Here's What Happens In HBO's Hit Video Game 'The Last of Us' Is Based On

HBO's new series "The Last of Us ", which will be released on January 15 on HBO, is one of the boldest video game adaptations of all time. The show is based on the video game of the same name, released in 2013, as well as the expansion game, "The Last of Us: Left Behind", released a year later. This game follows Joel, a survivor in a post-apocalyptic America, where a mutant Cordyceps fungus has infected most of the country, turning them into zombie-like creatures known as the Infected. In the year 2033, Joel is tasked with smuggling a young girl, Ellie, across America because she may hold the secret to a vaccine, treatment, or cure.

The new series, which stars Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie and was created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, makes some changes to that setup. In the series, the infection begins to spread in 2003, and the series mainly takes place in 2023. And after two episodes, it changed the relationships between characters, situations and deaths. Mazin also promised that the series would not follow the plot of the game exactly, with a few new or expanded characters in addition to other discrepancies. But if you're curious about what's going on in the game, we've got you covered. Read what happens in the "Last of Us" video game, with full spoilers. And if you're looking to find out what happens in "The Last of Us Part II", the game's sequel, you'll have to wait until season two.

The beginning of the infection in the video game "The Last od Us"

Players meet Joel; his 12-year-old daughter, Sarah; and his brother Tommy. They live in Texas and at the start of the game the Cordyceps fungus started infecting people in their home country. The trio try to escape by car but have a car accident. They fight their way through other escapees and infected people on foot, but Sarah injures her leg in the crash, so Joel has to carry her. They encounter a US Army soldier who has been ordered to kill them, lest they spread the infection. He shoots and kills Sarah, but Tommy also kills the soldier before he can catch Joel. The loss of his daughter changes Joel forever.

20 years later

In the future, the US government no longer exists. Instead, each city is a militarized forced quarantine zone. The main resistance force is the fireflies, who want to restore the government. "Remember, when you're lost in the dark...seek the light" is their slogan. The quarantine zone government will pluck the suspected fireflies seemingly at random, while the fireflies will also retaliate sporadically.

Joel and his partner, Tess, are smugglers living in Boston's highly militarized Quarantine Zone. They track down Robert, who has stolen a cache of weapons. When they find it, he reveals that he sold it to the Fireflies. Tess kills him.

When they find Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies, she says she'll double their cache if they smuggle 14-year-old orphan Ellie to the Fireflies hiding outside the quarantine zone. Marlene also reveals that she was close to Joel's brother, Tommy, who was a Firefly. Tess and Joel finally accept the agreement but quickly...