While attention has been centered around the trailer revealing Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet from its newest IP, it might have pulled focus from a mystery surrounding the series’ name and what it could mean for its future games. As part of its trailer announcing Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Naughty Dog referenced multiple past franchises that helped get the studio to where it is today, including series like Jak and Daxter, Uncharted, and The Last of Us. However, since the names of these series had some connection to their games’ stories, this suggests there’s a reason why Naughty Dog’s new IP is called Intergalactic.
Given what Naughty Dog has revealed about the upcoming game, its subtitle, The Heretic Prophet, could potentially connect to the setting, story, and underlying themes such as the abandoned planet Sempiria, its demonic-looking robots, and ideas about faith and religion. By contrast, it’s just as likely that Naughty Dog didn’t choose the main title for the series at random, meaning there are potentially other connections behind its Intergalactic namesake. Beyond The Heretic Prophet itself, should the upcoming game prove successful and jump-start Naughty Dog’s new IP, this Intergalactic title could help give players an idea of what to expect from future games.
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Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet’s Biggest Mystery Was Actually Teased Before the Game’s Reveal
One of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet’s big mysteries was teased before its reveal, and it suggests something about one of the game’s characters.
Breaking Down What Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Means For Naughty Dog’s IP
Based on its trailer and the details confirmed by Naughty Dog, it is already possible to get a feel for what to expect from The Heretic Prophet ahead of its release. For instance, the trailer showcases the various sources of inspiration The Heretic Prophet is drawing from, ranging from the retrofuturism of the 80s and 90s to hit anime like Akira and Cowboy Bebop. While this sci-fi setting and inspiration help explain why Naughty Dog’s new series has been called Intergalactic, its subtitle may be more relevant to the first game’s main story and characters as a result.
Naughty Dog’s New Intergalactic IP Seems To Take Notes From Uncharted
But this isn’t the first time Naughty Dog has started with this approach to titles and subtitles, as the Uncharted series has done the same as what Intergalactic appears to be setting itself up for. All of Uncharted‘s games have used subtitles relevant to their game’s stories, even including third-party games and Naughty Dog’s spin-offs, with the franchise’s most recent game, Uncharted: A Thief’s End implied to be the end of Nathan Drake’s journey as the main series’ protagonist. With this in mind, Intergalactic could take the same approach, especially if The Heretic Prophet feels more relevant to the specific game’s story than the broader series.
Intergalactic Hints to Naughty Dog’s Large-Scale Plans For The Series
As seen with Naughty Dog’s other franchises, it seems likely that the studio plans to continue the Intergalactic series beyond The Heretic Prophet, especially given that the studio currently has a reputation for developing at least three games per franchise. Aside from Naughty Dog’s development of The Last of Us alongside Intergalactic, this could mean that two more games are somewhere in Intergalactic‘s far future. Therefore, should Intergalactic continue to follow The Heretic Prophet‘s protagonist, Jordan A. Mun, and her escapades as a bounty hunter, the series’ main title could hint towards Naughty Dog’s larger plans for future games.
The term “intergalactic” itself is defined as relating to things in or moving between two different galaxies, so if Naughty Dog has intentionally chosen this as the IP’s main title, then this suggests that the series will have a much larger scale than The Heretic Prophet‘s singular planet. Should The Heretic Prophet‘s small-scale setting keep to Sempiria, then its Intergalactic namesake doesn’t appear accurate unless Naughty Dog plans to include more planets and star systems in future games. Therefore, depending on the success and reception of The Heretic Prophet, Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic could take after other space-faring game series, like Starfield, Destiny, or Mass Effect.
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Sony Interactive Entertainment