The next game from Naughty Dog is Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and while we have a rough idea of what to expect, details on the game’s structure and mechanics remain under wraps for now.
However, eagle-eyed fans on Reddit have spotted one potential clue from a former Naughty Dog employee.
According to this person’s profile, they worked on “RPG progression systems” for the upcoming sci-fi action title.
This has naturally led people to believe Intergalactic may be the studio’s most RPG-leaning game to date.
RPG-esque progression is already there in The Last of Us series, with skill trees, weapon upgrades, and so on. It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if elements like these are pushed further in Intergalactic.
On top of that, studio head Neil Druckmann has previously stated his love of FromSoftware RPGs such as Bloodborne and Elden Ring, so some inspiration could be drawn from games of that ilk.
What has been said up to now is that Intergalactic is playable and “incredible”, according to Naughty Dog, and its story is described as the studio’s wildest, most creative story yet.
From the trailer we know it’ll feature melee combat of some description, which is a pretty common companion of RPG elements. We can easily imagine the RPG stuff from God of War fitting into Intergalactic, for example — different weapons and equipment to create unique builds, etc.
Obviously that’s just speculation on our part, but it’s fun to think about, isn’t it? Would you like to see Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet embrace RPG progression in a big way? Discuss in the comments section below.