There’s very little we know about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, the latest sci-fi game made by Last of Us and Uncharted developer Naughty Dog. The respected studio has shared few details about the game, but it is already set to have an excellent cast, including legendary actor Troy Baker from innumerable gaming projects. Although Troy Baker has been involved with more games than most players have ever completed, his comments on Intergalactic build up a greater level of excitement than people were expecting.
There have been criticisms directed toward Naughty Dog and other AAA games in recent years, with the backlash surrounding The Last Of Us Part 2 being a big discourse back in 2020. With Troy Baker’s most recent project, Marvel’s Wolverine, also drawing fan ire regarding its structure and story, there are plenty of doubts surrounding Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet at the moment. Hopefully, Troy Baker’s insight on the game can help shed some much needed light on Naughty Dog’s development process on title, which currently has no release window.
Recently, Naughty Dog announced that it had wrapped performance capture shooting for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, marking a point where the game has finalized its story and set pieces for the most part. The new IP is a promising one, with heavy sci-fi aesthetics and a sleek, stylish art style enhanced by cutting edge graphics that Naughty Dog has done so well in their past games. While the technical side of the game is sure to be impressive, players have big concerns about the narrative and direction of the title, which could easily fall into the standard AAA pitfalls that draw the most criticism.
However, a panel during the Ottawa Comiccon in Ontario, Canada, saw Troy Baker comment on the state of Intergalactic, as the actor is within the game itself. Baker had nothing but praise for the game, saying that “you guys are going to have your minds blown” and “You are not ready. It’s so good.” This alone could be Baker simply praising his latest performance capture experience with Naughty Dog, which he has done before. That being said, the nature of this praise goes further than people may have thought, with Baker specifically highlighting the other actors in Intergalactic as a key selling point for the project.
“I don’t know how [director/writer Neil Druckmann] found two amazing actors” was one of Baker’s comments, referring to both Ashley Johnson as Ellie in The Last of Us games and Tati Gabrielle playing the main character in Intergalactic. Gabrielle plays Jordan A. Mun, the protagonist of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, a character we don’t know much about right now. From Baker’s comments, he says that “She [Jordan] is the spiritual successor. There is so much about Jordan and that game of Intergalactic that feels like…man, I feel all of it. I feel Uncharted, I feel The Last of Us, I feel something new.”
Baker goes on to also say that “They [Naughty Dog] are testing the bounds of what the studio is capable of,” implying that Intergalactic has a level of ambition Naughty Dog hasn’t attempted in some time. Between The Last of Us remasters, the HBO live action Last of Us series, and the long time it’s been since the latest Uncharted, Naughty Dog has mostly played it safe. Intergalactic represents the studio’s first real shot in the dark after some years, with a brand-new IP that can’t rely on nostalgia to capture audiences.
Given how Naughty Dog has stepped away from the live action Last of Us show for its third season to focus on Intergalactic‘s development, it’s safe to say that this IP is where they are pouring most of their efforts. From current rumors, the game is slated for a possible 2027 release, perhaps toward the end of that year. Future PlayStation State of Play events may show off more of the title, if past trends from Naughty Dogs’ games are to be believed. Performance capture for The Last of Us Part 2 ended in 2019, a year before the game released, so Baker’s comments following Intergalactic‘s motion capture conclusions last month could give players a theoretical timeline.
Even without definitive information, Baker’s praise gives players something to get excited about, both to and set expectations for Naughty Dog’s latest IP. Given the celebrated fan bases around The Last of Us and Uncharted, it’s safe to say that expectations were already high to begin with. Yet, when Troy Baker says how mind-blowing Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will be, it’s hard not to buy into the building hype.
