After over a decade, there is a new IP from Naughty Dog, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, but no one seems to be liking it, not even Asmongold.

At the recently concluded The Game Awards 2024, Naughty Dog unveiled a brand-new PS5 game. Additionally, the California-based studio is developing a game that isn’t Uncharted or The Last of Us for the first time since 2013. It unveiled Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, a brand-new science fiction IP by them.

There is a new IP in the town by Naughty Dog. | Credit: Naughty Dog.

Players can watch the reveal trailer and go over every little detail, but there is currently no word on a release date. However, the response to the game hasn’t been all that favorable thus far. It has actually been more detrimental than beneficial and popular YouTuber and streamer Asmongold has weighed in on the controversy as well.

Asmongold takes a dig at Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

The protagonist of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is dull according to players. | Credit: Naughty Dog.

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is the first new IP of Naughty Dog since The Last of Us and Uncharted. No one expected that Naughty Dog would come with a brand new IP out of nowhere at almost the end of the event and steal the show if it wasn’t already “stolen” by Astro Bot.

Anticipations were built after the showcase of the whole trailer, but in the end, the trailer disappointed everyone because of the unappealing and dull female protagonist. Asmongold too has criticized the central character of the newly announced title.

Maybe it’s just me but I feel like the market for masculine, non conventionally attractive female leads in games isn’t as big as the video game industry thinks it is.

According to Asmon, putting a female protagonist in this game might have been a better idea five years ago when the development started, but right now it doesn’t fit.

He also explained that as the newly announced game looks like an 80s retro-futuristic bounty-hunting title, the majority of the audience of the game is going to be male. That is why having a character that is not going to appeal to the main consumer of the product will eventually cause big trouble for the product itself.

He also stated that the developers might call the critics “misogynists”, “racists”, or “bigots”, but at the end of the day, they are not going to be bullied because they are the main part of the fanbase, which Naughty Dog is dreaming of building around the game.

Asmongold even pointed out the fact that Naughty Dog had to turn off the comment section of the trailer video on YouTube. The company knew very well that they were not going to get a lot of good comments; that is why they had to take this step.

More about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

Intergalactic is a retro-futuristic sci-fi title. | Credit: Naughty Dog.

If we keep the “female protagonist drama” aside for a minute and look at the game as a whole, the game seems promising. This is a new beginning for Naughty Dog and the company has shaped its journey according to that.

Naughty Dog is keeping the plot of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet a secret, but the reveal trailer has given us some clues. The game’s new protagonist will be Jordan A. Mun, a bounty hunter who gets stuck on Sempiria, a dangerous planet that kills anyone who enters its orbit.

To retrieve a reward for Colin Graves, a member of the Five Aces, an infamous intergalactic criminal gang that terrorized the Bluestar Systems before going missing for no apparent reason, Jordan is making the journey to the surface. Although it’s clear from the reveal that Jordan is pursuing these MIA criminals, it’s unclear if this is for personal benefit or to retrieve the missing loot.

When Naughty Dog reveals more information about the game, everything will be resolved. We don’t currently have a firm release date. Don’t expect this game to be released in 2025 at the latest, as Naughty Dog projects typically take four years to complete, and COVID-19 has already slowed down the development process, which began in 2020.