PRAGMATA sells over one million units in two days! AI daughter Diana captivates players, and also predicts robots will take over human jobs?

Capcom’s new title, PRAGMATA: Human-Machine Maze, has become a hot seller, moving 1,000,000 copies in just two days! Anchored in shooting combined with hacker puzzle-solving, and praised for the standout performance of Diana—dubbed the “AI daughter”—the story also showcases a future vision of robots replacing human jobs.

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

After PRAGMATA: Human-Machine Maze launched on April 17 this year, the game’s worldwide sales surpassed 1,000,000 units in only two days. Currently, on the Steam platform, the number of player reviews has also exceeded 12,000, along with an overwhelming 96% positive rating.

The game’s setting is on the surface of the Moon in the near future. Players take on the role of astronaut Hugh Williams, who goes to investigate a missing facility on the Moon. After an unexpected accident leaves him seriously injured, he is rescued by the AI robot girl Diana.

This unlikely duo must work together to take on the rampaging AI at the lunar facility and find a way back to Earth. The core gameplay is somewhat like a battle between left and right brains: you first do a grid-walking puzzle so that Diana can activate her hacking function to break the enemy’s defenses, then you control Hugh to shoot the enemies to deal maximum damage—while at the same time the player needs to position and dodge the enemies’ attacks at the right moments.

Image source: PRAGMATA official images

Beyond the gameplay being relatively unique, I also felt that the development team put a lot of work into Diana’s character. Whether it’s the CG animations during cutscenes or the in-engine visuals, Diana will perform many realistic little-girl actions, making players naturally slip into the role of “an old father,” almost without realizing it.

PRAGMATA predicts that AI will steal human jobs—so what can humans do?

In an early portion of the game’s flow (also something you can experience in the playable demo), you can see a residual image of two humans discussing walkers (AI robots)—how they can handle everything from chores to major tasks, all managed via the IDUS system, with robots available on demand. Then what can humans possibly do? One person’s conclusion is: think of innovative concepts and explore opportunities to start a business.

Image source: Author’s in-game screenshot

And another letter mentions that in the game, the work of frontline base power-station employees has been reduced to managing robots. After clocking in and stamping in each day, there’s nothing to do—they can only pretend to be busy, while envying others who get to work at the development front lines.

Image source: Author’s in-game screenshot

With the recent explosion of generative AI, many voices have arisen saying that AI will replace white-collar jobs. Therefore, even though PRAGMATA depicts a future where AI humanoid robots are widespread, it’s still fairly easy to connect it to current events.

PRAGMATA development concept: blending old and new generations by not competing on game length or building huge maps

As a completely original new IP, building a world from scratch is a brand-new challenge. But in fact, many players have been paying attention to this game for years—what drew attention wasn’t that Capcom announced it was making a game, but rather the video released when the game’s launch slipped after 2022, as shown below:

Before the game’s official release, the PRAGMATA development team was interviewed by Japanese gaming media Famitsu and Shueisha VJump, revealing the game’s development framework and design concepts.

Producer Naohito Oyama said the development lineup blends the younger generation with experienced veterans. The team includes veteran staff who previously worked on the development of the “Resident Evil” and “Devil May Cry” series; with the guidance and support of seasoned experts, they help the younger generation bring their creativity to life, jointly creating a brand-new gaming experience.

Game director Rongxi Zhao also mentioned that to make the sci-fi action game distinctive, the development team combined traditional shooting elements with a hacking puzzle system. As a result, the core concept of having Hugh and Diana work together has never changed from the early stages of development to today.

The development team spent a great deal of effort balancing shooting and hacking gameplay. The goal is to ensure that players, during the process of playing, will make their own judgments about when to use hacking skills, and then afterward enjoy the thrill of shooting and destruction. Players can upgrade equipment in the base, and as the game progresses, they can freely choose a combat style that leans more toward shooting or toward hacking skills.

The team also took into account modern players’ gaming habits: they set the main story completion time to be around 10 hours, and added rich exploration and multiple-round replay elements.

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

From the time PRAGMATA was announced to its release, it took 6 years. During that period, it faced the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the end, it indeed succeeded in achieving the mission of attracting players’ attention, but the game media Automaton believes there are still regrets.

Automaton points out that the biggest highlight is that players can adjust the intensity of combat on their own. Players can also strengthen specific abilities by consuming resources, developing their own extreme tactics and feeling a sense of accomplishment from multitasking.

But the game’s downside is that there’s a lack of deep synergy between hacking puzzles and shooting. Also, because the main story length is about 10 hours, the room for narrative development is compressed, and the depiction of emotional changes between the two protagonists feels somewhat rushed. In addition, the sci-fi setting largely serves dramatic tension on screen and fails to strongly resonate with the game’s world view.

Automaton’s review says that overall, PRAGMATA is a game that makes up for some narrative shortcomings through highly customizable gameplay freedom. Although its structure gives off a somewhat patched-together feeling, it still offers solid fun and can fully play the role expected of a new IP.

PRAGMATA currently has a media score of 86 on Metacritic, while the player score is as high as 9—overall receiving consistently positive, broadly praised feedback.

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