A 6-year wait is easy to say. Pragmata, which was first announced with the release of PS5 in 2020, has seen numerous postponements over the past period, and even rumors of its cancellation have spread around. Capcom stood behind the game, and as a result, Pragmata saw the light of day. It has been proven time and time again that the games that have lingered for so many years and somehow found their way onto the shelves (digital shelves, of course, are there any boxed games left?) are generally small potatoes.
Capcom has obviously put its ingrained experience into play here and has managed to stand behind Pragmata and somehow keep the project up to date. As a result of this long process, the game is finally here. Pragmata lay down on my table, bring my scalpel! You Don’t Write, Brother… Pragmata’s story is adorned with very current themes; Issues that both affect our lives and whose future is discussed, such as 3D printers and the scourge of artificial intelligence, are among the actors of the subject.
Our story takes place on the Moon, where tests are carried out on how to use giant 3D printers more effectively for the service of humanity. Cities, buildings, bridges, cars, in short, anything you can think of comes out hot from the printer. The colony on the Moon is also there to develop and test this process. In order to do this quickly and without any margin of error, advanced artificial intelligence called IDUS is used.
Of course, the margin of error emerges and IDUS takes full control and becomes the scourge of the Moon. When there is no sound from the colony, a team from Earth is quickly sent there and our adventure begins. As a result of an accident, the entire team is destroyed and our hero, Hugh Williams, is left alone and injured, trying to hold on to life. Hugh, who is counting the seconds until he takes his last breath, suddenly sees a little girl coming to his aid and he thinks he is dreaming and says, “Are you an angel, my dear?” says (does not say).
This little girl, whom she calls Diana, is actually an android and has the ability to hack anything electronic. Diana, who talks loudly and is eager to learn everything, turns into a great partner throughout our journey. One of Pragmata’s biggest advantages is its dual compatibility. Throughout the story, Diana and Hugh constantly chat during action or while solving puzzles. Diana uses a lot of question marks, Hugh talks about his own past traumas while trying to explain everything like a patient father.
In addition to this harmonious character expression, it also creates a special beauty for us by managing to keep the story in mystery for a long time. Pragmata is not just about conversation, it is very innovative, especially on the action side. The search for innovation in the office of a well-resourced company like Capcom is naturally on solid ground. Hugh is the gunman in the double team game, while Diana uses her hacking skills.
Here you will encounter a very fluid, strategic action that requires you to be quick and you can be happy now. Without Diana, Hugh’s firepower has little to do with it. Various robots controlled by IDUS are attacking you, but your firepower, which does more damage than mosquito bites, may bother you. Now is the time to put Diana into action! Our mechanical girl comes to the rescue and adds color to the action, just like a wrestler in American wrestling who enters from the edge with a hand contact and flattens the place.
When you control Diana with a single button, a screen guided by the robot you choose opens. Here, you must quickly select certain boxes with the arrow keys and reach the green box. Although it seems like a simple puzzle game, doing it during the high-tension action is exciting enough to make your palms sweat. When you reach green, the robot’s weak parts are revealed and Hugh’s firepower now becomes meaningful. As you can see; The harmony between the two is not only in conversation.
Diana’s hacking skills increase as the game progresses and you pay attention to the development part. Many extra side abilities are now added to the screen that are more effective and can paralyze the enemy, spread the blow to all nearby robots or cause them to attack each other. When you use these yellow boxes effectively, the action suddenly increases. That’s why I suggest you don’t be afraid and learn well which feature corresponds to what.
If only everything were that easy… If you think you can easily hack a robot with our lady, I have great (!) news for you. IDUS says “No such plunder, brothers and sisters” and does not stop the game completely during hacking. This means that you are still very open to every attack. That’s why Hugh’s evasive action becomes very important, as soon as you realize that you will get hit, you must stop controlling Diana and run away immediately.
You did a great hack with Diana, the robots were stunned and exposed their weaknesses. Now it’s our reluctant hero Hugh’s turn! Hugh’s normally weak-armed weapons can now begin to show their true power. Our standard weapon is the Grip Gun and it regenerates when you wait after the magazine is empty. In this way, it acts as a safe haven in conflicts and you use it constantly. Aiming and shooting are very consistent and responsive.
The weak parts of the robots are clearly visible, I can say that it looks like Horizon. Hugh is not a frivolous warrior, don’t get me wrong. The man finds nearly 20 weapons during his journey. At first, you can carry 4 weapons that you choose with the arrow keys, but as you develop, this number increases and you can quickly switch between weapons. One of the biggest pluses of the game is that it makes you feel like you are improving as you get stronger.
Pragmata also encounters apartment-sized enemies, but with the right tactics, these conflicts are far from annoying. Despite all this chaos, it is an incredibly enjoyable detail that Hugh and Diana are in constant communication and warn each other about enemy attacks. Pragmata isn’t just about action. Many location puzzles are also presented to you, with a structure that looks linear but flexible, allowing you to quickly return to the sections you have passed.
As you develop, you acquire abilities that will open areas you cannot enter, explore the map and discover development kits and extras. The most special of these discoveries are the digital traces that bear traces of the lives of children on Earth. You find these, gift them to Diana, and turn them from spirituality into reality with a 3D printer in a corner of the shelter that I will talk about in a moment. At this point, the bond between the two increases and Hugh stops seeing Diana as an important tool for his salvation and begins to treat Diana almost as if she were his daughter.
Let’s take shelter for a while, what do you say? We said shelter, let’s throw ourselves inside. As you progress through the game, you will see small areas with red lights. When you activate these, you can quickly reach the place called Shelter. This is your rest and development area, and you can also quickly skip to previous sections from here. As I just mentioned, the World memories corner that made Diana happy, the hide and seek game, and the Training Area that gives you extras such as experience points are located here.
There is even a mini game where we play hide and seek with Diana and have to find her within 1 minute, and it was very enjoyable. The tip here is to follow Diana’s voice. He constantly says things like “You can’t find me, I’m here” and gets in the way, and you find him easily. As you can see, even in Pragmata, artificial intelligence is not developed enough. More importantly, two important stations are here, such as character development (you need the yellow square modules you will find on the maps) and weapon creation/improvement with a 3D printer.
The development side is focused on armor, firepower and hacking, which will surprise no one. On the printer side, there are many developments that add color to the game. In addition to creating weapons, important abilities such as special hacking abilities, improving dodge movement, and being able to float in the air for longer are also purchased here. That’s why it’s a good idea to follow up on the episode summary what you missed in previous episodes, go back, fill your pockets, and make continuous progress in Sanctuary.
When you do this, you will always have a say in the action, you will always get the feeling that everything is progressing organically. My Moon Eyes, My White Skin… The visual language of Pragmata is quite successful. The white-tinged coldness of the Moon has infiltrated all the structures here. The general tone of the base is white and cream. Things get more colorful when you enter city models such as Los Angeles made with a 3D printer.
Moreover, IDUS makes a distorted production. While you are running on a realistic street, you can see that the buildings are warped and twisted, and everything is upside down, like in the movie Inception. It’s quite interesting to see a half-printed taxi on the wall. Pragmata maintains this design language until the end of the game and does not confuse us by offering a thousand different locations. I must say I like this consistency.
RE Engine is an engine that works wonders in general, we last saw its capabilities in Resident Evil Requiem. The same fine workmanship is evident in Pragmata. Character models and animations are amazing. Diana’s blonde hair flies in the air, adding great realism to the character. Hugh is like a Dead Space character who has fallen into bleach, he hides his face throughout the game, but you get the feeling of weight from his costume.
The robot designs are also generally awesome. They react, fall and explode depending on where they are hit. Moreover, the fact that they attack you like zombies (the classic ones) creates tension. I’m going to remember an old game here, it immediately came to my mind. In 2012, SEGA released a game called Binary Domain, do you remember? It was quite similar to Pragmata with its theme and even its enemies. In my opinion, Binary Domain was a solid game that was well deserved.
I wanted to leave flowers on his grave by mentioning his name, please forgive me. With Pragmata, Capcom hits the big time for the second time this year and is perhaps one of the most profitable game companies of the year. It’s hard to see a game that compresses the dual conflict dynamic into a single controller so professionally. We cannot say that it does not have the potential to connect it to the series. Pragmata, which offers a very sufficient time of 12-13 hours, is a production that everyone who wants to play a tight game should play without delay.
Pragmata has also increased my expectations for the future. From now on, I will wait for an android child like Diana to be developed and only then will I become a father. Pragmata Review Score Story / Atmosphere – 9 Playability – 9.5 Visuals – 9 Sound / Music – 8.5 9 Run Sevim, innovative action has arrived! Capcom takes risks and creates a new IP full of fresh ideas, and it does it very well. Do not remain indifferent to Pragmata.
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