Does 'The Last of Us' work better as a game or TV show?

2013’s 'The Last of Us' is well known to be one of modern gaming's biggest triumphs. Often stated to be one of, if not, the definitive narrative experience in video gaming. It has since long been stated by the games die-hard fans that the game could be well suited in another medium of entertainment. The idea of The Last of Us as a movie or TV series has always resonated well with fans if it were placed in the right hands.

There was always a worry that an adaptation of the beloved story would tarnish the game's legacy, as video game adaptations are often horrendously received at best by fans. In this rare instance, this is far from the case. The show is in fact so good that it has sparked a debate about which is better, the game or the show? This isn’t as easy a question to answer as one would think.

What does it do better as a game?

The biggest and arguably most glaring thing the game does better than its TV counterpart is building the relationship between Joel and Ellie.

The Last of Us’ core gameplay and narrative loop is essentially one long escort mission. Often a sentence that sends shivers down the spines of any well-versed gamer. The game manages to encapsulate this escort mission in such a different and meaningful way.

While the TV show strikes all the large narrative beats the game does when it comes to building Joel and Ellie’s relationship, it definitely misses out on many of the smaller and more tender moments. All of Ellie’s quips and naivety to the world helps the player grow more attached to her as Joel does, this makes important scenes like the two's heated argument when Joel tries to make Ellie go with his brother, Tommy, and the ending sequence where Joel lies to Ellie about the Fireflies and the cure all the more impactful.

Through the more rushed nature of the TV show, there are certain story elements that lose some of their original impact. Sam and Henry are the prime examples of this. Their heartbreaking story is over in merely one episode in the show compared to the game spending much more time with the pair, letting the player grow more attached before their gut-wrenching and sudden fate.

Another big point the game handles better is the infected. While the TV show obviously doesn’t have enough time to throw in every sequence with the infected the game has in the world of The Last of Us game, the infected and human threats are often placed on equal level with each other. In the TV show, the human threat is often a lot more prominent, especially in the last few episodes of the show.

The show was always going to have an issue with having the infected feel as terrifying as they did in the game, but they made some changes to try and combat that. While the changes aren’t bad in any way the infected are definitely utilised better within the game.

The Last of Us game is an experience like no other, while the adaptation is in its own right amazing it is hard to replicate that deeper experience when you aren’t going through the journey yourself as it was originally designed for.

What does it do better as a show?

One of the largest things the show does better is its ability to take the story already given to us and expand it in ways the game never did. The extended opening episode spending more time on the beginnings of the outbreak was a smart idea, highlighting the utter chaos of the sudden spread of the Cordyceps fungus had. This leading up to the death of Sarah at the end of the prologue is ultimately even more distressing (which we didn’t think would be possible).

Episode three of the show expands and changes the story of Bill and Frank is one of the larger changes to the original narrative. This allows us to experience this beautiful story in a way the game never could without swapping characters or extended non-playable sequences. The show allows for stories to be told outside of Joel and Ellies which enriches the world around them, showing how horrifying and tragic other stories within this universe can be.

Another main point of advantage the show has is its lack of gameplay. While the overall themes of the story highlight death, humanity, and loss the gameplay can feel detached from this during the constant stream of action sequences against waves of infected and humans alike. The show lessening the frequency of these action sequences makes the few times we see it happen even more impactful, especially Joel’s torture scene feeling especially brutal. This scene leaves us wondering if we are really seeing the true colours of Joel for the first time, or even if he is at a mental snapping point. This is always the original point of this scene but it lands more smoothly when it hasn’t been followed by hours of Joel shooting, stabbing and setting people on fire like in the game.

Does it work better as a game or a show?

While both versions of the story have their own strengths and weaknesses the definitive way that most people should experience this story is the video game. It is a story designed to be experienced and not just watched. While not to undermine the amazing storytelling put forward in the HBO adaptation there is no denying that the Naughty Dog original game ranks just a little bit higher.