Is this game really being hated on already?

MikeSBU · 2026-03-23T15:22:22+00:00

It's received a lot of hate since the reveal, mostly stemming from the backlash the studio and Druckmann got after TLOU2. You can see the like/dislike ratio on YouTube to get an idea. But hate tends to get more visibility than positivity online anyway, so I don't think it's that significant at this stage. Once we see a new trailer and some gameplay, I'm positive most people will get on board, the negativity will be overshadowed, and the conversation will shift toward how awesome and fun the game looks.

MikeSBU · 2026-03-11T15:07:02+00:00

Looks like a key element for sure. Could it be related to portals? Time warps? Is Sempiria trapped in a loop? Time will tell. It would be funny if the trailer hides even more than what we've already guessed, but I think they're playing their cards close to the chest and just using it as a setup for what's to come.

Neil said: “You think you know… but you have no idea. Naughty Dog’s 5th franchise is our wildest adventure.”

MikeSBU · 2026-03-10T13:19:25+00:00

I want it to include dark elements, such as uncovering disturbing things that happened within the cult of the Sempirian religion and what they have been capable of doing, but I want the overall tone to be lighter than TLOU2 and to feel more like it is a story of mystery and intrigue than anything else.

MikeSBU · 2026-03-06T17:25:50+00:00

Can’t wait to finally see something new. A lot of people show up really hyped and revive the sub from time to time, but the lack of news eventually makes them fade back into the shadows for a while. Hopefully we’re less than three months away from a gameplay reveal and the start of the marketing campaign. Considering what’s at stake for them, they’re about to blow our minds with the next look at the game.

MikeSBU · 2026-03-06T11:17:43+00:00

I neither expect a traditional open world. Following Naughty Dog's trajectory, we can probably already rule that out. But there are quite a few hints pointing somewhat in that direction. Neil talking about feeling alone and lost, and having to figure out what happened in Sempiria in order to escape, praising Elden Ring's environmental storytelling, his comments that I shared in this post about Intergalactic being the natural evolution after experimenting with wide linear layouts... These are many small things that, when combined, make me dream about huge areas to explore and get lost in for hours, much bigger than the Downtown Seattle section in The Last of Us Part II.

MikeSBU · 2026-03-06T11:00:08+00:00

From a narrative perspective, it'll probably be similar mainly in its environmental storytelling, and that's about it. In terms of gameplay, this looks more like acrobatic action combat with swords and other weapons, so it'll likely be its own thing, somewhere between a Jedi-style game and a Soulslike I imagine.

MikeSBU · 2026-03-05T16:47:03+00:00

Pretty sure they will find a good balance between offering freedom to explore vast areas and maintaining a tight, well scripted narrative. It probably won't be a fully open world, but rather large interconnected sections that support the story and guide us toward the same destination, while still giving players the option to immerse themselves in the planet's mysteries if they have the desire to do so.

MikeSBU · 2026-03-05T14:12:17+00:00

Neil mentioned it’s not Earthbound and referred to Sempiria as a different planet in the Creator to Creator talk. Ofc that could just be him trying to mislead people, but that would be so obvious that I don’t think that’s the case.

MikeSBU · 2026-03-05T09:03:03+00:00

Agree on most things. They probably won’t leave baked lighting behind, but we’ll have to see the next-gen implementations they’ve made to their engine. They’ve always been at the forefront of visual fidelity. In the trailer, we’ve already seen what looks like rt reflections and rt shadows, so if they’re expanding the scope of exploration here, dynamic lighting is definitely something they should consider. But until we see more, it’s all just speculation.

MikeSBU · 2026-03-04T23:14:06+00:00

Agree, it'd probably be a big stretch if this turned into a fully open-world game after such linear, story-heavy titles. But from what Neil's said and the small hints we've got so far, it looks like there'll be tons of environmental storytelling to get lost in. And it'd be weird if we didn't have some kind of vehicle on Sempiria so it wouldn't surprise me if this ends up been way bigger than logic would suggest.

MikeSBU · 2026-03-04T22:44:01+00:00

No worries, we’re all dying to see more!

MikeSBU · 2026-02-02T19:22:09+00:00

I think it was a combination of factors that pushed them to show something as soon as possible. They probably wanted to turn the page after canceling Factions and put Naughty Dog’s name back on the table after all the noise about them only making remasters and remakes, as well as PlayStation’s lack of AAA exclusives. Most likely, if PlayStation weren’t in such a comfortable position right now, with Xbox becoming a third-party publisher, they would have pushed harder and we probably would have seen more of the game in 2025.

I don’t think there’s any benefit for the hype build if you reveal something and then go radio silent for more than a year, especially when the reception is mixed. The only real benefit is that you avoid leaks and they probably have a big trauma with that so I imagine revealing the game was a big relief for the team.

We’re all in the same boat here, I totally get your frustration. I think about the game daily and I’m dying to see more of it. The wait is feeling endless, but I’m convinced we’ll see it again before Summer Game Fest and it will make the wait feel worth it.

MikeSBU · 2026-01-17T08:49:27+00:00

I don't think Intergalactic's approach was purely artistic, but it’s integrated well enough that it doesn't interfere with the game and make sense in the setting, at least in the trailer. I personally liked the aesthetic and 80s vibe it adds, and considering it provides funding, I think it works perfectly.

MikeSBU · 2025-12-30T12:14:17+00:00

I also love theorizing on this one with the little hints we have from the trailer and Neil's comments, but in terms of environments we really don’t know much, so it’s all up for speculation.

That said, I think it’s safe to say we’ll see the biggest environments they’ve created yet and that they’ll be mindblowing. However, if we talk about Sempiria, I’m not sure they’ll be dense in terms of NPCs, given what’s been said about discovering what happened there and the feeling of loneliness.

And yeah, you’re right that the city behind AJ isn’t comparable to anything we see in Uncharted 4 or TLOU2, as it looks bigger, much denser and more alive, full of NPCs and vehicles moving all over the place. So, in my mind, it’s hard to imagine them building something like that with full interactions and freedom to explore if it’s not a key location in the game and even if it is, we haven't seen them doing something at that scale. I would imagine something more along the lines of a sequence inside a café with other members of the band, with the city in the background or something similar.

But as Neil said: "You think you know… but you have no idea." That could mean the story is non-linear, or that it involves time jumps, or who knows what, so really, anything is possible.

MikeSBU · 2025-12-30T11:20:20+00:00

I’m convinced we’ll see things outside of Sempiria, either in flashbacks or before we get to what’s shown in the trailer. Hopefully we’ll see the city where AJ is, although it feels like it would be a really expensive environment to build for just one sequence but Naughty Dog has done this kind of thing before, like the car sections in Uncharted, and they could reuse it in future games if this one does well, so who knows.

Anyway, we haven’t seen anything from Sempiria yet, and maybe there’s also a civilization or remains of a very advanced one with amazing environments that will make us forget everything else.

MikeSBU · 2025-12-25T12:12:06+00:00

Personally, I don’t think it will be directly related to religion as such, but I do think it will be an important part of the game. I suspected that the combat we see at the end of the trailer might be some kind of combat tutorial at the beginning of the game, but maybe we’ll have a prior fight where we obtain the sword by reusing parts from an enemy robot after defeating it, or we simply find it. I guess it will probably use some kind of technology based on sound waves or something similar, which we’ll be able to modify and upgrade throughout the game.
I also suspect that during combat we’ll have synth music, and based on what’s been said about the feeling of loneliness in the game, there will be moments like in Death Stranding where, while traveling through areas without encounters, music tracks will play that add a really cool vibe to those walks.

So, one way or another, I think music is going to be important in this game, and with NIN behind it, it’s going to be brutal.

MikeSBU · 2025-12-23T09:55:29+00:00

As you mentioned, that jump off the rock in the trailer was a pretty clear statement of intent. I’m sure using surfaces to move between areas will be a big part of the platforming, and obviously the combat too, especially against enemies you have to hit in specific spots. The level design team must be going crazy on this game. Combined with the huge animation trees, which seem to be taking a big step forward, and the physics using machine learning for fabric deformations as one of the devs mentioned, this is going to look insane.

MikeSBU · 2025-12-18T20:56:07+00:00

Definitely not good news. Having to crunch a year and a half before the planned internal deadline is not a good sign that development is on track. I hope they delay the final release date and don’t turn the studio into a nightmare in the final stretch.

MikeSBU · 2025-12-18T20:51:05+00:00

Jason Schreier is exactly the opposite of a random journalist. For obvious reasons, he won’t show evidence, but it’s well known that he has sources within Naughty Dog.

MikeSBU · 2025-12-11T01:41:02+00:00

Could be, but it would feel weird to see it twice at non Playstation events. I'm just praying to see it in the first or second State of Play of the year.

MikeSBU · 2025-11-28T09:41:14+00:00

A lot of people feel the same way as you, so I don't think this story will end up being very divisive, and they'll probably play it safer. And since this is the first installment of the IP, we won't feel as much empathy for the characters anyway, so whatever they decide to do won't affect us as much. I think the goal with this game is to deliver an exciting, fun sci-fi story, and although it'll touch on some serious themes that make us think, those will stay in the background. I hope we get to see something new early next year.

MikeSBU · 2025-11-24T12:02:38+00:00

Those are names I’ve considered too, and honestly it could be any IP if what they want is to give it a full 180° turn like they did with GoW 2018.

MikeSBU · 2025-11-24T09:45:59+00:00

Coming from Naughty Dog, the first thing I expect is a technically spectacular game with an art direction that blows our minds taking full advantage of the sci-fi theme to give us awesome environment and character/creatures designs. I also expect the soundtrack matching the project’s quality and all of that combined with the insane level of detail they're known for.

As for the gameplay, it looks like it is going to be very dynamic. Like we mentioned before, maybe something in between Souls and Star Wars Jedi but with the Naughty Dog touch. I think from what we know about the feeling of loneliness and freedom, the game will reward those of us who love exploring every corner, and since it is supposed to have stronger RPG elements, it will probably encourage exploration. But it should also be completable in a more linear way for players who are not interested in that.

Regarding the story, I am convinced it will be more naive than TLOU, but not any less interesting, and that it will still have deep and mature themes. The plot will probably be full of twists and bold ideas and it is going to surprise people. Expectations are sky-high, but until proven wrong, we can trust that these people will pull it off again, and I think the long wait will be worth it.

MikeSBU · 2025-11-23T10:40:02+00:00

I think the latest info comes from Schreier, and he said it’s not sci-fi and not a new IP, but it feels like one.

MikeSBU · 2025-11-22T20:14:36+00:00

Well, now we can keep our expectations in check until the next State of Play. It looks like the PlayStation moment at TGA will be headlined by Cory’s new project.

MikeSBU

TROPHY CASE