The Last of Us | TV Show vs Game Comparison (Part 1)

we're a little over halfway through the first season of HBO's adaptation of the last of us and for the most part fans of the game and new people coming in seem to be really enjoying it as a big fan of the game I was very interested to see how they would adapt this on screen and so far it's been done pretty well obviously with any adaptation there are minor differences and things that they take straight from the game and I think they've been able to blend those aspects very well so far hello and welcome back to another episode of nerd soup I married a nerd soup monkey and today we're going to go over some of the changes the show has made from the video game and some of the similarities they share also stay tuned to the end of the video for a special nerd soup last of us giveaway right off the bat in episode 1 the cold open that they show in the series is not in the game but I do enjoy how it gives us some backstory about how something like this could happen how a fungus could evolve and essentially cause a pandemic that we see on screen all these years later and I think that's one of the benefits of presenting it in a series form is you can delve into some of these things have some jumps and times that might not necessarily make sense during a video game and I think having to see being right off the bat helps build the world and gets audiences ready for what they're about to see and this continues with our opening sequence when we're introduced to Joel Sarah and Tommy obviously there are some minor differences in the opening but the essence is pretty much the same a lot of the dialogue and interactions are taken straight from the game fans of the game will recognize Curtis and the Viper 2 the fictitious movie watched by Joel and Sarah in episode 1. this Easter egg may have some significance down the road so stay tuned obviously they added some things to help build that relationship of father and daughter between Joel and Sarah giving their world a little bit more backstory but for the most part it really is ripped straight from the game I think it's stuck it's not what no no no no oh ha ha did you what I don't hear anything that was lame Sterling yeah I know did you get the money for this drugs I sell hardcore drugs where'd you get the money for this drugs I saw hardcore drugs it's better when I do there are little details from the game left out one that comes to mind as well Sarah does give Joel the watch that we see in episode one they leave out the card which has a big card guy I don't like but the relationship is still there from both the gaming show you could tell that they have a strong father and daughter relationship and even with Tommy I think seeing him with Joel and Sarah before the outbreak helps build that family unit where in the game he shows up after the outbreak starts another small difference is that he's not in jail in the game but in the show they allude to him having some type of altercation with someone who's been infected and this connects us to another change that I'll talk about later but I think this is a way to better show Joel's responsibility that he feels he has for Tommy by the way they discussed this this doesn't seem like the first time Tommy's been in trouble where Jules had to bail him out which we see this kind of play out throughout the rest of the series as Joel's need to get to Tommy to protect him is first introduced in these moments also having the first infected that they encounter be someone they have a relationship prior to I think helps Elevate the situation for them in the game it's just a neighbor that breaks through a glass window where here there's a personal connection and we've seen scenes shared between the two but once they get into the car and try to evacuate everything is pretty close to the game no of course who do you know they said it's just people it's mostly people in the city what do you think you're doing keep driving I got a Kid Joe so do we we have room right keep driving Tommy got a kid so do we keep driving there's a few differences one being the car crash in the game is replaced by a plane crash which I think is pretty sweet you know if you want to one-up something I don't think there's a better way to do it than a [ __ ] plane crash but the scene of Sarah's death and Joel's interaction with the military agents uh has pretty much ripped right from the game and I think they evolved to a good job of really showing this heartbreaking moment for Joel and really defining him as a character as we see him move forward throughout his journey this is a moment that six of them throughout the remainder of the game and as we see in the series and I think it's execution on both fronts does a good job of really hammering home what this does to him as a character fast forward 20 years and we get to the qz zone and I think the way they adapted it was pretty well done I mean by look it captures that same Essence in the same feel of this post-apocalyptic type society that we are now living in again there's a little more added a little more backstory with Joel and how he operates but I think they're able to kind of ground the structure of this Society in the show a little things like Joel seeing what jobs he can do to get rations and how the social hierarchy is established in the show they do a better job of laying that foundation and getting a better idea of how things work one of the ways they do this is the connection that Joel has with the fedger agent that he doesn't have in the game but little things he talks about in this conversation or mentioned in a game such as dealing in pills and guns and weapons among other things so while there is minor changes throughout they still convey the same things just through different ways whether it be through a connection with a character that's not in the game or just through random dialogue that you hear while playing they're able to incorporate that within the show by creating a larger story around it and again minor difference of how they actually execute judgment on their civilians executions is presented through hangings in the show while there's a firing squad in the game but again conveying the same idea of this military dictatorship abusing their power on the civilians now one of the bigger changes between the show and the game is Joel needing a battery from Robert to go find Tommy in the game instead of Robert ripping them off for a battery it's actually guns that he doesn't deliver to Tess and Joel Robert gives these guns to the fireflies and the deal they make with Marlene to smuggle Ellie is to get their guns back rather than retrieve a battery for Joel to find Tommy and I think that goes back to Joel's knee to protect Tommy in the game their relationship is a bit strained so his motivations in the show are more personal and I think this small change changes how we perceive Joel from the series to the game even though he is essentially the same character another change is when we first Meet Ellie in the show her relationship with Marlene is contentious but in the game they are already established as allies Let Her Go on kind of young aren't you she's not one of mine [ __ ] what happened don't worry this is fixable I got us help another change is that in the game Tess kills Robert and not the fireflies and obviously with the video game you need more to keep the gamer interested so there's a couple of action sequences that are cut from the show you know Joel and Tess versus Robert's men Joel Tess and Marlene getting past Federal when they're leaving the qz Zone but again for the most part we end up at the same place and the way they use some of these cutscenes and take their dialogue and put it straight into the series I think has been a fun little Easter eggs to pick up on especially when Ellie and Joel are at the apartment the dialogue is literally straight from the game what are you doing killing time what are you doing killing time what am I supposed to do I'm sure you'll figure that out well what am I supposed to do I'm sure you will figure that out watch is broken your watch is broken you mumble in your sleep you mumble in your sleep there is no radio though which I guess ties into another bigger change down the line in episode two there's another cold open adding backstory that's not in the game but again offers the audience some additional information to help build this world it's one of those additions I like because it really does show the dire circumstances that led up to the game that we play and this kind of directly relates to another big change is the use of cordyceps instead of spores to transmit the virus and it makes sense I mean you cast Pedro Pascal you want to see that face as often as you can imagine casting Pedro Pascal on a show and not showing his face who would do that who would do such a thing and again the scenery looks straight from the games they're even able to add on certain things but it's just gorgeous to look at everyone talked about the last of us when it first came out as being so cinematic and in these moments you really get to see the full potential of a lot of these set pieces there's even like a deeper sense of Terror that the series introduces and that's the bombs which aren't mentioned in the game just seeing the impacts sites and knowing the devastation it caused just adds a different element to what really went down here I mean everything from the embedded buildings to the buildings leaning on each other the rundown hotel which is a scene that doesn't happen until later in the game but we'll let that slide because it's a good scene you ever stay in a place like this uh no a little out of our league you ever stayed a place like this before it all went to [ __ ] I mean no no it's too rich for my blood but everything from Ellie explaining how she got bit to the situation and what they need from her is pretty much adapted right from the game but man you can't deny that can't deny that view and I also like some of the knots to the game they Incorporated like crossing a roof with a wood plank it's just weird that they were able to find it and know what to do with it right away because it took me like 10-15 minutes to realize that's what I had to do but I guess the time constraints of the show don't really allow that thank you even the museum is very similar in how it's presented in both the game and show and this is our first look at the clickers and obviously they have to use these more sparingly due to how series are structured versus a video game but me personally and I think a lot of people who love the game think that this is one of the cooler aspects of how they were able to adapt not only the clickers but the runners and the bloaters so great the one fallback of playing the game and then watching the show is having to experience a lot of these heartbreaking moments again and traumatize you again and yes Tess is bitten in both but is killed by fedra in the game and in the show it's by infected which I think is a solid change because it helps establish the threat of the runners I mean the way they [ __ ] storm that capital building gave me flashbacks to January 6th but the way they show the infected their movements I think the showrunners talked about this that they needed to get that right and they got people who were familiar with the games to do some of the acting and get those movements down and it's a little things like that that I think make an adaptation so great because you can easily put in generic zombies but they took the time to really capture the essence of the runners and obviously episode 3 as many of us know just completely not in the game I mean we can kind of list it off right now I mean Frank is not in the game Joe has never been to bills in the game you've never been here have you yeah I know this is where he lives but no I ain't never been here personally Bill's town is a [ __ ] dump the First bloater shows up at bills rather than in episode 5 as we see in the show and Joel has no idea who Frank is in the game um which obviously from the flashback we know they have some prior relationship so obviously everything we see between Bill and Frank is a new experience for both show and game players and it's one of those changes I think like me many people welcome I think for many people it's one of the best episodes of the season so far and to get deeper into their relationship although it is different in the game I mean Once Upon a Time I had somebody that I cared about partner somebody I had to look after and in this world that sort of shit's good for one thing getting you killed Bill and Frank kind of hate each other at this point and Frank runs away and ends up killing himself I think the way it was presented in this show made for just uh more entertaining better love story and in Last of Us fashion ends tragically but like a nice tragic way if they're if that's possible but when we do meet Bill in the game I think there are some similarities that they share between his show counterpart I mean obviously there's a bunch of traps surrounding his little town the way he's able to survive uh his knowledge of some things well I think Nick offerman's betrayal is a little bit of a softer character I do appreciate some of the things they were able to keep with Bill while also giving him this extended backstory but the extended sequences in the game of trying to find the battery and going through all these obstacles and these showdowns with not only the bloater but with the different variations of the clickers and Runners makes for some of the better action sequences in the game I think everyone remembers their first Showdown with the bloater and then just being completely flabbergasted when he threw a Spore ball at you like I don't care to admit how many times it took me to get past that but let's just say I enjoyed the ride and a couple little differences Ellie knows about cars and in the show she has no idea what a car is essentially doesn't even know what a seatbelt is he or she's popping the clutch also Bill lives in the game and in the show he's big dead so another difference there but I think the added story of Bill and Frank really does help establish the themes of the show and as it relates to Joel as a character and how he views Ellie and like we said earlier Tommy and reinforces this kind of self-doubt that he has this need he feels to protect especially given his past failures with not only his daughter also with Tess the iconic car scene from the game is essentially a shot for shot adaptation in the show it's remembered as one of the funniest moments from the game so I'm glad it was adapted so closely I mean I know a lot of game players were upset that we didn't see Bill and Ellie interact they do have some great moments in the game so you do lose some of that but they're both done so well well in each respect that you really don't want to trade one for another so it's kind of cool that we have these moments from the game and then these new moments from the show that we can kind of combine in our own head cannons so why don't you fix one of these cars oh my God you're a genius I mean the whole time why on Earth hadn't I thought about fixing one of these cars okay don't be a dick they do allude to some of it the way Joel talks to Ellie in the show about you know Frank being the nice one even though we really don't I didn't really get that vibe from Bill in the show in the game you can definitely get why Joel is a little hesitant when it comes to bill you babysitting long enough and eventually it's going to blow up your face can we please just get on with it here get on with it the show has made a great effort in costume and design and many of the outfits worn by the characters in the show resemble the clothes worn by their counterparts at the end of episode 3 we see Ellie's classic red shirt she wears that shirt throughout the majority of The Last of Us Part One with the worn out faded palm tree Motif on the front it's like she's a [ __ ] Marvel character we got red shirt Ellie all right guys before we finish this episode I want to give a quick shout out to today's sponsor smile brilliant hey look I'm a floating head bad breath can be an annoying problem to deal with especially when in Social settings like out on a date or recording a podcast with your buddies only two percent of the population has enough naturally occurring good bacteria to fight off bad breath and maintain a healthy mouth what people don't realize is that when brushing your teeth or using mouthwash you're killing both the good and bad bacteria in your mouth unfortunately bad bacteria grows back much faster than good bacteria so even if you use these products consistently you may still find yourself with bad breath but we have a solution smile Brilliance Dental probiotics chewable tablets with concentrated amounts of 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right for you and take care of your teeth now where was I before I got rudely interrupted um oh episode four right right off the bat in episode four one small change is that they go to Kansas City instead of Pittsburgh which makes sense because it seems like these days Kansas City is just getting everything handed to him and the opening sequence of this episode again is something that is literally stripped right from the game I mean everything from Joel avoiding traffic and doubling back to have to go through the city to running into the Raiders trap the sequence is a little extended in the game and there's more focus on some of the action sequences but everything pretty much lines up the same Ellie's joke book is another fun Easter egg from the game that appears in episode 4. throughout the game Ellie consistently reads out some truly awful Jokes which adds to the charm of the character and we see her do the same in episode 4 making Joel laugh like a little kid chocolate but things like Ellie saving Joel and them having a conversation around the guns are very similar in both show and game you know they have conversations about how Joel tells Ellie how he knows there is an ambush no no what about the ambush I've been on both sides oh hey you know that guy who said he was hurt how did you know it was an ambush I've been on both sides they even have the same conversation about Joel having to do bad things and maybe having to kill Innocents also I was gonna say the Raiders are a little bit more brutal in the game but the following episode we're showing that they're still pretty [ __ ] brutal in the show as well but there's a scene when they go into a warehouse and they see just a bunch of dead bodies piling up and it's mentioned that they killed the children because of a whole survival of the fittest so brutal but in different ways but the biggest difference obviously is that the Raiders are more developed especially putting a face to this group with characters like Kathleen we get pretty much no insight to the Raiders in the game and everything that we know about them just comes through conversations with Sam or Henry or what we hear them say while you're fighting them during the action sequences and this is a change I wouldn't mind if they were just done a little bit better I feel like some of these moments with the Raiders and Kathleen fell a little short compared to the rest of the show standards but the idea of putting a face to this group I think is a good idea in theory and there doesn't really seem to be a personal connection between this group and Henry and Sam Kathleen obviously is actively seeking out Henry we're in the game they're just kind of trying to escape the city because of how dangerous it is and the way they run into Henry and Sam is changed they just kind of run into them by chance in the game and they have a bit of a standoff until they figure out they're both kind of on the same side where in the show Sam and Henry actively seek out Joel after seeing him in the shootout out prior and a lot of these changes tie into episode 5 as well as there is some different backstory when it comes to Henry and Sam in the game Sam is a bit older and he's not death he didn't have leukemia he wasn't sick and Henry's motivations while they are to help and save his brother they're more personalized to get out of the city and potentially join the fireflies we're in the show they tell us that the reason why he's in this position is he wanted to save his brother and by doing so he needed medicine which led to the death of Kathleen's brother and like I said before Kathleen not in the game so there's your change right there and we do get more information about Sam and Henry in the game as you travel and have these interactions with them but what the show does better in my opinion is that they do go more in depth in their relationship and how they got to this point again this is an instance of the show taking something from the game being faithful to the game but adding its own Spin and developing the story to even a larger extent that the game did and I think this is a welcome addition for not only me but I know a lot of fan ends of the game and some of the things I appreciate is the way they were able to adapt that sequence in the tunnels where you see that school and everything from the board of rules sort of goal set up hear me did you see that let's keep it down buddy okay and it's interesting that Henry says that there are no infected in the tunnels where as we know from the gameplay there are a [ __ ] ton of infected in tunnels and it's probably one of the more frustrating sequences I had playing and I'm tired of Joel getting off easy here I mean I know they can't show him dying 20 times or taking him an hour to try to sneak through certain levels but the way he's able just to navigate scot-free through the tunnels and then just scoot around the sniper it's kind of frustrating need you guys to keep him busy I want to go around and see if I can't get the angle on it okay hey be careful come on do it again and that might be just because I suck at the game but Joel's been getting by way too clean I mean in the game by this time he at least has I don't know high levels of CTE and everything from bullet wounds to hitting his head against a rock but I guess Pedro Pascal is just better than I am at this game but the sniper sequence is one of the more iconic and memorable aspects of the game and just the subtle changes they were able to make to kind of add to the fear element try to get in the house through the back and then I'll take them out but if you go out there he's gonna kill you it's dark and he has [ __ ] aim nobody's gonna kill me but he's going to kill us and it was nice seeing that developed on screen being able to sneak past the sniper grab in the rifle and then shooting the bloaters was a lot of fun and seeing Joel get to do that on screen was fun to follow and like I said before the bloater that we see in the show was shown back at Bill's Place but I think the look of it here in this episode is taken straight from the game save maybe a few Spore balls being thrown Jeffrey Pierce who voices Tommy in the game plays Perry in episodes four and five unfortunately he he doesn't survive long still it was cool to see him get a chance to be a part of Both Worlds and again this is probably our best look at the absolute chaos and damage the runners clickers and bloaters can cause and we do see big influences of infected in the game but I don't think anything like this I mean the way they were pouring out of that sinkhole was really terrifying and I think from a larger perspective the way they're able to incorporate the terror that we felt while playing a game into the show has been Flawless in the game their end goal is to cross the bridge and go to a watchtower that Henry's group is meeting at here obviously Henry and Sam are very much on their own and there is no bridge and they end up at a motel small changes but overall the same thing is pretty much happening where the end result is as we see Sam getting infected and then Henry having to kill Sam and then kill himself which is equally devastating in both mediums one thing they kept and I think translated to the series is a relationship that Sam and Ellie have for each other Henry in both show and game reflects on how he hasn't seen Sam this happy in a while and it was nice to have a friend in Ellie and this bond that they have only makes what's to come even more devastating obviously it's presented differently because Sam is deaf but the conversations him and Ellie have the night before about Sam being afraid and Ellie always appearing not to be afraid even though she is is all taken from the game how is it that you're never scared who says that I'm not to line up look scared what are you scared of scorpions scorpions are pretty creepy being by myself scared of ending up alone what about you those things out there what if the people are still inside what if they're trapped in there without any control of their body scared of that happening to me and even the relationship between Joel and Henry going from not sure how to feel about each other to creating a bond and wanting to go on this the rest of this journey together is all very much similar one of the changes I do appreciate though is that in the game after this event the screen just cuts to Black and the next time we see our characters they are back on the road here they take time to show us Joel and Ellie bury Henry and Sam and in this moment we see just how devastating these events were for these characters and how it changes them and how it will continue to stick with them throughout the rest of the series just like with Bill and Frank I think Sam and Henry's introduction and the impact they have on Joel and Ellie this helps reinforce them as characters and almost as a reflection of what they're going through and what they'll continue to go through as the journey continues I mean there's a few minor changes to these conversations Henry blames Joel this is nobody's fault him Henry but in the series he puts the blame on himself before he kills himself what what did I do and also in the show Ellie isn't aware that Sam is bitten and he doesn't tell anybody and it's only until the next day when they go to check on him that they reveal that he is infected so there's no scene of Ellie cutting her hand and trying to cure Sam which is interesting for the character of Ellie because you know you can argue that she might not even think that will work in that time but she's just trying to comfort her new friends which I think is a nice sentiment and helps really develop the character of Ellie but overall as expected when you make an adaptation they are just some things that you really you have to change to just make it flow better as a television show and I think one of the main trade-offs has been action for development even though the game does develop their character is extremely well it also helps that you have so much gameplay and dialogue while you're playing the game to help bring it to life we're in a show you have to budget not only money but time in a way that benefits the overall story so it makes sense to kind of calm down on some of the action sequences and focus more on your characters and I'm sure as the season and series progresses they're going to be more and more changes but so far nothing has led me to believe that the showrunners aren't focused on a faithful adaptation that both pleases fans of the games and all newcomers so definitely looking forward to what the rest of the season has in store and we'll probably be back at the end of the season with a part two to talk about any other changes and differences and similarities that we catch going forward and now it's giveaway time have you ever felt like you wanted to be Joel from The Last of Us well we're going to give you that opportunity we're actually going to send Teddy dresses uploader to your house randomly to try to come and kill you and the best part about it is he doesn't even have to wear a costume no but we're actually going to be giving away two copies of The Last of Us and all you got to do is follow the nerd super count on Instagram and Twitter and leave a comment down below and if you don't have PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 time to get your bread up oh what if you have Xbox maybe we'll send you what do they play Halo yeah we'll give you a Halo and if you only have a switch then we'll give you Animal Crossing that's still a thing right if you don't have any of those congrats regulations on having a life actually no for you we'll send Teddy full bloater costume wow that was probably our best review yet hey guys Aaron the nerd soup monkey here with a brief Shameless plug before we end the video do you ever feel like you don't have an adequate amount of nerd soup in your life like you're going to bed hungry and yearning for the nonsensical yet entertaining nutrients our podcasts provide well we've come up with the perfect solution the nerd soup fan question podcast exclusively available to our patreon supporters you can sign up now by visiting patreon.com nerdsoup and for the price of only one dollar per month you'll receive exclusive access to our weekly podcast where we answer your questions that don't make it to the main show and while you're there you can check out the other rewards we offer to our patrons like stickers mugs t-shirts behind the scenes footage and appearing in the credits at the end of our videos and that's exactly what we're gonna do right now roll the names of the Nerds who make nerd suit possible the reason why the crypto crash didn't send our lives spiraling down a black hole of no return alright I'll stop talking so you can listen to this jazzy-ass music while checking if Bo spelled your name wrong in the credits [Music]

Channel: Nerd Soup

Views: 120,577

Keywords: The Last of Us, The Last of Us Review, The Last of Us Hbo, The Last of Us Nerd Soup

Id: RYIQXVBTCCg

Length: 30min 10sec (1810 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 18 2023