produced by HBO Max and stars Bella Ramsay and Pedro Pascal. It’s getting good reviews but does it lose something in the retelling?

Part of the charm of the game was the dread of “the Infected” or the thrill of being part of the action. It’s an element we lose no matter how high the budget is,; TV is not the same immersive experience. “The Last Of Us” is about the choices that make us human. If we can’t make those choices, does the story lose its luster? 

Maybe not. The humanity in “The Last of Us” isn’t just in the gameplay, but in its fully fleshed out characters. The great reviews it got were because showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann recognized the sei-katsu-sha in Joel and Ellie. By allowing these characters to be as human as possible, they created one of the most compelling shows of 2023.

Screenshot of “The Last of Us” from Naughty Dog’s Flickr.