Intergalactic

Naughty Dog

If there was one especially controversial game at The Game Awards, it was Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, its first new IP since The Last of Us over a decade ago in 2013 and what looks to be a significant departure for the studio.

Every upload of the trailer appears to have an underwater likes to dislikes ratio, indicating some level of pushback. The complaints range from a bald Tati Gabrielle as a “woke” looking lead, some amount of distaste for the studio and its leadership, and even the featured product placement of Porsche, Adidas and Sony. There’s a lot going on. Others thought it looked very cool.

Now, we have some more details about what exactly this game is from Neil Druckmann, speaking to the NYT, plus an official Naughty Dog article. The highlights, including the official synopsis:

“Intergalactic stars our newest protagonist, Jordan A. Mun, a dangerous bounty hunter who ends up stranded on Sempiria – a distant planet whose communication with the outside universe went dark hundreds of years ago. In fact, anyone who’s flown to it hoping to unravel its mysterious past was never heard from again. Jordan will have to use all her skills and wits if she hopes to be the first person in over 600 years to leave its orbit.”

• The confirmed cast is Tati Gabrielle, Kumail Nanjiani and Halley Gross (not an eyepatched Sigourney Weaver, as some theorized). Gross is an actress but most recently co-wrote The Last of Us Part 2 with Druckmann. Gabrielle co-starred in the Uncharted movie and will play Nora in The Last of Us season 2.
• The story centers on a fictious religion and “what happens when you put your faith in different institutions.” “Heretic Prophet” was certainly a clue that religion was involved. It is an “emotional, character-driven epic journey.”
• The game took its vibe and aesthetic inspiration from the likes of Akira and Cowboy Bebop. It takes place in an alternate universe where space travel has significantly advanced by 1986.
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are doing the score after famously working on Gone Girl, Challengers and The Social Network.
• The game has had 250 devs working on it for four years, in addition to other artists from outside the studio. It does not have a release date or even release year. 2026 may be a safe bet, if it doesn’t slip to 2027.

While Naughty Dog and even the initial reveal of this game may be somewhat controversial in 2024, there is no disputing the studio’s history with multiple GOTY winners including its last game, The Last of Us Part 2, being the most-awarded in history. The HBO show has put up big numbers and received dozens of nominations. Supposedly a Part 3 may arrive someday, but not for a long, long while given Intergalactic’s priority release.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.