The Last of Us, developed by Uncharted developer Naughty Dog, sees players survive a post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh overrun by zombie-esque monsters.
What Remains is a web series inspired by the title. While the series is not part of the official canon for the game, it still has hooked many fans of the horror genre. The show has been hyped up following trailers which showcased a fan series full of solid production quality and a compelling story.
Manifest Films put out the first episode of the series and it makes good on the promises of the trailer. Full of great creature makeup and decent acting, it looks to be one of the few fan-made videos to actually turn out well.
The game and the web series tell two completely different stories set in the same world. What Remains follows the journey of David and Alex, two survivors living outside of the safety of human colonies in a post-apocalyptic United States. The Last of Us follows Ellie and Joel as they traverse through both human colonies and unmarked zones looking to find a safe haven for Ellie.
What Remains smartly decided to put another story in the same universe as the game. The world that Naughty Dog created is unique and compelling. It offers a place ripe for new stories and other characters.
Both titles see the world overrun by humans infected by a brain eating fungus based on Cordyceps. The real-life Cordyceps attacks insect's central nervous system. Cordyceps cause infected bugs to become crazed before eventually dying and sprouting multicolored fungus from their corpse. In the game and web series, a similar fungus has attacked humans and caused them to become ultra-violent. The web series uses the fungus as a jumping off point for a world where people have become just as deadly as the infected.
"What does it mean to be human when humanity's time has passed," says Manifest Film's about the projects story.
The series will have a six episode run starting now. Naughty Dog's The Last of Us will release on June 14.
