Heads up! I will try to write this with as few spoilers as possible. Keep in mind though, there may be a situation needed for comparison. 
There have been quite a few video games making the jump to live action (or anime style) these days and there is typically a 75% chance that it will not live up to the expectations of their original fan base. If we take a look at Halo, for example, even though a season 2 is coming, a lot of viewers felt it veered off of a path that made them love Halo in the first place. An original storyline is dangerous in the video game-to-live action world as many people want to keep their digital versions the way they have already seen (or controlled) them.
Enter: The Last Of Us. I admit that I had super high hopes for this series as I LOVE the first game (we may stay hush hush for now on the second). I tried not to fall in the trap of being too excited just be let down but I could not help it. The Last Of Us in game form was an epic telling of a story about love. A story about survival and a story of hope. Raw emotion in nearly every scene regardless if you were in control or not. Every new area had you FEEL the intensity of what was at stake: a cure for the world's plague. Will you, as the main character Joel, be able to complete the impossible task of escorting the potential cure alone after you have learned you have had an empty and unfulfilling life for the last 20 years? It's a huge chore that Joel is the only person equipped for. Without getting into spoilers for the game or the show, it is so heart warming and yet oh so haunting to watch unfold.
From the very start of Episode 1, we see that the show nearly follows the game to a tee. There are only a few minor deviations at first either for context or further explanation. It pushes a good pace adapted for television since the game has you controlling Joel and entering a lot of combat scenarios. To add this would add a lot of filler that I don't think would be needed.
The show does take it's own liberties at times and they honestly pay off. Without spoilers, there is an episode dedicated to a DLC and an episode dedicated to an altered storyline with a pivotal character. These are both very well done (even if they didn't need to add the DLC episode) and keep the theme of emotion going strong.
One thing I WILL add, though, is that you never truly fear the infected through the show. Mostly used for flashbacks (except one episode where all hell breaks loose), there's no real threat of a Clicker coming out of nowhere. HBO happens to paint this picture of a isolated world where braving the weather and humans is the danger. Now, while that is true even in the game, you do spend a big chunk of the game killing or running from these infected. Here they seem to show up every few episodes inetad of a Walking Dead situation where about a dozen or so get annihilated per episode. I don't think this is neccioa bad thing, probably especially if you never played it in its Playstation form, but for me personally, it made the world feel... Not so scary after all.
Pedro Pascal is absolutely brilliant as Joel throughout the entire season. He really portrays the "Dad will do anything to protect his kid that's not his kid" type in the show very well. His character arch is very satisfying and glorious to watch. I do not think he could have done any better or a job here. From his early beginning to the Joel we see at the very end, the journey was seen and felt throughout the season. Troy Baker absolutely crushed this role in the game and Pedro did the impossible and brought it to life.
Now Bella Ramsey as Ellie had me skeptical at first. Honestly, she nails it. Ellie's IDGAF attitude mixed with her constant joking and a dash of being a child, she's fantastic. It's amazing thinking how both Pedro and Bella came from Game Of Thrones to be a perfect casting pair in The Last Of Us. Bella here shows her acting chops dripped with emotion and delivery. By the end of Season 1, you are totally convinced in the reality she lives. She is great.
The Last Of Us brings so much so fast packed into its 9 episodes. The majority of them are under an hour at length and it does sort of feel that way. My main criticism is that I think the show could have either had longer episodes or MORE episodes for some of the bigger plot points to really give the tension and drama. Some of the plot does feel a bit rushed and it's hard to not feel that way when the game itself is a good 30 hours. Clicker absense aside, I was eventually more wrapped into the story of Joel and Ellie to fully fulfill my apocalyptic world desires than anything else and The Last Of Us truly delivers. The way this picture not only gets painted but presented to us is an absolute treasure. Scenes directly ripped from the game, extra added gems (seriously, the Nick Offerman episode is a MUST watch), and the overall aesthetic, make me want more and more of the show. It has already been confirmed that season 2 will be following the second game of the series so if you have played it, you know what to expect. I do hope there are some changes there and the majority of you will know why. If you haven't played it, wait until the show comes out just in case you do not want to disappoint yourself.
Overall, I highly recommend giving The Last Of Us a watch through regardless of you've played the game, seen the game or never even heard of it. It's an intense thriller mixed with a little horror and gore. I'm a fan of these genres (and I HAD to make the Walking Dead comparison for myself in terms of story telling) and I was pleasantly surprised. I kept thinking "okay when will they mess this up?" and they never did. Every episode had me hooked and then bummed when it was over. Get out there and watch The Last Of Us now!
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