Game On: What’s next for cinema after ‘The Last of Us’?

The Last of Us is considered one of the greatest games ever made and adapting it to cinematic form was a daunting task

What do the awards mean for game-based entertainment? The Last of Us is considered one of the greatest games ever made and adapting it to cinematic form was a daunting task. However, with the right-paced storytelling, expansion of the game’s lore (exploring the origins of the virus), and the development of relatable protagonists, the creators of the show successfully captured the magic and emotional connection that millions of players experienced when facing clickers or bloaters alongside Joel and Ellie.

While the show may not have been a perfect transition, it effectively showcased the immersive nature of video games as experiences, storytelling platforms, and as environments where players form lasting bonds with their characters.

---

This week’s article acknowledges the success of The Last of US at the 2023 Emmy award nominations along with its garnering of nominations in coveted categories such as “Outstanding Drama Series,” “Outstanding Lead Actor,” and “Outstanding Lead Actress.”

This accompanied by the widespread acceptance of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey’s rendition of the titular characters is the signal that justifies the deluge of game-based cinematic content heading our way over the next two years. From Horizon and Aloy to Ghost of Tsushima and Jin Sakai, and even Twisted Metal Sony’s PlayStation factory is in the process of developing watchable content surrounding most of its gaming franchises.

Thus, while we may soon watch God of War as a Lord of the Rings like trilogy it is important to acknowledge that games-based content has inspired the cinematic and vice versa for years.

While watching the just-released Mission Impossible, I couldn’t help but marvel at the final scene where a railway bridge blows up and the train slowly teeters off it. Compartment after compartment succumbs to the inevitable and gravity overpowers the train’s various fastenings. Amidst the anxiety and the suspense of the moment, I couldn’t help but notice how extremely similar the scene was to a sequence in Uncharted II where Nathan Drake escapes a similar predicament in the Himalayas.

Closer to home, Shah Rukh Khan’s visual aesthetic in Pathan bears resemblance to Keanu Reeves character from Cyberpunk 2077, and even montages from the 2019 film War draw parallels to games like Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon.

Culturally, we have reached a point where games and other cinematic forms can engage in conversations on equal terms, both in terms of storytelling and the ability to capture rich detail. The recently released Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse exemplifies how games, cinema, and animation can come together to offer truly unique experiences, incorporating ideas like variable frame rates.

On the other hand, in the realm of filmmaking, I highly recommend watching episode 5 of The Witcher’s third season. It showcases how classical cinematic techniques, such as flashbacks and flashforwards, are employed to unveil details layer by layer, classical cinema techniques find great ways to adapt the depth of role-playing games where lore is unearthed through engagement that lasts over hundreds of hours.

There is a transformative shift taking place in the conception and narration of stories, and I firmly believe that The Last of Us is the first sign of what video games can uniquely offer to the creation process. It is truly exciting to witness this evolution and to see that we are exploring new avenues in game-making that extend beyond the singular pursuit of photorealism, technical advancement, visual fidelity, and pixel count.