The Last Of Us Episode 2 Review - 7 Ups & 1 Down

5. Adapting The Gameplay Right

The Last Of Us
HBO

While the cutscenes of The Last Of Us are of course incredible, the biggest challenge Craig Mazin and co faced was translating the incidental dialogue during gameplay over to the show. The time spent with the characters while in control of Joel is essential in establishing their bond, fleshing out their backstories and personalities, and connecting the audience to their plight.

And in a winning move, this element was pretty much adapted verbatim. In this episode we get stretches where the survivors are just navigating through the world, getting to know each other. Or, in one excellent scene, sitting down and asking each other questions while another companion shimmies through a hole to find a way forward.

It's naturalistic, and the performances here further humanise the characters.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.