HBO's The Last Of Us: 10 Things We Need To See

Pedro Pascal beamed from ear to ear as he described the "harrowing" shooting conditions on the set of The Last of Us. As the captivating trailer plays out to the rasping tones of Hank William's Alone and Forsaken, even the most cynical of fans cannot help but get excited.

The show appears absolutely stunning, an unashamed and passionate love letter to Naughty Dog's celebrated original. The sets look sensational, with several shots from the trailer seemingly drawn directly from the game, while acclaimed performers Pascal and Ramsay looked primed to go down as the latest example of textbook HBO casting. Finally, there is the gloriously horrifying sight of a clicker rearing its deformed head at the end of the trailer, the depiction of which has already been met with a glowing online response.

In the case of The Last of Us, such promising signs are an absolute necessity. This is a story that quite literally transcended the bounds of video games to land a primetime spot on the world's most prestigious television network. Anything less than a critically acclaimed masterpiece could potentially represent the death knell for live-action video game adaptations, following several frightfully dull and uninspired outings that have butchered beloved games in recent years - looking at you, Assassin's Creed and Uncharted.

Thankfully, HBO's involvement is as close to a guarantee of a stamp of quality as one is likely to find. Bring on 15 January.