The Last Of Us Creators Think They Know Where Previous Video Game Adaptations Went Wrong

In an interview with The New Yorker, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann revealed they are well aware of the dire state of the video game adaptation genre. While some “kids” films like “Detective Pikachu” or “Sonic The Hedge Hedgehog” are seeing relative success, others like “Assassin’s Creed” have failed to enrapture audiences. To Mazin, “Assassin’s Creed” was an uphill battle, since “the joy of it is the gameplay. The story is impenetrable.” Druckmann added to Mazin’s sentiment: “The other thing that people get wrong is that they think people want to see the gameplay onscreen.”

I mean, they’re not wrong. “Assassin’s Creed” is not the only culprit, either. Most recently, the Steven Spielberg-produced “Halo” series is also guilty of trying to appeal to the unique action of their video game counterparts. (The finale battle takes place from a first-person perspective, learning nothing from 2005’s “Doom”.) Choosing to adapt “The Last of Us” by not relying on gameplay mechanics to recapture the essence of the video game is a worthwhile effort that learns from its predecessors. Plus, Druckmann’s original “The Last of Us” admittedly lends itself to the television format.