PRAGMATA deux jours de vente à un million d'exemplaires ! La fille IA Diana conquiert les joueurs, et prévoit que les robots voleront le travail des humains ?

Capcom’s new game “PRAGMATA: Human-Machine Maze” sold 1 million copies in just two days! Combining shooting with hacker puzzle gameplay, it is praised for the impressive performance of “AI daughter” Diana, and the storyline showcases a future where robots replace human jobs.

PRAGMATA sells one million copies in two days, Capcom’s completely new title receives rave reviews

Since its release on April 17th this year, Capcom’s entirely new game “PRAGMATA: Human-Machine Maze” has surpassed 1 million copies sold worldwide in just two days. Currently, on the Steam platform, player reviews have exceeded 12,000, with an overwhelming 96% positive rating.

The game “PRAGMATA” is set on the surface of the Moon in the near future. Players take on the role of astronaut Hugh Williams, investigating a lost facility on the Moon. After an accident leaves him severely injured, he is rescued by an AI robot girl, Diana.

This wonderful duo must work together to fight against the crazed AI on the lunar facility and find a way back to Earth. The main gameplay involves a bit of left-brain and right-brain coordination: first solving grid puzzles to activate Diana’s hacking abilities to break through enemies’ defenses, then controlling Hugh to shoot enemies for maximum damage, while also dodging attacks in real-time.

Image source: Official PRAGMATA images

Besides its unique gameplay, I also felt that the development team put a lot of effort into Diana’s character. Whether in cutscene CG animations or in-game scenes, Diana performs many realistic girl-like actions, making players naturally empathize with the “old father” role.

PRAGMATA predicts AI will take over human jobs, leaving humans with nothing to do?

In the early part of the game (also available in the demo), you can see a residual image of two humans discussing walkers (AI robots) handling everything from trivial chores to major tasks, all managed through the IDUS system, with robots arriving on command. So, what can humans do? One conclusion is: think creatively and explore entrepreneurial opportunities.

Image source: Player’s game screenshot

Another letter mentions that the work of entry-level employees at power plants in the game is limited to managing robots. After clocking in daily, they have nothing to do, only pretending to be busy, and envy those working on the development frontlines.

Image source: Player’s game screenshot

With the recent surge of generative AI, many voices have emerged claiming AI will replace white-collar jobs. Therefore, although “PRAGMATA” depicts a future after the proliferation of humanoid AI robots, it also easily evokes current real-world issues.

PRAGMATA development concept: blending old and new generations without focusing on game length or huge maps

As a completely original new IP, building a world from scratch is a new challenge. However, this game has attracted many players’ attention years ago, not because Capcom announced the game, but due to a trailer released when the 2022 launch was delayed, as shown below:

Before the official release, the “PRAGMATA” development team was interviewed by Japanese gaming media “Famitsu” and “Shueisha VJump,” revealing the development system and design concepts.

Producer Naoto Oyama said that the development team combines both young and veteran developers. The team includes experienced staff who participated in the development of “Resident Evil” and “Devil May Cry” series, helping the younger generation to unleash their creativity and jointly create a new gaming experience.

Game director Zhao Rongxi mentioned that to differentiate in sci-fi action games, the team combined traditional shooting elements with hacker puzzle systems. Therefore, the core concept of Hugh and Diana’s cooperation has remained unchanged from early development.

The development team spent a lot of effort balancing shooting and hacking gameplay, aiming to ensure players make autonomous decisions on when to use hacking skills, then enjoy the thrill of shooting and destruction. Players can upgrade equipment in the base, and as the game progresses, freely choose combat styles leaning towards shooting or hacking.

The team also considered modern players’ gaming habits, setting the main story completion time around 10 hours and adding rich exploration and replay elements.

Automaton review: PRAGMATA’s gameplay and narrative are a double-edged sword

“PRAGMATA” took 6 years from announcement to release, enduring the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. It successfully attracted players’ attention, but the gaming media “Automaton” believes there are still some regrets.

“Automaton” pointed out that the biggest highlight is that players can adjust the difficulty of combat freely. They can also strengthen specific abilities by consuming resources, developing their own extreme tactics, and gaining a sense of achievement from high-intensity multitasking.

However, the game’s concern is that hacker puzzles and shooting lack deep synergy. Additionally, with a main story length of about 10 hours, the narrative development feels compressed, and the emotional changes between the two protagonists are somewhat rushed, and the sci-fi setting mostly serves visual dramatic tension, failing to deeply resonate with the game’s world view.

“Automaton” review considers that “PRAGMATA” overall is a game that compensates for some narrative shortcomings through high freedom in gameplay customization. Although its structure feels somewhat cobbled together, it still offers solid fun and can well serve as a new IP.

“PRAGMATA” currently has a score of 86 on Metacritic from media reviews, and a player score of 9, receiving generally positive praise.

Image source: Metacritic PRAGMATA’s media and player reviews on Metacritic