Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophetis currently a giant question mark beyond what was shown in the reveal teaser and the tiny scraps of details that Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann has shared since the game’s announcement. There will obviously be ahuge emphasis on melee combat inIntergalacticseeing as there’s a highly unique and mysterious blade weapon that protagonist Jordan A. Mun wields, for example, but gunplay will still have a role considering she has an SMG sidearm holstered on her leg. As with many AAA titles and sequels, it wouldn’t at all be surprising if a lot ofThe Last of Us’ DNA is fed toIntergalacticintravenously.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophetis reportedly tackling themes of loneliness and being lost, presumably without many NPC allies to exchange dialogue with. The science-fiction IP may followThe Last of Us’ linear level design approach, too, but it will be interesting to see how its setting, Sempiria, takes shape regardless. Indeed,Part 2introduced a map system thatThe Last of Usinherited from a similar section inUncharted: The Lost Legacy, and if larger areas home to rich, optional exploration culminate inIntergalacticit would be excellent seeing that map system iterated on.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is Seemingly All About Exploration in an Unknown IP
Being a new IP with a world that nobody will be familiar with until they experience it themselves,Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet’s brand of science fiction and religionisn’t easy to categorize yet, and probably purposefully so. In essence, the game’s aesthetic may well be demonstrative of the studio’s favorite science-fiction motifs and, likeThe Last of Us, not everything will need to be explained by exposition for its lore to be superb so long as worldbuilding and environmental storytelling in-game suffice.
The game is vibrant and plastered with notable,real-life corporate labels, such as Adidas, Porsche, and Sony, and even has the comforts of a modern, ordinary life, including a brown paper takeout bag with hot sauce beside it, suggesting thatIntergalacticwill be familiar and not too alien. A lot ofIntergalacticwill supposedly concentrate on Jordan and the player learning about Sempiria specifically, though, and dabbling in cartography as Jordan begins to explore a mysterious land could logically allowIntergalacticto become a semi-open-world title by taking Seattle Day 1 fromThe Last of Us Part 2and extrapolating it into a full game.
The Last of Us Part 2’s Seattle Day 1 May Be the Perfect Formula for Intergalactic
Intergalactic’s reveal teaserdoes illustrate that ordinary photographs, print news articles, and handwritten notes have not yet gone out of style—perhaps a quirk ofIntergalactic: The Heretic Prophet’s alternate universe marinating in the cassette futurism subgenre of science fiction. It’s unknown how much could be digitized versus analog, for instance, and this makes whatever assortment of tools or resources Jordan has incredibly exciting.
If stranded and lacking communications or a ton of technology, Jordan may resort to a physical map that she periodically updates and appends to. This way, it may be possible to have linear story beats told within big regions.
Not having an ally to accompany Jordan in a sweeping section like this would be odd, particularly because Naughty Dog truly has made NPC companions such a natural element throughoutUnchartedandThe Last of Us, but it might also be a great idea due to how distinct that change would inherently makeIntergalactic. Either way, should an interactive map find itself in Jordan’s possession, it would be fantastic to seehowIntergalacticmay learn from some ofThe Last of Us Part 2’s best chapters and features.
