There aren’t a lot of studios in the games industry that have the sort of impeccable legacy and track record that Naughty Dog has. Having delivered a long string of unabashed masterpieces over the years, this is a studio that, when it does something new, you can’t help but stop and pay attention. And there’s nothing quite as exciting as a new IP.
At The Game Awards, Naughty Dog announced an entirely new sci-fi IP in the form of Intergalactic, the Uncharted and Last of Us studio’s fifth IP total, and first new IP in close to a decade and a half. Presumably, Naughty Dog and Sony will have plenty more to say about Intergalactic in the months and years ahead, but even now, there are plenty of details that have already been revealed that have caught our eye. Join us as we go through them.
PROTAGONIST
Story and storytelling are always star attractions in a Naughty Dog joint, so understandably enough, the developer is keeping things close to its chest in this area. Even so, some brief details have been revealed for what to expect from Intergalactic’s story- starting with the protagonist. We’ll be playing as Jordan A. Mun, who’s clearly a skilled pilot and has her own shiny spaceship (one manufactured by Porsche, apparently), and is described by Naughty Dog as a dangerous bounty hunter. She’ll be played by Tati Gabrielle, who has an interesting history with Naughty Dog-related projects. The actress played the villain in 2022’s Uncharted movie, and will also be playing Nora in the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation.
STORY DETAILS
In Intergalactic’s trailer, we see Jordan’s spaceship in the orbit of a planet with a shattered celestial object floating in the distance. In a PlayStation Blog post, it was revealed that the planet in question is called Sempiria, and it went dark centuries ago, losing all communication with the rest of the universe. For centuries those who have been foolish enough to fly to the planet and uncover its mysteries have never returned, and now, Jordan must figure out how to escape the planet’s orbit, becoming the first one to do so in 600 years.
MORE STORY DETAILS
There’s not much else that we know about Intergalactic yet – for instance, will the game set entirely on and around Sempiria, or will it be more of a planet-hopping, space-faring journey? – but other brief tidbits have been dropped here and there. In an interview with New York Times, for instance, Naughty Dog president Neil Druckmann revealed that the game’s “ambitious” story revolves around a fictitious religion and tackles “what happens when you put your faith in different institutions”. There’s strong thematic storytelling to be derived from the such a storytelling premise, especially with Naughty Dog’s writing chops, so consider our curiosity piqued.
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE
Among the few brief narrative details revealed for Intergalactic so far, something that catches the eye is the game’s setting. Specifically, it is set in an alternative version of our own universe, where, after 1986, humanity developed rapid advancements in spaceflight technology. Of course, we do see real-world brands like Porsche, Adidas, and of course, Sony peppered throughout the trailer, so here’s your confirmation that yes, Intergalactic’s setting is at least real-world-adjacent. Does that mean we’ll see this universe’s version of Earth at some point? One would hope so…
INSPIRATIONS
Speaking to New York Times, Druckmann has also revealed key inspirations for Intergalactic. Two beloved pieces of Japanese media – 1988 cyberpunk anime film Akira and wildly popular space Western anima Cowboy Bebop – have been mentioned as Intergalactic’s biggest inspirations, which should give you some idea of the sort of slick, stylized, action-heavy tone that Naughty Dog is going for. After the dour post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us and the adventurous shenanigans of Uncharted, this should be an interesting change of pace for the studio.
CAST
Protagonist Jordan is the only named character in Intergalactic we know about so far, but her actress, Tati Gabrielle, isn’t the only cast member who’s been revealed for the game. In the trailer, we also see a character played by Kumail Nanjiani, while eagle-eyed fans have also spotted another character played by Tony Dalton, best known for playing Lalo Salamanca in Better Call Saul. Meanwhile, as revealed by Druckmann earlier this year, the game will also feature a character played by Troy Baker, who, of course, has a long history of appearing in Naughty Dog games, whether that be as Joel Miller or Sam Drake.
GAMEPLAY DETAILS
There’s very little that we know about Intergalactic’s gameplay so far, but with the aforementioned New York Times piece describing it as a return to Naughty Dog’s action-adventure roots and the reveal trailer showing Jordan attacking a robotic enemy with a futuristic energy sword-like weapon, we would imagine melee combat is going to at least be a big focus. The PlayStation Blog also claims the game will have “the deepest gameplay in Naughty Dog’s history”, and that it will also take cues from the studio’s previous games.
MUSIC
American rock band Nine Inch Nails has topped many year-end wraps, and incredibly enough, the band’s sound is going to be tied to Intergalactic as well- sort of. Specifically, it has been announced that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails are the co-composers for the game. On the PlayStation Blog, Druckmann wrote, “Our incredible voyage into the cosmos also needs an equally incredible soundtrack. As tremendous fans of their work, I’m excited to announce our collaboration with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross who’ll be scoring Intergalactic! The guys are cooking, and the trailer is just a small tease of their work for the game.”
NAUGHTY DOG’S MOST AMBITIOUS GAME
Naughty Dog being ambitious with a new game is not a surprising thing- that’s what the studio has made its name on over the years, and sure enough, with Intergalactic, the studio is once again looking to one-up itself. Though little has been shown of the game so far, Naughty Dog has stressed repeatedly how ambitious the game is going to be, going back to before it had even been officially announced. Earlier this year, for instance, it was labelled by Druckmann as Naughty Dog’s most ambitious game to date.
DIRECTED BY NEIL DRUCKMANN
We’ve mentioned Naughty Dog president and head of creative Neil Druckmann – creative director of The Last of Us, The Last of Us Part 2, and Uncharted 4 – a few times in this feature, and yes, he is indeed the creative director on Intergalactic. He will be partnered by two game directors in Matthe Gallant (who was the game director on The Last of Us Part 1 and the lead systems designer on The Last of Us Part 2) and Kurt Margenau (who was the game director on The Last of Us Part 2 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy). Intergalactic entered development in 2020, after the launch of The Last of Us Part 2, and has been worked on by over 250 people at Naughty Dog, not to mention external partners. The game doesn’t yet have a release date or window announced, but given that it’s been in the works for four years, and given the fact that Naughty Dog likes to take its time with its projects, we’d assume that at the earlier, the game will be out by 2026- though maybe a safer (and admittedly more pessimistic) prediction would be a 2027 release.
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