There is no studio I trust more with storytelling than Naughty Dog, but that trust doesn't come blind. The Last of Us games, especially Part II, are on my Mount Rushmore of the greatest games ever made, and always will be, for the powerful lesson it imparted to me. Their new game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, looks all set to launch them into a bold new era. However, to do that, the game will have to break free from the patterns that defined the studio's past hits.

We've seen what Naughty Dog can do with grounded human drama and cinematic polish, but now it's time for them to evolve. There are a lot of things that I would love to see the studio do differently this time, because as far as first impressions go, there's a lot riding on this game not playing it safe.

4 Intergalactic needs to shake up the tried-and-tested Naughty Dog gameplay formula

They've perfected the formula, but the gameplay loop is outdated

I'll be the first to admit that Naughty Dog's blend of stealth-action, cover-based shooting, and on-the-go crafting is a nearly perfect formula. It got its first major outing with the first Uncharted game in 2007, and over thirteen years, it was refined into a masterclass of pacing and tension, peaking with The Last of Us Part II. However, Intergalactic is set centuries into the future — it can't afford to feel like Uncharted with space helmets.

The studio's best work has always involved raising the bar, and this is a chance to rethink how a Naughty Dog game plays. Whether that comes in the form of deeper traversal systems, unique and modular weaponry, or new AI interaction models, I'll be game. There is no reason for a game set on another planet and thousands of years into the future to fall back on the same gameplay blueprint we've seen since Joel first choked out a Clicker. Change is necessary, and change is good. It's what the studio built its name on, after all.

3 I truly hope Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is an open-world adventure

Naughty Dog should give us their first big open-world already

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is going to be set on a distant planet in the far future, right? With that sort of scale and ambition, the game needs to reflect that with a big open-world map for players. I'm not asking for the next Starfield, god, no. But we saw glimpses of larger levels in both Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us Part II, which were still basically glorious corridors and fleeting — designed to wow you for an hour before funneling you back into linearity. Space deserves better.

Even if Naughty Dog wants to stick to a single planet and keep the core of Intergalactic's story tightly-scripted, I want to feel like I'm exploring something vast. Give me sprawling sandboxes, and let me decide how I approach missions — I'm a bounty hunter in the game, after all. More importantly, and I hope I make this clear — it isn't that I'm dunking on linear games or experiences. Instead, I'm saying that sticking to the linear formula for Naughty Dog, in this case, will do more harm than good because Intergalactic will then reek of stagnation from the get-go.

Great open-world games don't always have to mean side missions and fetch quests — it just needs to embrace the fantasy of discovery, and in a universe like this, that fantasy should be irresistible. Neil Druckmann, the creative director for the game, did say he was intrigued by Elden Ring's style of storytelling — he might as well pick a page or two out of From Soft's playbook.

2 Intergalactic needs a new kind of protagonist to succeed

Jordan Munn shouldn't be Ellie 2.0, Joel 3.0, or Nate 4.0

We've had the gruff killer with a soft spot. We've had the death-defying wisecracker in Nate, and we've also had the quietly-tormented anti-heroine. Jordan Munn, Intergalactic's lead, deserves to break that mold entirely. It isn't because past Naughty Dog characters were bad — they weren't. But because if the studio wants to carve out something fresh, the protagonist needs to follow suit.

I don't want Jordan to be a meme, or a stereotypical arrogant protagonist. I'm not going to touch the whole "girlboss fatigue" conversation with a ten-foot pole, but I don't want Munn to be a response to internet backlash, either. I just want her to be human. Drowning her in trauma or armor-plated sass are lazy ways to make a "charming" protagonist, and I trust Naughty Dog not to fall into that trap.

1 Fewer ads in Intergalactic, please

Keep the future free from 21st-century advertising

When I saw Adidas sneakers and a Porsche spaceship in the Intergalactic reveal trailer, my heart sank a little. It's not that I think Naughty Dog will make them central to the story or plaster them all over the game, but even a little product placement in a sci-fi epic can be enough to snap me out of the experience completely.

We're supposedly thousands of years into the future, aren't we? Even if these ads are handled tastefully, they risk making the world feel like a showroom, and even worse, they risk breaking immersion every time they show up. By all means, plaster everything in Sony tech — that's part of the DNA. But I don't want to shoot aliens wearing Adidas Originals. Some things are better left in the past, especially when you're aiming for the stars.

Naughty Dog's latest game must also be their most daring

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet has the potential to be Naughty Dog's most daring game yet. But for it to truly stand apart, it really needs to break away from old habits, and head into uncharted territory (pun fully intended) when it comes to narrative, mechanics, and themes.

I love this with all I have, and I want this game to soar, but that means not repeating the past — even the great parts. Let Intergalactic be something new. Let Jordan's story be something bold. Let the experience for players be something cosmic.