In many ways, The Last of Us is having an incredibly successful 2023. This year marks the franchise’s 10th anniversary; to celebrate, a remaster, The Last of Us: Part 1, is available on PlayStation 5. Coincidentally, the incredibly popular and acclaimed HBO adaptation of The Last of Us, helmed by Chernobyl director Craig Mazin and Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann, is further widening the franchise’s appeal.
After the premiere of the series’ pilot episode on January 13, 2023, the game’s sales surged. Not to mention, for long-time fans of the series — and other Naughty Dog properties, like Uncharted — there have been plenty of Easter eggs and nods to the source material. So, when it comes to The Last of Us, should you play the game before watching the show?
What Is The Last of Us About?
Set 20 years after the collapse of modern civilization, The Last of Us chronicles a pandemic’s impact — not just on the world, but on the survivors. Unlike in other pandemic stories, the genesis of the outbreak isn’t viral. Instead, the infection stems from a mutated version of the Cordyceps fungi, which invades and infects its hosts, turning them into hungry hordes of undead.
Before the outbreak, Joel, the game’s main playable character, lived with his witty daughter, Sarah, and his reckless brother, Tommy. That first harrowing night of the outbreak, Joel’s world crumbles around him when Sarah dies. Two decades later, when the story picks up again, Joel is a hardened survivor living in a hostile, military-controlled Quarantine Zone (QZ) in former Boston, Massachusetts. A smuggler by trade, Joel and his partner, Tess, are hired to smuggle teenage Ellie out of the oppressive QZ. The directive? Get her to a group of rebels, called Fireflies, who will bring her West.
But what starts out as a simple job — one with a payout that will seemingly help Joel reunite with Tommy, who’s somewhere out in the post-apocalyptic landscape beyond the QZ — turns into a ruthless cross-country trek. Joel learns that Ellie is so important to the Fireflies because she’s been bitten but hasn’t turned into one of the Infected. It’s possible that, in this hopeless world, Ellie’s seeming immunity might be the key to developing a cure. After some logistical complications arise, it’s up to Joel to escort Ellie across the harsh landscape, which isn’t just brimming with Infected of all kinds but the most brutal of human survivors, too.
How Long Does It Take to Beat The Last of Us?
A third-person survival action game, The Last of Us emphasizes stealthy gameplay and resource management. Some enemies won’t be able to see the player, but they are able to hear them, for example, and, to drive home the fact that the game is set in a post-apocalyptic world, ammunition and other resources are scarce. At times, that will force the player to get creative — or avoid offensive encounters altogether — in order to maintain their limited inventory of weapons and items.
That said, play time varies. If a player takes the stealth route, that could add on time; likewise, charging through levels could result in a shorter play time — or it could result in more retries as it’s generally a riskier tactic. Regardless, these various gameplay mechanics result in different possible outcomes for players.
On average, players who just want to get through the main story without completing any side objectives can beat The Last of Us in about 15 hours. Players who want to complete the main story and the side quests see an average play time of 17 to 18 hours. Finally, players who are completionists — they want to beat every side objective, attain every in-game collectible, and unlock every trophy — take an average of 22 hours to nab that 100% completion. When these various completion rates are averaged out, it totals 16.5 hours.
Where Can You Watch The Last of Us?
Based on Naughty Dog’s BAFTA-winning 2013 game of the same name, The Last of Us is now a post-apocalyptic drama TV series. Created by writers and executive producers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO, the series is exclusive to the network. New episodes air on HBO’s traditional cable channels, and drop on the HBO Max streaming platform, on Sundays at 9 PM EST.
To watch, viewers will need an HBO subscription through their cable provider or an HBO Max monthly subscription, which can be bought directly from HBO. While cable-provided subscriptions vary in price, HBO Max currently runs $15 per month, providing users access to the network’s original content as well as other shows and movies under the WarnerMedia umbrella.
Episodes of The Last of Us can be streamed on-demand via the HBO Max platform, which is available on most Smart TVs and devices as well as in smartphone app and browser iterations. The first season, which began on January 13, 2023, will be nine episodes long, with the finale premiering on March 12, 2023.
Where Can You Play The Last of Us?
Originally released on the PlayStation 3 in 2013, The Last of Us has been ported and remastered for other consoles since then. In 2014, Naughty Dog, the game’s developer, released a version of The Last of Us for PlayStation 4. Since Sony Interactive Entertainment serves as the game’s publisher, it has been a first-party PlayStation/Sony exclusive. However, to mark the game’s 10th anniversary, Naughty Dog released a remake, The Last of Us: Part 1. Initially released on PlayStation 5 in September 2022, this remake will be made available to Windows gamers on March 3, 2023.
So, Should You Play The Last of Us Before Watching It?
For those who have never played the game but have interest in jumping into the show may want to know which order is best. Is playing The Last of Us — and beating it — better to do before watching the series? The answer really boils down to personal preference.
If you know virtually nothing about the characters and story, it may be fun to see it unfold in the show first — you’ll be more surprised that way. Plus, not everyone is a gamer and, as of now, diving into The Last of Us requires a PlayStation 3, 4 or 5. Of course, the game’s release for Windows in March 2023 will broaden its accessibility to PC gamers and more casual gamers alike.
On the other hand, playing the game first could clue people in to fun Easter eggs, allow them to see the discrepancies between the two versions of the story, and, given the average play time, let them experience the full story of The Last of Us: Part 1 sooner rather than later. Regardless of the path people choose, the game’s interactive nature, versus the show’s passive viewing experience, will allow the story to impact them in different ways. One isn’t necessarily better than the other — it’s just about finding the experience they're most interested in.
New episodes of The Last of Us premiere on HBO every Sunday through March 12, 2023. The Last of Us: Part 1 is currently available on PlayStation 5, and will be available for Windows users on March 3, 2023.