Not every video game is well received after launch, but The Last of Us from HBO has released to critical acclaim.
The dystopian world of The Last of Us is beloved by many gaming fans, and since the announcement of a live action adaptation by HBO, it has been a wild ride. Since the exciting reveal that Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones) would play the protagonist Joel back in February 2021 up till release, fans have been anxiously awaiting the final product, considering game adaptations have been historically poorly received like 2016’s Assassin’s Creed film adaptation. Luckily enough for fans, this adaptation is looking like a solid one on initial reception.
The Last of Us as a series has been notoriously acclaimed by critics and fans alike, and with a 82% on 18 Critic Reviews so far from Metacritic, the show seems to follow in the footsteps of the source material. Here are some Twitter-based impressions of The Last of Us from HBO:
Managing Editor of GameSpot, Tamoor Hussain believes the imminent success is due to staying faithful to the source material with “I have seen a few episode of HBO’s The Last of Us and, somehow, it feels as impactful as the first time I played the game. Some real smart decisions in bringing it to TV in a way that feels respectful and additive” on his official Twitter account.
On the flipside, even critics who haven’t played the source material have responded well to the series, with RollingStone’s Alan Sepinwall tweeting the following:
Other notable outlets have posted their reviews with a similar stance. The Hollywood Reporter chimed in with a positive look at the show saying “That’s the blurb HBO wants for this post-apocalyptic tale of desperation, perseverance and zombies, and that’s the blurb HBO is sure to get — because it’s almost incontestably true. At the same time, it undersells just how very good The Last of Us is, simply as a TV show.”
The Independent has an equally positive response, an 80 score while saying “The Last of Us is undoubtedly a new landmark in the seemingly impossible task of adapting video games. It’s too early to say whether it will satisfy the legions of fans who believe that Druckmann’s survivalist game is high art, in itself. But Druckmann, working with Mazin, has his fingerprints all over this tender, well-crafted and blackly comic piece. Right now, HBO is simply operating on a different level to any other network. With The Last of Us, it has another monster hit on its hands.”
The high early praise for the new blockbuster HBO series signals the IP may be in good hands for the future, hopefully it stays on the right track for fans alike when it releases in less than a week on January 15.
