'The Last of Us' review roundup: What critics think of HBO's video game adaptation

The first reviews for HBO's video game adaptation 'The Last of Us' are out. The Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey starrer apocalyptic zombie drama series comes from 'Chernobyl' creator Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the creative director and writer of the eponymous video game on which the series is based. The story follows Joel, a smuggler who is tasked with escorting a young girl Ellie across a United States overrun by zombies. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey play the role of Joel and Ellie, respectively. 'The Last of Us' video game is considered one of the best games of all time, which won a number of Game of the Year awards. So the expectations from the series were high. 

And it appears Mazin and Druckmann have knocked it out of the mark. The reviews of the series are thus far extremely positive. On the review aggregation site Rotten Tomaotes, it has scored 97 per cent. 

The critical consensus reads, "Retaining the most addictive aspects of its beloved source material while digging deeper into the story, The Last of Us is bingeworthy TV that ranks among the all-time greatest video game adaptations."

Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Jeffrey Pierce, and Anna Torv also star.

Here are some of the reviews:

Buzzfeed's Izzy Ampil wrote, " I was impressed with how seamlessly the show built and burst my expectations, over and over again. As it progresses from episode to episode, it keeps building out its sociopolitical landscape in increasingly complex, newly terrifying ways."

The Independent's Nick Hilton wrote, "Druckmann, working with Mazin, has his fingerprints all over this tender, well-crafted and blackly comic piece. Right now, HBO is simply operating on a different level to any other network."

CNN's Brian Lowry wrote, "There’s a genuine humanity in the bond that forms between Joel and Ellie, which develops organically from one harrowing encounter to the next, while also creating strong showcases for the guest stars that pass through their orbits."

Vulture's Jen Chaney wrote, "Even if The Last of Us treads familiar ground, it is still a gripping and ambitious work that seems fated to become the premium cable network’s next Twitter-trending hit."

Paste Magazine's Terry Terrones wrote, "Complex characters combined with stellar acting, a wonderfully paced story, and an emotionally engaging plot make The Last of Us a brilliant series that is now the template all other videogame-to-TV adaptations should follow."

'The Last of Us' premieres on January 15.