This article contains spoilers for both The Last of Us games and TV show.
The HBO adaptation of The Last of Us doesn’t aim for carbon-copy storytelling, and that’s something that keeps both mediums relevant. Every deviation from the original game, whether it’s the expanded Bill and Frank storyline or Ellie’s altered timeline with Riley, establishes The Last of Us show as a complement to the franchise instead of a mere live-action retelling. This separation is critical because it avoids redundancy.
A 1:1 adaptation, for instance, adds no new context and ultimately risks cannibalizing the value of both formats. But by modifying motivations, pacing, and side arcs, The Last of Us ensures that even die-hard players find new meaning in familiar beats. And that exchange flows both ways because while the show deepens the game’s moments for longtime fans, it also draws new viewers into the gaming world, where the interactive pacing offers a fresh, more personal flow for a change.
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The Last of Us TV Show's Deviation Is What Protects the Game’s Uniqueness
Joel opens up earlier in HBO’s The Last of Us series than in the game, and it seems like a deliberate recalibration for a medium that can’t rely on gameplay to build tension. But that shift doesn’t undercut the game’s power either; instead, it reframes familiar themes through a different emotional syntax. Players still retain agency and suspense because the show doesn’t attempt to replicate encounter mechanics, resource scarcity, or stealth-driven intensity.
Unlike shows like Arcane and Dota: Dragon's Blood, which expand on games like League of Legends and Dota 2 that initially had minimal storylines in the first place, The Last of Us series adapts a game already built around a strong, story-driven experience. Therefore, these subtle changes are not only acceptable but actually beneficial, because without them, it would just turn into a debate over whether the game did it better or the show did, which is exactly what it’s not meant to be.
HBO’s The Last of Us Adaptation Is a Strategic Contrast, Not Repetition
The show’s treatment of characters like Kathleen or the FEDRA resistance in Kansas City, in particular, exemplifies this whole concept. These arcs didn’t exist in the game and aren’t meant to overwrite it. Instead, they serve to color the world around Joel and Ellie with familiar actors, without tampering with what made the original journey resonate. Secondly, games and television are built on different affordances: games leverage agency and pacing control, while TV relies on scripted rhythm and actor presence.
The HBO series leans into its strengths by altering where the emotional weight lands. Tess’s death, Bill and Frank’s story, and Henry and Sam’s arc all hit differently, not because they’re new but because they’re restructured to capitalize on non-interactive storytelling. Not to forget, where the show uses dialogue, the game uses silence, and where the show builds context through flashbacks, the game builds stakes through consequences.
These Differences Also Give The Last of Us Franchise Long-Term Value
The healthiest adaptations are those that widen the ecosystem, not duplicate or complicate it. The more the HBO series diverges from the game’s structure, the more reasons players have to return to the source material. It’s the inverse of redundancy, where divergence creates a dual canon and viewers become players to explore agency while players become viewers to explore The Last of Us character nuance — both experiences offer something exclusive and irreplaceable.
While The Last of Us has stayed faithful, being rigidly faithful would have risked rendering itself irrelevant for half its audience. But by consciously shifting the angle without losing the essence, it has instead strengthened the franchise’s longevity. The subtle changes along the way serve as insulation and protect the original game from being replaced, and ensure that both TLoU TV and game formats remain worth experiencing on their own terms.
The Last of Us Part I
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 76%
- Released
- September 2, 2022
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Naughty Dog
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Engine
- naughty dog
- Franchise
- The Last of Us
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
