Pragmata

Credit: Capcom

“The good mother necessarily fails.”

– Sigmund Freud

Capcom’s brand new IP, sci-fi Xbox 360/PS3 era throwback Pragmata, is finally released to the masses, and I’ve played around 27 hours of this very interesting and very polished sci-fi adventure. The game allegedly took around six years to develop, and I’m here to tell you that the tidy experience, at least in my opinion, has been well worth the wait.

To be fair, it only took me about 16 hours to complete my initial playthrough, but I immediately jumped into New Game+ (one of several endgame modes, which include a new Lunatic difficulty) because Pragmata is simply that fun to play. This is no Crimson Desert, mind you, but it is partly why Capcom’s latest is so damn good, I think. The game’s digestible length pays direct homage to fondly remembered releases from bygone eras (Gears of War, Dead Space, Silent Hill 2), games you could complete in a weekend if you really tried. This was before endless live service offerings and the pathological need to track concurrent players, even for single player experiences.

Pragmata stars an astronaut named Hugh and a child android he finds and subsequently names Diana, and you follow them through a nicely liminal moon base as they try to take down a rogue AI called IDUS that’s hellbent on Earth’s destruction for… reasons. The story tackles a possible high-tech future filled with ubiquitous 3D printing, excessive moon-mining and, notably, the dangers of unchecked artificial intelligence. I wouldn’t say the narrative is anti-AI, necessarily, but it’s definitely pro-human, and maybe even hints at a potential human-AI harmony, but I won’t spoil anything.

I do think story is one of Pragmata’s strengths, even if it can be a bit stilted, cheesy and on-the-nose at times. Hugh often speaks in tropes, and so does Diana, but the heart underlying the dialogue makes up for some of the low-hanging fruit. There are a lot of good ideas here, material that tackles our already and evermore complicated relationship with artificial intelligence, and dances around some of the inherent meaning found in raising a child. Diana isn’t Hugh’s daughter, mind you, but the energy between them implies a paternal connection.

As you progress through the story, Hugh gradually teaches Diana about Earth and all its human trappings, sometimes via holographic recreations, other times through casual back-and-forth conversation: New York City, playgrounds, CRT TVs, drawing with crayons, the soul nourishment of good conversation, basketball and perhaps most endearingly, the value of a solid high-five. Diana will occasionally reciprocate by gifting Hugh rudimentary Crayola pictures she’s composed, and the exchange is just as sweet as it sounds.

So, while Pragmata is first and foremost a cautionary science fiction tale, it’s also an exploration of the maddening beauty and terror of fatherhood.

For example, Hugh saves a careless Diana from a precarious fall at one point, and I think any present father (or mother, for that matter) will relate to the mandatory hypervigilance on display. Diana also repeatedly asks Hugh about his own childhood, and he patiently walks her through how his parents raised him and, in his own stumbling way, tries to pass down to her those same values.

Again, I won’t spoil anything in particular, but toward the end of the game, Freud’s quote about the good mother necessarily failing immediately comes to mind. These words apply to fathers, too, and Pragmata makes a pretty strong statement about this idea. Part of being a decent parent, arguably, is embracing the idea of sacrifice; kids demand so much of us, and rightfully so, because we’re their conduit to the world, and ultimately, to themselves. In a way, Capcom’s game illuminates the value of true selflessness, and it’s even waking some people up to the notion of having kids in the first place, antinatalism be damned.

I haven’t even touched on Pragmata’s brilliant hacking mechanic, which adds so much spinning plate strategy to combat and truly sets it apart from other run-of-the-mill action games. I’ll have more to say as I make my way through the rest of the new game modes, and once I upgrade all my gear and find all the collectibles.

Still, Capcom’s latest isn’t perfect. It’s linear to a fault, it’s relatively short, and for that reason alone, might not appeal to a certain kind of gamer. Plus, the writing, as I previously mentioned, can be hit-or-miss. Additionally, I don’t really care for when adults voice-act kids, as it can come across as disingenuous and creepy, unless it’s Nickelodeon’s Rugrats, because nostalgia.

I do hope we get a sequel to Pragmata, and a follow-up seems rather likely, seeing as the fresh IP has already sold over a million copies. It’s good to see an original AAA gaming concept get some serious love.

Disclosure: Capcom provided a review code for coverage purposes.