Neil Druckmann Aims to Make Players Feel 'Lost and Confused' with Naughty Dog's New Game

Neil Druckmann, the director behind the critically acclaimed The Last of Us, has shed light on Naughty Dog's ambitious new project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. In a revealing interview with Alex Garland, known for his work on the zombie film 28 Days Later, Druckmann discussed the development journey of this game, which has been in progress for four years.

Reflecting on past projects, Druckmann humorously noted, "We made a game, The Last of Us 2, we made certain creative decisions that got us a lot of hate. A lot of people love it, but a lot of people hate that game." Garland's response, "Who gives a shit?" resonated with Druckmann, who added, "Exactly. But the joke is like, you know what, let's do something that people won't care as much about — let's make a game about faith and religion."

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Screenshots

4 Images

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, featuring Jordan A. Mun as Tati Gabrielle, unfolds in an alternate historical timeline centered around a "pretty prominent religion" that has evolved significantly over time. The narrative follows Jordan, a bounty hunter, who crash-lands on a mysterious planet where all communication has ceased for centuries. Her mission is to unravel the planet's enigmatic past and find a way to escape its orbit, a feat no one has achieved in 600 years.

Druckmann emphasized the game's unique approach, stating, "So many of the previous games we've done, there's always, like, an ally with you. I really want you to be lost in a place that you're really confused about what happened here, who are the people here, what was their history. And in order to get off this planet — again, no one has been heard from this planet for 600 years or so — if you ever have hoped to have a chance to get off, you have to figure out what happened here."

In other news, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, the showrunners for The Last of Us Season 2, have confirmed that "spores are back" after their absence in Season 1. At SXSW 2025, Druckmann teased an increase in the variety and number of infected, along with a new vector for the spread of the infection. He explained, "Season 1, we had this new thing that wasn’t in the game of these tendrils that spread, and that was one form. And then one shot you see in this trailer, there are things in the air."

Additionally, actress Kaitlyn Dever, who will portray Abby in Season 2, shared her challenges with managing online reactions to her role, highlighting the emotional toll it can take.