For 2-3 days, the world of video games has been raging on social networks over the character of Jordan A Mun, defended by some, hated by others. If the debate rages around this single subject, we didn’t know much about the game, but thanks to an interview with Neil Druckmann given to the New York Times, we know a little more about this title which tears passions apart. First thing to know: with Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet, Naughty Dog wanted a return to its roots, to a genre that allowed them to make themselves known: action-adventure. The game Crash Bandicoot is cited, but not only that, it also evokes other references from Japanese pop culture, namely Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo, but also Cowboy Bebop. And it is true that if we look further, we see that the first trailer includes a lot of nods to these two anime which have become cult today.
There’s the time period to start: Intergalactic will take place in an alternate universe of 1986 where space travel has progressed considerably. The choice of the 80s/90s is obviously not the result of chance, since this is the period in which Akira and Cowboy Bebop were also born. 1988 for Akira and 1998 for Cowboy Bebop. And for Neil Druckmann, who was born in 1978, the 80s/90s are his youth and inevitably, he has a very strong emotional and emotional bond with this period that many people in their forties regret and remember with nostalgia. For Neil Druckmann, placing references is not only paying homage to the works that left their mark, but it is also to embrace this culture, this vibe, this iconic style to make Intergalactic a game that is immediately recognizable. We were talking about winks, but there are plenty of them in this first trailer, whether it’s Jordan’s jacket which recalls Kaneda’s, with this flamboyant red, the CD jukebox that we find in the game and in Akira, the disc player which once starts to spin recalls the wheel of Kaneda’s emblematic motorcycle. If the motorcycles were replaced by Porsche brand spaceships, we notice that they have the same trajectory, with this same trail of light at the rear. Even the choice to call on the group Pet Shop Boys recalls the 80s, while the song chosen for the trailer for Intergalactic, It’s a Sin, was released in 1987 and openly deals with homosexuality, a theme which will follow the group throughout their career.
For the music, as we know, Neil Druckmann called on Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who composed the music for the films “Challengers” and “The Social Network”. Except that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for people like me who listen to rock and metal, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is quite simply the group Nine Inch Nails and I might as well tell you that knowing that these two take care of the music of Naughty Dog’s new game is already a guarantee of quality. Another reference to the 80s is Jordan’s haircut, who we see shaving his hair in the trailer. Here too, it is undoubtedly a reference to Ripley in Alien 3. A strong woman in space with a shaved head from the late 80s early 90s, it is inevitably Ripley, and there too, she is a very good reference and also a very clever way for the studio to not have to worry about modeling hair. Although we should play our character with hair at some point, as we can see in this photo hanging on his wall. Why does she shave her head? At the moment, we don’t know, but there must be a real reason, that’s for sure.
Coming back to the New York Times interview, for Neil Druckmann, the game’s story is quite ambitious and will revolve around a fictional religion and the consequences when you place your faith in different institutions. Knowing the gentleman’s writing and the way he manages to tell us stories, we can trust him to offer us an interesting and captivating story. We learn that the choice of Auntie Gabrielle was immediately obvious to him, that during the casting, she stood out from the others with a truly intimidating presence. Neil Druckmann compares his meeting with Auntie Gabrielle to the one he had with Ashley Johnson to play Ellie. And it is true that even if we can find fault with her look, Auntie Danielle necessarily gives off something on the screen, whether you like it or not, she grabs the camera, already by her origins, she who was born of a Korean mother and an African father, the kind of unusual crossbreeding, especially in the artistic world. Almond-shaped eyes with dark skin color, I can understand that Neil Druckmann was captivated by this presence, especially since Tati Gabrielle is now a regular at Naughty Dog since after the Uncharted film, she will play Nora in the season 2 of The Last of Us.
Regarding the development of Intergalactic, we know that it started in mid-2020, shortly after the release of The Last of Us Part 2 and that 250 people at Naughty Dog are working on it, not counting the freelance artists who were also recruited, and without forgetting the employees who have been sacked in the meantime. Neil Druckmann also specified in this interview that he wanted to find the balance “between art and business”, with this desire to be a studio capable of producing several licenses at the same time, and not to summarize Naughty Dog as Uncharted and The Last of Us. For him, it was complicated to work on a new license in secret and in silence for so long, while on social networks, Naughty Dog was accused of being a studio that only makes remakes or remasters.
It remains to be seen how the gameplay will be structured, whether we will move towards a basic action TPS or whether Naughty Dog will integrate new elements to stand out from the crowd. When we see this kind of atypical rectangular sword, capable of revealing a beam of light in the form of an equalizer, it is not impossible for music to be an integral part of the gameplay. In any case, despite the dislikes, despite the bad buzz, despite the debates raging on social networks, Intergalactic is a game that does not leave you indifferent and we can’t wait to discover more about this next PS5 exclusive.
