While attention has been centered around the trailer revealing Naughty Dog’sIntergalactic: The Heretic Prophetfrom 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 announcingIntergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Naughty Dog referenced multiple past franchises that helped get the studio to where it is today, including series likeJak and Daxter,Uncharted, andThe 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 calledIntergalactic.
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 itsIntergalacticnamesake.BeyondThe Heretic Prophetitself, should the upcoming game prove successful and jump-start Naughty Dog’s new IP, thisIntergalactictitle could help give players an idea of what to expect from future games.
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 forwhat to expect fromTheHereticProphetahead of its release. For instance, the trailer showcases the various sources of inspirationThe Heretic Prophetis drawing from, ranging from the retrofuturism of the 80s and 90s to hit anime likeAkiraandCowboy Bebop. While this sci-fi setting and inspiration help explain why Naughty Dog’s new series has been calledIntergalactic, 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 timeNaughty Dog has started with this approachto titles and subtitles, as theUnchartedseries has done the same as whatIntergalacticappears to be setting itself up for. All ofUncharted’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 Endimplied to be the end of Nathan Drake’s journey as the main series' protagonist. With this in mind,Intergalacticcould take the same approach, especially ifThe Heretic Prophetfeels 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 theIntergalacticseries beyondThe Heretic Prophet, especially given that the studio currently has a reputation for developing at least three games per franchise. Aside fromNaughty Dog’s development ofThe Last of UsalongsideIntergalactic, this could mean that two more games are somewhere inIntergalactic’s far future. Therefore, shouldIntergalacticcontinue to followThe 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 thanThe Heretic Prophet’s singular planet. ShouldThe Heretic Prophet’s small-scale settingkeep to Sempiria, then itsIntergalacticnamesake 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 ofThe Heretic Prophet,Naughty Dog’sIntergalacticcould take after other space-faring game series, likeStarfield,Destiny, orMass Effect.
