When the gaming universe was introduced to The Last of Us, the action-adventure title captivated those around the globe with a heart-wrenching plot, incredible characters, and challenging gameplay. Now, spores are in the air and have reached mainstream media with HBO’s new hit series, bringing the popular game to even more fans.
For those who have played the game, they’ll notice a plethora of changes to the story that takes place in the show’s universe, and for good reasons. Video games are usually built with gameplay in mind that will keep the attention of the player, while shows must feature the most exciting aspects of a segment since viewers are only watching, and not playing it out.
As a result, some avid The Last of Us connoisseurs might notice that certain sections and moments from the game have been altered, or removed completely. Here are all the major differences between the show, and how the game told the story.
The Cordeceps infection
In The Last of Us, Cordyceps is the major driving force within the world, since it infects humans at an alarming rate from the start of the outbreak. It also presents the remaining survivors with a massive threat, since it transforms its victims into zombie-like creatures that attack any living creatures in an attempt to spread itself further.
In both the game and show, people can be infected from a bite—just like many zombie films—but a unique way characters get infected in the game is by breathing in spores from the growing fungus or from infected victims. As a result, players must don gas masks on a regular basis, especially when traveling in enclosed spaces with a heavy infected population.
In the show, however, the infection is spread by something a lot more shocking: zombies will have tendrils extend from their mouths and enter another host body, like when they’ve incapacitated a potential host body.
Additionally, the evolved Cordyceps fungus is connected through the ground as a hive mind, which can communicate with entire hordes at a time. If any of the characters steps on a part of the fungal growth, it can alert and attract the infected horde to that position almost immediately.
Sarah in the prologue
In the game, players don’t get to see much of Sarah’s backstory, except for when she gets her father a watch for his birthday. But in the show, viewers are treated to multiple never-before-seen scenes that give a bit more clarity to where Sarah got the watch for Joel, along with the relationship with her neighbors and her overall feelings throughout the first episode until the heartbreaking final scene.
Relationship between Joel and Tess
In the game, Joel and Tess’ relationship was never truly defined. Players were left to wonder if the two shared a bond that went past friendship and business partners, but in the show, the hints are much more obvious that the two have a romantic history together that spanned over several years after the initial infection day.
Additionally, Tess’ eventual demise was altered completely to fit the show’s slightly changed narrative. In the game, Joel, Tess, and Ellie are being chased by FEDRA agents as they flee the Boston quarantine zone. Tess is bitten during the museum segment but doesn’t reveal her condition to Joel and Ellie until they’ve reached the Capitol building.
When they reach the building, she tells her partners she’s been bitten, asks Joel to bring Ellie to Tommy in Wyoming, and valiantly fights off incoming FEDRA agents before she is gunned down. In the show, Tess meets a very different ending.
First, Tess tells Joel to bring Ellie to Frank and Bill instead of Tommy, because in the show, Tommy is missing and has not been in contact for some time. The show doesn’t have FEDRA agents hunting the trio, so instead, a swarm of infected break in as they give chase. As her final act, Tess douses the floor with gasoline and blows up the building, but not before an infected walks up and infects her by placing his mouth in front of hers as tendrils extend from its mouth into hers. It is a gruesome sight, but she ends things on her own terms.
Bill and Frank’s story
The Last of Us doesn’t really explore Bill and Frank’s relationship too much in the game. Bill is introduced as a hard-nosed survivor who Joel visits in the hopes of procuring a car from him, but is forced into a small hunt for a battery. In the process, Joel, Bill, and Ellie stumble upon Frank’s body. Bill calls Frank his “partner,” but in a note written to Bill, Frank says he “hated [Bill’s] guts” and he wanted more from life than this.
After finding a battery, Joel and Ellie drive off, leaving Bill to mourn.
In the show, Bill and Frank are given a much happier ending. The series dedicates almost an entire episode to the two men, exploring their first encounter, how they became a loving couple, and the life they led throughout the apocalypse. It is even shown Joel and Tess used to visit Bill and Frank in order to trade goods, and were eventually considered friends.
Many years later—and the exact year Joel begins his trek with Ellie—Frank reveals to Bill he has a disease that will kill him soon. As a result, Bill and Frank have a final night to celebrate their life before they peacefully end their lives together.
Later on, Joel and Ellie visit Bill and Frank’s home, only to find a note stating they’ve taken their lives, and that Bill has left all of his weapons and vehicles for Joel to use.
