Definitely not real leak
I will answer a few questions before leaving, but you will have to be quick. I probably won't answer anything for extreme spoilers, it does somehow end up feeling better than Persona 5 and I want people to enjoy the experience.
There's a big gameplay segment in the playtest, from clubroom to dungeon. The dungeon is an art exhibition which seems to be Louvre themed, big paintings, greek statues, etc. Just before we did the playtest, we saw a similar section and some close-ups of assets from Persona 5. The graphical differences were immense, Persona 5 feels very PS3 in comparison. This game looks and plays better than Metaphor.
Game details:
"Judgement" is the arcana the game is based on, the game is based on "looks being deceiving" and how the art students become the "best artists" by understanding and living life over drawing pictures on a canvas.
The direction of the game is social identity horror. Judgement can be positive or negative, and there might be a "right" and "wrong" way to live life that doesn't always line up with being "lawfully" right.
- The thieves den equivalent is the occult club, you lead a team of exorcists
- The velvet room is an old cathedral that "restores" itself over the course of the game
- One of the antagonists is an actual murderer, another cast member commits suicide (cyberbullying), the protagonist (blonde guy) is the son of a priest that ended up doing something bad
Mechanic details:
- 24 new personas, low level persona scale better at higher levels
- First month of game is April, last playable month at school is February but there is content beyond this month
- There is an "investigation" the team do before entering a dungeon, you have to literally find the the curse before you can summon your way into the "other world"
- Bonds have two tiers, public and private. Dialogue options with your party members influence your relationship with them, but not as much as direct interaction
- Dungeon footage I've seen: abandoned building, castle, art exhibition, graveyard/catacombs
Release date is TBC, but likely Spring 2028, game might be delivered before FY28 if there's investor considerations. So, there is a chance the game is launched even as late as Winter 2028. Given what I've seen, I would say October 2028.
The lore of the game was reset twice, certain aspects ended up being too close to Persona 5 and Persona 3. They got through this by telling the story they want instead of what would be suitable for the audience.