The Last of Us reviews dropped today, and critics are loving the HBO video game adaptation, with the show’s current Rotten Tomatoes rating a perfect 100%.
The Last of Us is one of the most successful and critically acclaimed video games ever, so anticipation has been high for the TV adaptation.
But fans have also been fearful that the show wouldn’t work, largely due to games rarely transferring to movies or TV well, with most adaptations being stinkers.
But with Chernobyl showrunner Craig Mazin collaborating with game creator Neil Druckmann on the HBO who, the right people seemed to be in place to make it a success. And early reviews suggest they’ve nailed it.
The Last of Us achieves Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%
The embargo for The Last of Us lifted overnight, with critics now able to post spoiler-free reviews of the series. And across the board, they’ve loved it.
Season 1 of the show currently has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning it has a perfect Tomatometer score. Though there isn’t an official “critical consensus” yet, as that’s from just eight RT-approved reviews.
But here at Dexerto we concur, our The Last of Us review saying of the first episode: “This is the show you’ve been waiting for: The Last of Us promises a video game adaptation experience like no other from its exceptional, emotional opener.”
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How The Last of Us breaks the video game curse
We stated in our review of Episode 1 that “the video game curse is broken,” and that’s because, up until now, video game adaptations have mostly failed on the small screen.
There’s been the odd success, with The Witcher scoring 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, and various anime adaptations proving popular.
But in the main they’ve failed, with the recent adaptation of Halo managing 70%, and the Netflix Resident Evil series scoring just 54%. And don’t get us started on the terrible TV versions of Mortal Kombat.
But thanks to The Witcher and now The Last of Us, that tide might be turning. Which bodes well as the likes of Alan Wake, God of War, and Mass Effect are all in various stages of TV development right now.
To read our spoiler-free, five-star review of The Last of Us, head here.