Neil Druckmann Aims for 'Lost and Confused' Feel in Naughty Dog's New Game

Neil Druckmann, the director behind the acclaimed series The Last of Us, recently shed light on Naughty Dog's latest project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. In a candid interview with Alex Garland, the writer of the zombie film 28 Days Later, Druckmann discussed the four-year development journey of this intriguing new game.

Reflecting on past experiences, 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 lighthearted response, "Who gives a shit?" prompted Druckmann to share the team's playful approach to their new project: "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, unfolds in an alternate historical timeline where a significant religion has evolved over time. Players will control a bounty hunter who crash-lands on a mysterious planet where communication has ceased for centuries. The narrative challenges players to unravel the planet's enigmatic past and find a way to escape its orbit.

Druckmann emphasized the game's unique setting, saying, "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, The Last of Us Season 2 showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin confirmed that "spores are back" after their absence in Season 1. At SXSW 2025, Druckmann elaborated on the upcoming HBO show, stating, "There is 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 further explained the introduction of new infection methods, "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 discussed her role as Abby in The Last of Us Season 2, admitting she struggles with the online reactions to her character.