The Last of Usseries stands out for many things, including its astounding attention to detail. Even the collectibles players find seem to tell an intricate story, encouraging players to piece together the entire puzzle. Some fans are convinced thatSavage Starlightis more than just a comic book series that Ellie enjoys. They believe that it may be the basis for anew IP from Naughty Dog. There is a bit of evidence to support this theory, though there has never been any official word from the studio.
Savage Starlighttells a science-fiction story of evil geniuses and humans with superpowers. Naturally, fans have craved to find out more about the wacky world ofThe Last of Us’Savage Starlight. Naughty Dog would certainly be the studio to do justice to such an ambitious project, and the sci-fi genre would be a nice detour from the typical games it has done in the last few years. It appears that the studio is working on something at the moment, and if it is anything like its previous work, it could be something special.
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The Last of Us and Savage Starlight
Primarily,The Last of Usimagines a future America where a fungal pandemic has zombified most of the society, turning the population into flesh-eating monsters. The lucky few who have managed to avoid the infection live in constant fear of the bloodthirsty Infected, brutal factions of humans, and FEDRA.The Last of Uscenters on Joel, who is a hardened weapons smuggler. His life is changed when he is tasked with transporting Ellie to the Fireflies. She is special because she is the only known human who is immune to the cordyceps infection.
Though Ellie’s life is mostly filled with tragedy and a desperate battle for survival, she does manage to find a few moments of happiness. This happens, for example, through her love of all things related to outer space. She also loves comic books, especially theSavage Starlightseries. TheSavage Starlightcomics are collectibles available inThe Last of Us Part 1, and they appear to tell the story of a superhero named Dr. Daniela Star who has discovered a method of traveling faster than light. Collecting the comics adds a bit of levity to a game that is filled with plenty of hard-hitting moments.
TheSavage Starlightseries makes a return inThe Last of Us Part 2, this time in the form of collectible cards.As Ellie hunts down Abby, she occasionally finds cards featuring various characters fromSavage Starlight. From this, players learn that there are four main affiliations in the fictional sci-fi universe, namely The New Dogs, SPARK, Society of Champions, and Future Alliance. Some characters appear to parody members of Naughty Dog’s team, including Dr. Uckmann, a villainous member of The New Dogs who is an obvious reference to Neil Druckmann.
In addition to being quite pretty, the cards are also thematically relevant, as the characters ofSavage Starlightland on a spectrum of good and evil. The plot ofThe Last of Us Part 2revolves around subverting the player’s perceptions of who is a hero and who is a villain.
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Naughty Dog’s New IP
Naughty Dog’s last new IP wasThe Last of Usin 2013. Since then, the studio has focused solely on that franchise andUncharted. Fans have noticed signs that the studio may have its eyes on a new IP. Back in February of this year,Neil Druckmannsent out a Tweet advertising job postings at Naughty Dog which seemed to indicate that the studio has three games in the works. The first could beThe Last of Us Part 1, which has launched, and the second could beThe Last of Us' standalone multiplayer title. Some fans have speculated that the third game is a new IP.
Savage Starlightmay sound like an unlikely choice, but it wouldn’t be the first time Naughty Dog has hinted at its future IPs in prior games. Famously, inUncharted 3, released two years beforeThe Last of Us, players can find a newspaper that mentions that scientists are struggling to understand a deadly fungus. This is an obvious Easter Egg referencing the cordyceps fungus that Ellie is immune though, though gamers wouldn’t understand it untilThe Last of Usdropped. This experience has caused fans to speculate that theSavage Starlightcollectibles may be hinting at the studio’s next new IP.
Savage Starlight: The Game
Savage Starlightis a good candidate for a new IP, as it seems like Naughty Dog has already fleshed out its world with heroes and villains. At the center isDr. Daniela Star of the Future Alliance, and she has the synthetic warrior CBB-73 as her trusted companion. The villains are The New Dogs, and they feature interesting villains like Dr. Uckmann and the cat-girl Bastet. The amazing Society of Champions is filled with characters with phenomenal powers. The fourteen-year-old twins Emiru and Sora Hoshi can turn starlight into energy, and the mysterious Tesseracter can move around all four dimensions at will. It wouldn’t take much to carve a gripping narrative out of these characters, and a sci-fi setting would give Naughty Dog another opportunity to flex its environmental design abilities.
The only upcoming project from Naughty Dog that is confirmed isThe Last of Usstandalone multiplayer game. Following this, the studio could continue withThe Last of Us, pursueUnchartedonce again, or attempt a new IP. The studio managed to learn its way around the PS5 withThe Last of Us Part 2update andThe Last of Us Part 1. Should it decide to pursueSavage Starlight, it has more than enough material to work with.
The Last of Us Part 1is available on PS5.
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