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

Neil Druckmann, the director of *The Last of Us*, recently shared intriguing insights into Naughty Dog's upcoming game, 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 game's development process, which has been ongoing for four years.

Reflecting on past projects, Druckmann humorously noted the mixed reception to *The Last of Us 2*, saying, "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?" to which 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, featuring Jordan A. Mun as Tati Gabrielle, is set in an alternate historical timeline. The game revolves around a "pretty prominent religion" that has undergone significant transformations over time. As a bounty hunter, players will follow Jordan's journey as she crash-lands on a mysterious planet, navigating its unknown history and attempting to be the first in centuries to escape its orbit.

Druckmann elaborated on the game's setting, stating, "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. 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 related news, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, showrunners for *The Last of Us* Season 2, confirmed at SXSW 2025 that "spores are back" after their exclusion from Season 1. The latest trailer for the HBO series teases the return of spores, hinting at an escalation in both the number and types of infected, as well as the spread of the infection. Druckmann 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 play Abby in *The Last of Us* Season 2, shared her challenges with managing online reactions to her role, admitting it's hard to avoid checking the internet's feedback.