Thrillingly, the show is perhaps at its strongest when it deviates from its original blueprint.

One of the game’s key strengths was its depth of character, and that’s only intensified here. But - save for one moment where Joel tells Ellie that he’ll “give her a boost”, a sly nod to one of the game’s key mechanics - it never feels like you’re watching a video-game. As before, we follow Joel ( Pedro Pascal) and Ellie ( Bella Ramsey) making their treacherous journey across a post-apocalyptic United States, from Boston to Wyoming, taking on zombies (known here as ‘infected’), plus the equally terrifying living, in a quest for a cure - or at least some kind of internal healing.įor anyone who has played the game, it is a sometimes surreal experience to see its most iconic moments (the collapsed skyscraper, the giraffes) handsomely rendered in live action. Clearly aware they are working from a pretty bloody strong template - and perhaps also conscious of pleasing the game’s aggressively loyal fan base - Druckmann and Mazin have hewed relatively closely to the original narrative. Most striking, first of all, is how faithful a transfer this has been.

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