Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is Naughty Dog’s latest project.
The upcoming title was unveiled to a packed audience at The Games Awards in Los Angeles this week, complete with teaser trailer and a generous number of details.
Described as an “emotional, character-driven epic journey” with “the deepest gameplay in Naughty Dog’s history, taking learnings from previous franchises and pushing them beyond anything we’ve ever done before” Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet takes inspiration from classic anime such as Akira and the Cowboy Bebop.
The title’s protagonist is Jordan A. Mun (Tati Gabrielle, You, Kaleidoscope), who the Games Studio describes as 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. Anyone who’s flown to Sempira 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.
Also starring are Kumail Nanjiani (Eternals, Silicon Valley) Tony Dalton (Better Call Saul, Hawkeye), and Troy Baker (Video games Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, The Last of Us 1 & 2).
The teaser trailer shows Jordan on the trail of her latest bounty Colin Graves (Nanijani), threat level 7, and one of the Five Aces. The Aces appear to be a criminal organization that Jordan herself belonged to at some point in her past, based on the cosy photo adorning the wall on her ship. Obsessive newspaper clippings show Jordan is determined to find the entire gang, including its boss (Dalton), who is, according to reports, currently dead or in hiding.
Jordan sports a massive scar on the back of her head, evidently the result of a previous fight. Is her injury (purposefully revealed in the trailer) the result of a previous run in with the Aces? But most importantly, is Jordan’s mission to reunite her previous crew, or to run them down for the bounty?
As Jordan sets out for the Terya sector, the last known whereabouts of Graves, she chooses to play The Pet Shop Boys’ 1987 hit It’s a Sin.
The lyrics hint at The Five Aces misdeeds, and perhaps Jordan’s previous life?
Everything I’ve ever done
Everything I ever do
Every place I’ve ever been
Everywhere I’m going to
It’s a sin.
Intergalactic is Naughty Dog’s most ambitious to date, with over 250 developers working on it over the last 4 years, following a period of layoffs and restructuring. Studio head Neil Druckmann commented that the company is now in a position to operate as an “IP powerhouse” and “mark a return Naughty Dog’s roots in action adventure that started the studio’s reputation with Crash Bandicoot.”
Additionally, the studio have partnered with Nine Inch Nails artists Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross who will score the game.
