Despite the lack of gameplay, Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet has caused quite the stir since its announcement at The Game Awards 2024. It boasts several inspirations, notably futuristic anime like Cowboy Bebop and Akira. And while it’s still “changing and evolving” during development, per director Neil Druckmann, another action title has seemingly inspired its sense of player freedom.
Ben Hanson of MinMaxx noted that, “At some point on the podcast a while ago, before the reveal trailer happened, I teased that idea of, like, ‘I’ve heard Naughty Dog’s next game is very inspired by a game with a lot of player freedom.’”
As it turns out, he was referencing FromSoftware’s Elden Ring. “I think it’s fine to say it now. Elden Ring is what it was compared to back then. But if I would have said, ‘Naughty Dog’s next game is like Elden Ring,’ and then that reveal trailer comes out, we would have been lit on fire.”
True enough, not many would see Intergalactic’s first trailer and immediately think of adventuring through a world similar to The Lands Between. However, it does unfold on a single planet, Sempiria, and Hanson noted that players would be “uncovering the history of this world. You can kinda see a little bit where they might be going with that.”
Of course, the gameplay loop has yet to be showcased. All we have from the reveal trailer is protagonist Jordan A. Mun wielding a laser sword against a larger enemy. A release date is also unknown, and so it may be a while before concrete details. Stay tuned for updates and check out our feature on everything we know.
