A video game adaptation feels faithful when it preserves what makes the game matter—its relationships, character motives, themes, world logic and emotional stakes—not when it reproduces every scene or mechanic. The best approach depends on the game: a fixed, character-led story may support a close retelling, while a choice-heavy role-playing game may be better served by a new story set in its world.
What should an adaptation preserve?
Start by identifying the source’s defining experience. Is its appeal a particular relationship, a character’s transformation, a richly imagined world, a difficult choice, or the tension of controlling a vulnerable character? Those elements give a production a more useful guide than a checklist of scenes to recreate.
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In a Sky interview, The Last of Us co-creator Craig Mazin argued that some adaptations fail because their makers do not understand “where the love for the game is.” That is his assessment, not a universal formula—but it points to the central question: what do players value, and what dramatic purpose does it serve?
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Choose an approach that fits the game
Games differ in how much of their story is fixed and how much depends on the player. That changes what a screen adaptation can—and should—retell. TIME’s comparison of The Last of Us and Fallout illustrates the distinction; it is a critical argument about these examples, not a rule for every adaptation.
| Source-game structure | What the adaptation can emphasize | Illustrative case |
|---|---|---|
| A fixed central story, with the same central characters and obstacles for players | Retell the central plot while adapting viewpoint, pacing and scenes to the new medium | The Last of Us: TIME contrasts its single ending and shared central path with more variable games. |
| A role-playing game with player choices, character builds, factions and optional quests | Use the world’s possibilities to tell a distinct story rather than selecting one player’s path as definitive | Fallout: TIME notes that the series uses new characters and a location not previously explored in the games. |
TIME’s comparison of the two adaptations argues that a new story in a game’s world can welcome fans and newcomers alike. That does not mean every open-ended game needs new protagonists; it means the adaptation should consider whether its source has one canonical-feeling journey or many equally plausible ones.
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Translate mechanics into dramatic effects
Mechanics exist for a player to use. A game may repeat stealth or combat encounters so players can learn and master the systems; a television episode does not need to teach the audience how to play. The adaptation can preserve the effect of those mechanics—dread, vulnerability, suspense or consequence—using tools that belong to the screen.
Build suspense without player control
In The Last of Us, Clickers’ sounds signal danger and help them perceive their surroundings. Naughty Dog’s production account describes the series using glimpses, reflections and the characters’ visible fear to create tension rather than simply staging the same playable encounter. The viewer cannot control the danger, so the scene builds suspense through what the camera reveals and how the characters react.
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Make action change the story
For television, action is most meaningful when it affects character or plot instead of repeating gameplay spectacle. Mazin put it this way: “When you have an action sequence, it should be singular.” The Naughty Dog production account describes the aim of making action distinctive and tied to story.
Respect consequences that games can reset
A game can let a character use a healing item and quickly return to play. Television cannot lean on that convention in the same way: an injury has to remain legible as a physical and dramatic consequence. The same principle applies more broadly—when a mechanic makes danger feel temporary or manageable for a player, the adaptation may need another way to make its stakes believable.
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Let performers interpret, not impersonate
Faithful characterization does not require actors to reproduce a game performance. Druckmann said the television actors should understand the script and the character, then make the role their own rather than copy the game performers. As he put it, “We need you to not copy them; we hired you because we trust you as an artist to internalize the script and who this character is and make it your own.” His point supports a distinction between preserving a character’s motives and demanding an identical voice, gesture or delivery.
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Use a practical test for changes
When a scene, character or plot point changes, ask whether the adaptation has preserved the underlying logic. A different event can still feel true to the source if it grows from the same motives, respects how the world works and carries comparable emotional weight. A copied scene can feel hollow if it loses the purpose it had in play.
- What is the source’s main appeal? Name the relationship, theme, world, agency or emotional experience the adaptation is trying to carry over.
- How fixed is the game’s story? Consider whether a close retelling fits the source or whether a new story better reflects its range of possible paths.
- What did interactivity contribute? Replace player participation with screen-native suspense, performance, pacing, sound or consequence—not merely a visual replica.
- Do changes preserve motives and world logic? New scenes should still feel like they belong to the characters and setting.
- Does the action matter afterward? Violence or spectacle should alter a relationship, decision, danger or story direction.
- Can newcomers follow it? Familiarity should deepen the experience, not serve as a substitute for clear storytelling.
Why “faithful” is not the same as “identical”
A game and a television series or film ask their audiences to do different things. Players act, explore and may make choices; viewers follow what the screen shows them. As a result, a faithful adaptation may change scenes, structure, pacing, performances and mechanics while retaining the source’s essential emotional and thematic logic.
That balance is conditional, not a guarantee of success: creator involvement, recognizable details and close plot fidelity alone cannot ensure a good adaptation. The more useful standard is whether the changes make the story work in its new form without losing what made the original meaningful. In AP’s coverage, screenwriting creator Michael Tucker described the accessibility of The Last of Us in terms of character arcs and relationships under pressure from the story world; that is one account of why those elements can travel beyond the game medium.
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For an official overview of the game and the adaptation’s creative team, see PlayStation’s 2023 production feature. The related creator discussion is also available in the Associated Press report.
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