Rumors of a new Sci-Fi IP from Naughty Dog have been floating around the internet since long before even The Last of Us Part 2‘s launch in 2020. While the content of many of these leaks turned out to be false, the general notion that Naughty Dog would eventually work on a new Sci-Fi IP turned out to be correct, with the Sony first-party developer announcing Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet during last year’s Game Awards ceremony.
While Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet‘s cinematic reveal trailer didn’t give too much away about the game’s story, a few key details have been confirmed since its debut. One of the most important details is that Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will see players get stranded on Sempiria, a planet that’s been cut off from the rest of the galaxy for over 600 years, and a planet that no one’s ever left. Given Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us Part 2‘s experiments with open-ended level design, it seems likely that Intergalactic‘s Sempiria will contain at least one open area of its own, and it could look to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor for inspiration.
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While one Naughty Dog game might be the first fans think of when it comes to the world design Intergalactic may offer, another title makes more sense.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Could Take Inspiration From Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Koboh
Intergalactic Should Borrow Koboh’s Hub Area
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor may have had fewer planets than its predecessor, but it made up for that by delivering the incredibly expansive world of Koboh. Being the first fully explorable planet in Jedi: Survivor, players quickly stumble upon the safehouse that is Greez’s cantina, “Pyloon’s Saloon.”
This cantina essentially becomes the player’s primary base of operations, with players returning there frequently throughout Jedi: Survivor‘s campaign. As players progress through Jedi: Survivor‘s story, the cantina will continue to evolve, gathering more patrons that in turn grant protagonist Cal Kestis more side quest opportunities, such as bounty hunts and more Holotactics opponents.
Pyloon’s Saloon even has a few activities inspired by the cozy life-sim genre, allowing players to tend to a Sci-Fi garden and collect fish from around the galaxy. Though it wasn’t perfect, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor‘s cantina hub helped the game’s narrative and universe feel a little more intimate and vibrant.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet could use a similar hub area, where players can return, upgrade and customize their arsenal, and get a breather from the rest of Sempiria’s presumably harsh environment. If the player is stranded on Sempiria, it would make sense for this hub area to be the protagonist’s Porsche-branded spaceship, which seems to have enough room for any companions players might find along the way.
Intergalactic Should Borrow Koboh’s Interconnected Level Design
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order borrowed heavily from the Metroidvania genre for its level design, blocking off certain paths until players had unlocked specific abilities. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor condensed those Metroidvania influences into one main planet.
Surrounding Pyloon’s Saloon is a web of interweaving roads that stretch across the planet. Most of these roads lead to a unique point of interest, such as the downed Lucrehulk or the Forest Array, and most of these roads connect with one another via shortcuts and pathways that require the use of specific abilities to unlock. This interconnected level design helps to make Koboh feel like a real, living and breathing location while also rewarding the player’s exploration, and it’s something that Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet should borrow.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Propher follows Jordan A. Mun, 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. In fact, anyone who’s flown to it 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.
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment