The Last of Us on HBO rose to critical acclaim and broke the so-called “video game curse,” but despite everything the show gets right about the beloved 2013 title, there’s a good chance that the next hurdle on the road, coming in the form of The Last of Us Part II’s intricate video game-tailored narrative, will turn the series into a subpar adaptation.
We all loved the 9-episode Last of Us adaptation of our favorite Naughty Dog game from 2013. Pedro Pascal absolutely crushed it as Joel. Bella Ramsey was an exceptional Ellie. Even side characters like Marlene and Tommy all came through with their nuanced performances, and don’t get us started about that tear-jerking third episode featuring Bill and Frank, played by Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett, respectively.
In fact, with the benefit of hindsight, The Last of Us was an exceptional adaptation that not only honored the source material but turned some of the game’s subtler story beats into full-blown heart-rending moments.
And yet, despite all of that, some game fans noted that there was still something missing, something perhaps so subtly inexplicable that made the game stand out long after it came out. And no, it’s not the interactive element of shooting your way through a post-apocalyptic United States wasteland.
The problem is that The Last of Us was written as a video game, and that’s the main reason it worked so well despite the technical limitations of the time. An experience is no less the sum of its parts than it is a compilation of moments, so simply making those moments work in live-action isn’t going to be enough to turn it into a truly timeless phenomenon.
In layman’s terms, The Last of Us works so extremely well in its original state because the minutest elements clicked together to make up the experience, an experience that was mainly and originally conceived as a video game, rather than a television show.
That isn’t a deal-breaker in and of itself, and indeed, as we pointed out earlier, The Last of Us series was a superb adaptation. Most can simply overlook that missing link, even if our diehard gamer friends continuously badger us to play the game.
When it comes to The Last of Us Part II, however, which features arguably one of the most influential, debate-spawning, and thought-provoking tales in recent memory, that “video game storytelling” takes an ambitious leap; a leap that barely worked in the video game medium as it is. And if Naughty Dog somehow took video games — the most advanced art form in contemporary terms — to their breaking point, what chance does a live-action adaptation stand?
Why you should play The Last of Us games before season 2 comes out
If the show has intrigued you about this fictional apocalypse where human sentiment is as rare a commodity as the minimal provisions that turn people toward cannibalism, then perhaps you should look toward the two video games to give you the ultimate Last of Us experience.
It’ll be difficult to break down what makes The Last of Us Part II so unique to the interactive medium without getting into spoiler territory, so bear with us as we go over the story’s main premise and selling point.
It all perhaps starts with a simple creative dilemma. How to make a story inventive and original in an industry where so many projects succumb to the vicious cycle of rehashing everything their predecessors did? For Naughty Dog, the solution came easy enough. You head down a direction no one is expecting, you take bold risks, and hope that it all pays off when the journey comes to a close.
The Last of Us Part II was not an easy game to experience, especially for fans of the franchise. The story isn’t there at the whim of its fandom, nor is it trying to cater to the universal standard that underlines why these works of entertainment exist in the first place: To entertain.
While there’s fun to be had as you meander your way through the ruins of a once majestic city and encounter all sorts of challenges in the form of the Infected or warring human factions like the Fireflies and FEDRA, The Last of Us Part II refuses to let the players bask in the pleasure derived from all the garish violence that’s usually analogous to these games.
The Last of Us Part II hooks you in and then asks you to suffer alongside its protagonists. By that point, you have no choice but to comply, because you’re no longer an outsider looking in, you are the character themselves, and have to see this through to the end. How the story does this in the first hour is something you’re going to have to find out for yourself — as it would defeat the purpose to simply spell it out here — but what we can say is that it’s so bold in nature as to make us doubt if the live-action show will ever be able to prove as incentivizing, even if it’s simply due to lacking that interactive element.
Then there’s the second ace up the story’s sleeve. Part II is told through the POV of two protagonists, but the catch is that one of them is the game’s main villain. That’s right. In the second installment, Naughty Dog actually compels you to play as the villain, in an effort to help you understand how the “enemy” is approaching this struggle.
If you don’t remember the last time a story has done this, it’s because it has hardly ever been done. First of all, you can’t incorporate this twist into a movie or television show. The best they can offer in terms of moral ambiguity is screentime, which is not the same as playing the villain and doing things that you don’t really want to do.
The Last of Us Part II is relentless in its narrative. This isn’t a tale that you sit down to catch up to after a hearty Saturday. This isn’t a story that helps you unwind at the end of a very difficult day. This is a game that asks for your attention, and once you give it over, you don’t get it back until that last moment of soul-crushing, emotionally devastating catharsis. This is a story that needs to be experienced, and you won’t be doing much of that watching it as a bystander.
If you’re a fan of The Last of Us after the HBO series, and eagerly anticipating the second season, do yourself a favor and play the games instead.