During PlayStation’s E3 live coverage, NieR: Automata Director Taro Yoko provided more information about the title's gameplay.

You can read a summary of what he shared below.

• You learn different attacks through the course of the game.
• There are a lot of different maps in the game.
• In the desert area at times enemies pop out from under the sand.
• Enemies wear costumes that are bound to the area they're found in.
• Most enemies in the game have the "round head" look.
• Some enemies have weapons of their own. The way that they move and the way you should act about them depends on the weapon they're using.
• There are large enemies, and they have weak points. They're very strong, but you can break them down piece by piece.
• Some enemies have shields and can deflect long range attacks. You need to break their shield and then you can attack them normally.
• When other androids follow 2B they're completely controlled by the AI and the player can't switch to them, but there will be moments in the game in which the player will control them.
• Some enemies deal long range attacks with a lot of bullets, and you need to dodge them to get near to attack them.
• Taro Yoko is a fan of Cave's shoot'em up games.
• Even if you fund yourself surrounded by many enemies, it's easy to use evasion to get out of the pinch.
• The game is set in the same world as the first NieR, but the story is not connected, so players that missed the first game will be able to jump in without issues.

Funnily, the demo ended with the game crashing, and Yoko-san promised mentioned that it was a very NieR-like ending, but he'll work hard so that it won't happen once the game releases in early 2017.