Every real world reference in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

One of the biggest reveals at The Game Awards 2024, and one that presenter Geoff Keighley saved for the final announcement of the show, was Naughty Dog's next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Aside from its spacefaring setting and retro-futuristic aesthetic, it was almost immediately apparent that Intergalactic was a Naughty Dog game thanks to the studio's unmistakable flair for characters, writing, and polish. One area that remains a mystery is Intergalactics gameplay, but the parts of the story revealed in the debut trailer tease the protagonist as some sort of bounty hunter, one who sports an incredibly cool suite of actual “NASA-punk” gear.

From the trailer's opening shot to the reveal that the game is the next original IP from Naughty Dog, Intergalactics debut was practically bursting with references to real-life brands and technology. The game's protagonist, Jordan, pilots a ship with an obvious Porsche logo front and center, wears high-top Adidas sneakers and uses Sony stereo equipment in a subtle nod to Naughty Dog's parent company. Intergalactics strategic use of licensed music, real-life brands and a talented cast positions it as equal parts Naughty Dog and guardians of the galaxy, along with a retro-futuristic aesthetic that justifies it as Ridley Scott's Foreign or Bethesda's Starfield.

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Every real world reference in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet's Reveal Trailer

Takes cues from the iconic 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner, Intergalactic presents a vision of the future with elements of cyberpunk along with an obvious presence of corporate branding. It's a common motif in the genre fueled by 1980s consumerism and rapid technological advances, which has been a cornerstone of cyberpunk fiction for almost as long as the term has existed (courtesy of writers like Bruce Bethke and William Gibson). Appropriately enough, Intergalactic is obviously loaded with plenty of references to real-life brands, complete with the game's protagonist appearing to be a collector of 1980s pop culture artifacts.

The Porsche Spaceship

The first, and most obvious, real reference in Intergalactic comes from the trailer's opening shot, where the camera slowly pans out to reveal a spaceship branded by German automaker Porsche. A well-known and respected purveyor of luxury sports cars, Porsche cars (especially the 911 Turbo) are an important part of 1980s iconography thanks to their appearances in films, television and music videos. Jordan's spaceship is a not-so-subtle nod to the brand's importance in the decade the protagonist is seemingly fond of.

Jordan's Adidas Sneakers

A quick shot of Jordan launching the spaceship reveals her wearing Adidas hi-top sneakers which, while not a 1:1 replica of an actual shoe, are certainly one of the more iconic and popular brands of the decade that Intergalactic regularly references, 1980s. Adidas has partnered with properties that feature their shoes in the past to release real-life models (like Star-Lord's iconic hi-tops from Guardians of the Galaxy video games), so there's a chance it could do the same with Jordan's very cool sneakers.

A built-in Sony CD player

Just before the trailer kicks into high gear and drops the bomb like Intergalactic is the next game from Naughty Dog, Jordan punches in some numbers and selects a CD from a rotating jukebox-like spider of albums on her spaceship's stereo, complete with Sony branding. With that in mind Intergalactic is a first-party game from Sony and likely exclusive to the PlayStation 5, stating that the game is exclusive to Sony is a bit off the mark.

An iconic Pet Shop Boys song

Before intergalactic the trailer's licensed music starts, the camera zooms in on the CD Jordan has chosen to make his journey to the planet Sempiria to reveal it's the iconic synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys' 1987 album Actually. Viewers are then treated to the rest of the trailer being accompanied by the album's hit song, “It's a Sin”, which may have a connection to the fact that the game's subtitle is The Heretical Prophet. Along with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross original score for Intergalacticit is possible that the game may contain other licensed tracks.