‘The Last Of Us’ Video Game Remake Sounds Like An Excellent Way To Prepare For The HBO Series

Last week, HBO revealed the first look at The Last of Us television show; later this week, Naughty Dog is releasing a remake of The Last of Us video game. This is not a coincidence, but it is a shrewd maneuver, because if you’ve been curious to check out the masterpiece of a video game ahead of the show, now’s a great time to do so.

The reviews of the newly-christened The Last of Us Part I have dropped and they’re near-universally positive. Maybe this isn’t a huge shock, considering the 2013 release is widely considered to be one of the greatest video games of all-time (it’s in my top-5 all time, at least), but it is surprising how essential the remake sounds.

“If you love The Last of Us and believe it’s an indisputable PlayStation classic, the PS5 remake may likely be worth the full price. The visual upgrade: Faces look less plastic and stiff. It’s like Toy Story 1 to 3, except it’s the same story,” the Washington Post games reporter Gene Park tweeted, along with a link to his glowing review. First-time player (and Polygon writer) Nicole Carpenter added, “i somehow went nearly a decade without getting spoiled on the last of us and wow yeah it’s a fuckin good game.”

Meanwhile, The Verge‘s Andrew Webster acknowledged the TV show and polarizing sequel in his review, writing, “What this remake does, though, is smooth the transition between the two games in the franchise. Think of it like sanding away (most of) the game’s rough edges. That will likely be important to those who played Part II before the original or the hypothetical brand-new audience that will be introduced to The Last of Us through HBO’s live-action adaptation next year… The Last of Us is now a franchise — and within that framework, a remake so soon actually makes a lot of sense.”

The Last of Us show will “stay pretty close” to the game, so if you’re not interested in playing The Last of Us Part I because it will spoil the plot, that makes sense. For everyone else, though, it sounds like it’s worth the 70 bucks.

The Last of Us premieres on HBO in 2023.