The unveiling of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet at The Game Awards immediately captured public attention, but this initial enthusiasm quickly turned sour. A storm of criticism erupted, primarily focused on the game's protagonist and thematic elements, which some viewers deemed to be pushing a controversial "agenda."
The controversy intensified following comments from Neil Druckmann and Tati Gabriel. Their attempts to defend the game and quell the backlash only served to fuel the fire, worsening the situation.
Even seventeen days later, the negative response shows no sign of abating. The announcement trailer proved highly divisive, attracting a massive number of dislikes on YouTube. On the official PlayStation channel, dislikes surpassed 260,000, dwarfing the 90,000 likes. The Naughty Dog channel fared no better, with over 170,000 dislikes outnumbering the 70,000 likes. Comments on the videos have since been disabled in an effort to contain the fallout, but the debate continues to rage across social media platforms.
However, the future of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet remains uncertain. Naughty Dog has a proven track record of transforming early criticism into eventual triumph. The game still has the potential to defy expectations.
This incident underscores a significant challenge for large game studios: the increasing difficulty of managing the demands of a highly critical and vocal audience.
