worked QA on builds from Feb-May
can’t say much or I’ll get f***ed, but here’s what I saw

think The Last of Us 2 meets Dark Souls
NOT open world in the Ubisoft sense, it's like a nested sandbox, big areas with layers of traversal
planetside traversal = mix of glider, parkour, and these "faith anchors" you can link to unlock fast travel checkpoint

combat is very good, satisfying feedback, several combos by stringing jumps and dashes into attacks.
you can break limbs to handicap enemies and use special tools to inflict unique status. It's very similar to God of War 2018 but with less focus on combos juggling enemies. you can use weapons, including the pistol seen in the trailer, to target weakpoints, some of which can be seen while the enemy attacks.
the effects of metal destruction, explosions and particles is really well made

the “bounty hunter” protagonist talks with a dialogue wheel is back but very sparse, player is still mostly alone
several encounters are optional, you can stealth, avoid, even negotiate (sometimes), or hack enemies

The planet is a tomb of failed civilizations, think Elden Ring lore but in space
something cut the planet off from the rest of the galaxy 600 years ago shortly after a technocult implemented a planet-wide lockdown
Druckmann’s script is HEAVY. Like religious apocalypse fanfic meets hard sci-fi
there's cutscenes and several characters you interact but you can still piece together a lot of info by finding items, journal entries and exploring.

tested on PS5 Pro devkits
lighting engine is insane whole levels shift color based on “planetary phase” throughout the game so you can

music goes from ambient drone to "metal" religious choir and then to rock

there are “Relics” that work like builds, but you can hold 2 and swap them and those can be upgraded

Final thing: Launch window internally said late 2026, full cinematic trailer at Game Awards 2025 if things stay on.