by Pierre Young, Editor-in-Chief of The Metropolitan Student Newspaper

HBO has brought hope to video game adaptations. “The Last of Us,” based on the video game series, has turned into a full-production 9-episode series on HBO Max. The story follows Joel, a hardened survivor who takes charge of a 14-year-old named Ellie, and the two of them go on an adventure in a pandemic-filled world with zombies called ‘the infected.’ 

Creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin took time to hear the voices of fans of the video game and created this universe that has the same story but different representations of characters than we originally saw in the game. There are LGBT, ASL (hard of hearing), and POC characters. Pedro Pascal (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent; Wonder Woman) portrays Joel, a challenging character facing trauma at the beginning of the game at the start of the pandemic. Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones; Judy) stars as Ellie, a wise-cracking teenager who was born during the pandemic and is learning about civilization and how it used to be with the guidance of Joel. 

Together, Joel and Ellie must face obstacles on their journey to find a cure to end the terrors of the pandemic that will be the key to civilization. I recommend this series to all gamers who might enjoy this adaptation since there are hardly any good video game adaptations.