Neil Druckmann Aims to Evoke 'Lost and Confused' Feelings with Naughty Dog's New Game

Neil Druckmann, the director behind the acclaimed The Last of Us, recently provided an in-depth look into Naughty Dog's next ambitious project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. In a revealing interview with Alex Garland, known for his work on the film 28 Days Later, Druckmann discussed the game's development journey, which has spanned four years.

Druckmann humorously reflected on the polarizing reception to The Last of Us Part II, stating, "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 responded lightheartedly with, "Who gives a shit?" Druckmann agreed, adding, "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

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Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet introduces players to an alternate historical timeline, featuring a significant religion that has evolved over time. The game stars Jordan A. Mun as Tati Gabrielle, who plays a bounty hunter crash-landing on a mysterious planet. This planet is home to a religion that has been isolated for centuries, and communication with it has ceased.

Druckmann elaborated on the game's setting, saying, "This whole religion takes place on this one planet, and then at one point, all communication stops. And you're playing a bounty hunter that's chasing her bounty, and she crash lands on this planet." He emphasized the game's focus on exploration and mystery, 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, last week, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, the showrunners for The Last of Us Season 2, 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 method of infection spread. He noted, "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 shared her experience playing Abby in The Last of Us Season 2, admitting the challenge of not getting swayed by online reactions.