DaRmaZat Developer DON’T NOD has announced that cinematic science-fiction third-person action adventure Aphelion will launch this spring for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store. The game will also be available on Game Pass. Alongside the announcement, the studio premiered a five-minute “Gameplay Deep Dive” trailer, offering the first extended look at in-game footage.
The newly released gameplay trailer showcases Aphelion’s core pillars: traversal-driven exploration, tense stealth sequences, and cinematic third-person action set against the hostile backdrop of the frozen planet Persephone. The footage highlights dynamic movement across ice-covered ravines and collapsing terrain, the use of tools such as grappling hooks and pathfinding devices, and encounters with an unseen threat lurking beneath the planet’s surface.
Set in the year 2060, Aphelion centers on the European Space Agency’s Hope 01 mission to Persephone—a newly discovered ninth planet at the edge of the solar system believed to be humanity’s last viable refuge as Earth becomes uninhabitable. Players assume the role of astronaut Ariane Montclair after a catastrophic crash landing separates her from her partner, Thomas Cross. What follows is a desperate journey across a vast, frozen alien world in search of survival and reunion.
The gameplay deep dive emphasizes environmental storytelling and survival mechanics. Armed with limited resources—including an oxygen tank and exploration tools—players must traverse treacherous terrain shaped by extreme weather and shifting landscapes. The trailer also reveals stealth-focused sequences, suggesting that players must evade a mysterious presence hidden beneath the ice rather than confront it directly.
Narrative remains central to the experience. Ariane and Thomas share a complex relationship strained by duty and ambition, and the game frames their emotional reconnection as critical to surviving Persephone’s brutal conditions. The gameplay footage underscores this emotional layer through cinematic presentation, dramatic environmental scale, and grounded depictions of space exploration technology.
Key features include a realistic interpretation of space exploration, tools-based traversal systems, stealth-driven survival encounters, and an emotionally charged narrative set on an alien world.
Aphelion launches this spring for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC, with day-one availability on Game Pass.
