Pragmata

In many ways, there are more parallels between Pragmata's charming "poster child", the android Diana, and the game itself than Capcom might have imagined. Just like Diana, Pragmata is charming, well-constructed, and even designed with a clear purpose. But more critically, there is something - even though the game seeks to forge a bond between the main characters - that... well, is missing. When our protagonist Hugh talks about people and compares them to the emulated humanity and warmth of androids, he frames it in exactly the same way; there is something that is missing. Whether you want to call it connective tissue or perhaps even a "soul", that is immediately harder to determine. I will be recommending Pragmata once this review is finished, but I want to make it clear from the outset that identifying what it is that is missing has taken up the majority of this review period.

Pragmata has all the individual ingredients needed to form a fairly solid sci-fi adventure. Astronaut Hugh finds himself in a predicament when a mysterious earthquake causes a gigantic lunar base, and its accompanying giant 3D printer, to spiral out of control, and the base's built-in AI, IDUS, subsequently misidentifies him as a threat to the base's security. However, he receives help from the mysterious "pragmata" droid, Diana, and together they attempt to piece together what has happened on the base and contact Earth.

It's a narrative premise that, in various guises, serves as the basis for many game narratives. Both The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite, for example, are about your character having to transport a person from one location to another, because their specific abilities are needed in a larger context, and just like in those two games, it's the budding relationship between Hugh and Diana that keeps the premise alive. It works, most of the time, even though the narrative, in both its broad and narrow strokes, suffers somewhat from being caught between two distinct profiles. Pragmata is never scary, nor is there a great deal of focus on suspense or tension, but it isn't comical either, and it doesn't seem to be trying to be. There is plenty of action, and accompanying meaningful exchanges, so it would be quite wrong to say that Pragmata lacks the capacity to move you. But there is simply something missing here.

It isn't to be found in the plot's sweeping developments, where there are plenty of twists and emotional dynamics, and your goals always feel clearly defined as Hugh. Rather, it lies in the immediate details, in the individual lines of dialogue as there is something that feels artificial here, and not in the intended way. Pragmata is built using the RE Engine, but, funnily enough, lacks Resident Evil's far more intentional genre framework, and is consequently more fluid (and vague) in what it's actually meant to... well, perhaps be about.

Fortunately, there is better news on the more mechanical front, where Capcom has demonstrated time and again that they know how to blend technology, mechanics, and gameplay "feel". On the surface, Pragmata is a fairly typical third-person action-adventure, but this hacking twist turns the battles against the moon base's robots into something entirely different, and that's quite fortunate. As you aim your weapon at an enemy, Diana sits on your shoulders and a small hacking minigame pops up. You must navigate using buttons, and by finding the right path through a "grid", the robots are "unlocked" to take increased damage from traditional firearms. Different robots have different "grids", and the path through them is made more difficult by various circumstances. The point is that this system, which needs to be balanced with normal movement, dodging, and all that, is Pragmata's best idea, and fortunately it's right at the forefront from start-to-finish.

The traditional firearms feel satisfying enough; you have a base you can return to every now and then to advance the game's central progression loops, which, as always, consist of upgrades to weapons, armour, and abilities, and in an annoyingly small Souls-like twist, enemies respawn if you choose to return to your hideout in the middle of a mission.

In the various sections of the base, there are tons of resources to be found, and these different resources are used for distinct aspects of progression. It's all fairly familiar territory, but if nothing else, it keeps you curious and eager to explore every nook and cranny of the levels thoroughly, and in typical Metroidvania fashion, you gain abilities that encourage you to come back and take a closer look later.

These levels are, incidentally, shaped by the game's central visual feature - 3D printing. No, in my view, 3D printing isn't the most exciting thing, and I've more than once found myself caught up in conversations with 3D printing aficionados who are keen to tell me everything they know about making their own drink coasters, but in this sci-fi setting, it takes on a slightly different dimension. It turns out that the moon base has attempted to 3D-print an entire... well, society, which is why the game's trailers have displayed such a broad visual palette. This narrative setup allows the levels to have quite distinct visual characteristics, such as this strange pseudo-version of New York. Unfortunately, although they provide a specific aesthetic personality, these aren't the most innovative levels I've seen, but they're neat without being particularly flashy.

The game relies a little too often on progress being blocked by x number of shields, which then have to be deactivated one-by-one, but they aren't exactly boring. Again; they just lack something, some sort of coherence that makes these levels more than just levels, but part of a cohesive journey. Pragmata never quite manages to construct that seamless identity - a bit like a 3D printer trying to emulate a handcrafted object; the components and appearance are there, but something indefinable has been lost in translation.

Furthermore, these levels are quite long and deep, and perhaps for that reason, there are only a handful of them from start-to-finish. Precisely because, through 3D printing, they emulate "real" aspects of our planet; be it a big city, a deep forest, or even a beach. There is visual variety here, thankfully, but Pragmata still feels somewhat limited in its presentation of the framework for how these battles and this story unfold. It's not so much a criticism as an observation.

As mentioned, the game is built using the RE Engine, which once again, once again, proves itself to be among the market's absolute strongest visual engines. Pragmata not only runs silky smooth at 60fps, it also looks brilliant at the same time. Faces are brimming with tangible expression and life, and various areas exude character. Composer Yasumasa Kitagawa also delivers a vibrant score, at times slightly inspired by Claude Debussy's Clair de Lune, and at times pulsating with Blade Runner-esque electronica. Certain pieces are repeated a little too often, something we recognise, for example, from the "combat" theme in recent Zelda games, which you eventually get really tired of hearing, but from a visual and auditory standpoint, Pragmata is well-crafted from start-to-finish.

The last sentence in the paragraph above is worth repeating; "Pragmata is well-crafted from start-to-finish", because it is. Fun hacking minigame, smooth progression, beautiful levels, solid combat... all the individual aspects of a good gaming experience are present, and I believe the game will appeal to both those who want cinematic, film-like storytelling and those who steadfastly adhere to a "gameplay first" mentality; they will find something to like here, which is an incredibly difficult balance to maintain. But just as with 3D-printed furniture, or an android designed to resemble and emulate a human, something happens when you squint.

Although everything looks reasonably convincing on the surface, the illusion is nowhere near as convincing upon closer inspection, and Pragmata fails to fully establish a convincing bond between Hugh and Diana, nor does it manage to give the exploration, level design, or enemies a distinctive character that truly sets them apart from generic sci-fi tropes. The game plays with the idea of artificial intelligence, but at times looks a bit like an email you receive from your colleagues, clearly written by Gemini. It's well-written, perhaps even better than the person themselves could have written, but also somewhat hollow as a result.

But to really drive the analogy home: if the email fulfils its intended role, and calls for the right meeting, at the right time, so what? Pragmata simply works too well not to recommend it, and the magic lost in the empty spaces may not be as obvious to you as it is to me. That's why I'm giving in and recommending Pragmata on the strength of its strong gameplay profile and well-constructed loops and structures, even though part of me would have liked there to be a bit of edge beneath the cool exterior alongside all the great design.