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

Neil Druckmann, the director behind the acclaimed The Last of Us, has recently provided more insights into Naughty Dog's next ambitious project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. In a revealing interview with Alex Garland, the screenwriter of the iconic zombie film 28 Days Later, Druckmann discussed the ongoing development process, revealing that Intergalactic has been in the works for four years.

Reflecting on the polarized reception to The Last of Us 2, 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?" encapsulated the team's attitude towards criticism. Druckmann elaborated, "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

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Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, featuring Jordan A. Mun as Tati Gabrielle, unfolds in an alternate historical timeline. The game delves into a "pretty prominent religion" that has evolved over time. Players will follow Jordan, a bounty hunter, as she crash-lands on a mysterious planet where all communication has ceased for centuries. Druckmann emphasized the game's focus on isolation and discovery, stating, "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 related news, last week, Druckmann and Craig Mazin, showrunners for The Last of Us Season 2, confirmed that "spores are back" after their absence in Season 1. At SXSW 2025, Druckmann shared, "an escalation of numbers and types of infected, but also, as you see in the trailer, an escalation of the vector of how this thing spreads." He highlighted the introduction of airborne spores, a new development from the tendrils seen in Season 1.

Additionally, actress Kaitlyn Dever, who will portray Abby in Season 2, admitted to struggling with the online reaction to her casting, reflecting the intense fan engagement with the series.