The popular Playstation hit, The Last Of Us has infected the world with its new HBO series which was released on January 15th, 2023. This is a recap of everything you need to know about the world of The Last Of Us.

On September 26th, 2003, the “Cordyceps virus” broke out. The Cordyceps virus is a fungus that used to only infect small insects such as ants. The Cordyceps couldn’t handle the body heat of humans which is why they didn’t infect them. The fungus would release spores when an unexpecting ant crawls, infecting the ant. The fungus then takes over the ant’s brain until the ant dies. When the ant dies, the fungus lets out more spores to infect more and grow. But because of global warming, the Cordyceps must evolve to handle the new heat. Since they evolved, they can now infect humans since they can survive in human body heat.

The longer someone is infected with the fungus, the further they stray from their human body. The first 24-48 hours of infection turn you into a “Runner.” This is the stage where they still keep their human look as much as possible. Stage 2 is called “Stalkers,” after about a week or two of being infected and adds some fungal growths around your body. Stage 3 is called “Clickers”, after a year of being infected it completely covers your eyes with fungal growth, which makes Clickers blind.They make clicking and croaking noises, and their clicking acts like echolocation. So if you hear clicking or croaking, you better stay quiet! Stage 4 of being infected is called “Bloaters”; their bodies are completely covered in fungal growth. These are the rarest types of infected but are among the most dangerous. These are made after several years of being infected, and since their entire body is covered in fungus, it acts like a shield, giving them more protection. Bloaters are larger but slower than your average infected. Bloaters have special pockets underneath their skin that hold spores, and they can detach these pockets and throw them at you, so I’d suggest wearing a gas mask when facing one of these. An alternative version of stage 4 is called “Shamblers”, and they often stay with packs and have more packs of spores to throw at you. The final stage is death. After being infected for too long, the body will completely fall apart since it cannot hold the fungus anymore.

The Last of Us HBO series follows the game’s events but not exactly. The series follows Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller and Bella Ramsey as Ellie Williams. The series follows the main plot of The Last Of Us while still being original with its storytelling. An example of something they changed is the fact that there are no spores, and the reason for this change is so that you can see the actor’s faces. One of the main reasons why this series isn’t exactly like the game is because they want to surprise the audience with new ideas. If the directors of the show kept everything the same, then everything would be too predictable, so they went with this new route to give something new to the audience while keeping the main plot the same. A detail I love about the show is that they reference small things in the game like small dialogue, story notes, and others.

HBO’s take on The Last Of Us shows that they aren’t afraid to change things and that the show is its own thing rather than just a mirror of the game. As a player of The Last Of Us, when I watch the show, I feel like I don’t know what to expect when a new episode is released. I think HBO’s adaptation of this amazing game is interesting and pleasing to the eye. It does a very good job of maintaining the vibe and the feel of playing The Last Of Us. One moment you are just looking around a house, and the next, you are being hunted down by 2 clickers. The world of The Last Of Us is beautiful, terrifying, and nostalgic for the ones that played the game all the way back in 2013.