HBO’s long-awaited The Last of Us has landed on UK screens, and fans are already saying it’s even better than the game after just one episode.
An adaptation of Naughty Dog’s video game of the same name, The Last of Us premiered on Sky Atlantic at 2am GMT this morning after its release in the States yesterday (Sunday 15 January). Watch the trailer here:
It follows smugger Joel (Pedro Pascal) as he is tasked with transporting 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic America, 20 years after modern civilisation was destroyed by a zombie infection.
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Writers have been praised for remaining loyal to the widely loved original source material, which won itself an immediate faithful fanbase after its 2013 release, thanks to the strength of its narrative, compelling characters and stunning visuals and score.
Several key scenes in the programme even match gameplay almost exactly frame for frame, leaving viewers and fans of the game gawping at the incredible attention to detail.
But some believe the new series could prove to actually surpass the PlayStation game from whence it came, saying the positive signs are already there.
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Of course, we’re only one episode through at this stage – but first impressions are important, and in this case, it looks like we’re onto a winner.
After tuning in to the first instalment, one viewer tweeted: “The Last of Us TV show might actually be better than the game. Holy f**k.”
Someone else said: “The Last of Us show is gonna be better than the games.”
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A third wrote: “30 Minutes into Last of Us show and dare I say better than the game so far...?”
A fourth added: “Really enjoyed ep 1 of The Last of Us. Think they did an even better job than the game with that opening sequence. Loved the little changes they made and the extra character development.”
Ahead of its release, The Last of Us was also heaped with praise from critics, currently sitting pretty with an incredible 99 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes - setting a new record for being the highest ever score achieved for a live-action video game adaptation on the site.
A review on our sister site UNILAD described the new show as 'perfect television', saying it manages to stay true to the original game while also 'pushing it further, and harder'.
"The result is the best video game adaptation in years, if not ever," it says.
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The BBC also gushed about the 'remarkable' nine-part adaptation, adding: "For fans of the game, it is an adaptation of the utmost skill and reverence, yet one still capable of surprise; for people who have never picked up a controller, it is an encapsulation of the game's heart and soul – its full-blooded characters, its neat plotting, its mature themes of love and loss."
Meanwhile, Empire's five-star review said: "With the benefit of a generous HBO budget, there is a staggering sense of scale to this apocalypse, from the subtle touches - one extra wears an Al Gore Presidential campaign T-shirt, a signifier that time stopped at the early 2000s outbreak - to the faultless CGI, grand cinematography, and lavish production design."
Watch the next episode on HBO Max in the US from next Sunday, and on Sky Atlantic in the UK from Monday.
Featured Image Credit: HBO/Sky/SonyTopics: TV and Film, Gaming