Does “The Last of Us” series live up to the original game?

• The first episode

  The Last of Us

  , post-apocalyptic road trip, is available this Monday on Amazon Prime Video.

• The adaptation of the eponymous video game, considered a masterpiece, is one of the most anticipated series of the year.

• Does the series live up to the expectations of video game fans?

  Is it accessible to those unfamiliar with the Naughty Dog franchise?

HBO holds its new carton!

, whose first episode is available this Monday on Amazon Prime Video, is one of the most anticipated series of the year 2023. Many television or film adaptations of video game works have tripped over the All in all, video game fans usually criticize them for not being faithful to the source material while wishing to be a minimum of surprised by the new version.

Does the adaptation of Naughty Dog's cult game by Craig Mazin (

) and Neil Druckmann, creator of the cult game, live up to expectations?

Can we enjoy the series if we don't know the original video game?

Stunning scenery

Like the original game, The Last of Us takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of our world.

The series begins in 2003 when climate change catalyzes a mutation of a fungus, the cordyceps, now able to take control of the brain functions of humans, like that of insects.

Humans contaminated by this fungal infection turn into "infected", voracious zombies in short.

The action continues in 2023, and not in 2033 as in the game, when the survivors of this fungal pandemic are parked in quarantine zones and no vaccine or cure has yet been found.

America, completely devastated, confronts a military dictatorship, the FEDRA, and a rebel faction, the Fireflies.

Cinematic footage from the 2013 PlayStation 3 game already looked like prestige TV footage.

In terms of look, sound and atmosphere,

is faithful to the game and teems with a thousand and one hyper-realistic details.

HBO has bid $100 million for the show's first season.

A pharaonic budget entrusted to Craig Mazin, who has already demonstrated with

his ability to create a post-apocalyptic atmosphere, to report on scientific discussions and political and military maneuvers when humanity is affected by a disaster.

And it shows on the screen!

The decorations are breathtaking.

A faithful adaptation to the game

The television adaptation does not depart from the scenario defined by the video game, because at the helm, we find Neil Druckmann, creator of the cult game.

Some players will thus have the pleasure of finding sequences almost identical to the key scenes of the game, while neophytes will have time to discover the universe and its various protagonists.

The series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal,

) a fifty-something hardened by hardship and physically marked by pain, who officiates with his partner Tess (Anna Torv,

), as a trafficker and smugglers in a militarized zone. and infested area in Boston.

The couple find themselves without a pickup as they must search for Joel's brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna,

), in the dangerous state of Wyoming.

Marlene (Merle Dandridge,

, the leader of the Boston Fireflies offers to escort them out of an oppressive quarantine zone Ellie (Bella Ramsey,

), a teenager who could hold the key to the cure for the evil ravaging the planet, in exchange for a vehicle.

A plot that enriches the video game

If the series is faithful to the game, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann are not content to copy and paste.

The series enriches the scenario of the game by integrating in particular flashbacks on stories mentioned in the game, but not developed, in particular an episode centered on the romantic relationship between Bill (Nick Offerman,

) and Frank (Murray Bartlett ,

).

The story of the brothers Henry (Lamar Johnson,

) and Sam (Keivonn Woodard), who became deaf and autistic in the series, is much more extensive than in the game. We thus better understand their motivations for wanting to join Joel and Ellie.

Finally, sequences provide a better understanding of the origins of infection by the cordyceps fungus and the consequences that such a pandemic could have on humanity.

The depth of the characters

Even if the series takes up the codes of post-apocalyptic dramas like

, the genius idea of ​​the showrunners is to have pushed the infected to the margins.

The game focuses on the most disturbing moments of the trip (and the series does not hide them), but the serial format allows you to dwell on quieter moments and thus allows you to dig deeper into the psychology of the characters.

As in the game, the series is focused on offering an enchanting ride in a familiar world, for neophytes, the HBO series above all tells a moving love story in a loveless and lifeless world, all honored by a cast impeccable !ider Joel.

For fans of the game,

offers an enchanting ride in a familiar world, for neophytes, the HBO series above all tells a moving love story in a loveless and lifeless world, all honored by a flawless cast! 

Series

"The Last of Us": What you need to know about the serial adaptation of the cult video game

Series

“The Last of Us”, HBO series and Warner channels soon available on Amazon Prime Video

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• HBO

• Amazon Prime Video