The Last of Us is a game that really sticks with you. It’s violent, intense, and emotionally deep—especially the relationship between Joel and Ellie, a father-daughter duo just trying to survive. When HBO decided to turn it into a TV show, fans were hyped, but equally as nervous. Could the show capture what made the game so addicting?

One of the biggest complaints is that the show didn’t have the same emotional depth. In the game, you’re living in Joel’s world, making decisions, feeling the tension, and really connecting with Ellie. As creator Neil Druckmann put it in a “Gamasutra” article in 2020, “Games let you live the story.” The show, though, just couldn’t replicate that. Even when it showed iconic moments like the opening scene or the winter chapter, it wasn’t as intense because we’re just watching, not playing. 

Another issue is the pacing. The show only had nine episodes to cover a story that takes 15+ hours to finish in the game. Some of the relationships, especially Joel and Ellie’s, felt rushed. In the game, their bond grows slowly and naturally. In the show, it kinda jumps ahead too fast, skipping over those little moments that made it feel real. “There is no type of slow-burn with the ragged and edgy father who warms up to a kid he was forced to take care of,” said Joshua Hernandez, a lover of this franchise and gamer. 

The main problem with adapting a game into a TV show is missing any beloved parts of the game because of popularity. You’re supposed to cover everything, even if it isn’t all of the fans’ favorites. The main plot was not pushed forward at all. And even though HBO gave us season one with only nine episodes, people wanted more focus on Joel and Ellie’s journey. Also, the action was toned down—those big, scary infected moments didn’t terrify you as much as it did in the game. The show chose to focus more on human drama than the horror and survival elements that made the game so intense.

As for the casting, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey were solid. But for hardcore fans, they weren’t quite Joel and Ellie. It’s not that they were bad actors, it’s just that people spent years getting attached to Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson’s voices and performances. As Troy Baker said in a “Game Informer” interview in 2023, “The chemistry Ashley and I had was special, and it’s hard for anyone to copy that.” Fans couldn’t help but compare.

Finally, the tone of the show felt too polished and edited. The game was raw and real, there was something almost eerily uncomfortable about the show that made you feel the violence and the pain. The show, while beautiful, felt more like a Hollywood production. Some people felt like it lost the intensity and unpredictability that made the game so groundbreaking 

By:Brionne Thompson

Works CitedBaker, Troy. “Interview with Troy Baker: Joel’s Legacy in The Last of Us.” Game Informer, 2023, www.gameinformer.com/interview/troy-baker-joels-legacy.
Druckmann, Neil. “The Role of Interactivity in Narrative: A Game Developer’s Perspective.” Gamasutra, 2020, www.gamasutra.com/interactive-narrative.