Pragmata Review: It’s okay, but it could have been great

Over the past few years, Capcom has done an exceptional job of bolstering its collection of large, long-running franchises. Proverbs Monster Hunter, Vampireand Street fight They’ve all had strong, consistent runs, which is impressive The current strain of uncertainty running through the gaming industry. Now the developer is using that momentum to launch an ambitious new property called practical.

The game takes bones VampireSlow-paced action combined with a sci-fi world that explores everything from moon colonization to artificial intelligence. It has some really cool ideas, including an incredibly unique combat system and confusing levels 3D AI rampbut they’re buried under a familiar structure and a story that relies heavily on sci-fi tropes. practical It could become something special over time, but this first game plays things too safe to really stand out.

As is often the case with such stories, practical It begins with a small team investigating a disturbance at a lunar outpost. When they arrive, the place is eerily quiet and empty, and one of the investigators – a man named Hugh – soon finds himself separated from the rest of the team. Eventually he meets what appears to be a young girl, but is actually an experimental robot named Diana. The two meet up to find out what’s going on and find a way to return to Earth. Blocking their way is a rogue AI that now controls the colony and seems to hate humans, turning each robot into a killing machine.

Although obviously Vampire dna, practical It’s not straight horror, although it gets scary. Instead, it’s more of a traditional third-person action game. Hugh gets all kinds of futuristic weapons that are mostly typical of a traditional video game arsenal, including a shotgun and a rocket launcher. But the game also gives you plenty of ways to customize how you approach combat. You constantly obtain materials that allow you to upgrade Hugh’s suit and weapons, allowing you to focus on your own playstyle. I really liked throwing a 3D decoy that would distract enemies, allowing me to sneak up with close-range weapons to blow them away.

The main development is how Hugh and Diana work together. The little robot always rides on its back, and when battles start, you play as both at the same time. Diana can penetrate and weaken enemies while Hugh fires. At first, it seems strange; Hacking is like a mini-game where you have to move the cursor across the network to reach the enemy’s weak point. But the action doesn’t stop while you’re doing this, so you have to be careful to avoid attacks and fire at the exact same time. It’s a real “pat your head while rubbing your stomach” situation, except here you’re completing a bizarre maze while fighting killer robots.

The combat is easily the best part of it practical. Not only is it completely different from anything you’ve played before, but every aspect of it is well-tuned: the weapons look great, the enemies are diverse and often terrifying, and the customization options are plentiful. I appreciate that too practical It has very generous checkpoints; There are multiple places in each area where you can return to your shelter, which is very easy Stranded death– An inspired space that lets you catch your breath, chat with Diana, and upgrade your equipment.

But apart from that, there is not much interesting stuff. Mostly, you’re exploring the colony just to power up power plants and open doors (which lead to more power plants) so you can return to Earth. The story doesn’t help much. There’s a lot going around practicalPrepare it He could Talk about our current moment, given that it’s set on the moon and features a deadly AI villain. He’s even exploring the impact of a new element that makes it possible to 3D print anything. At least at first, it seems that way practical It uses these concepts to go some interesting places. One of the early areas you explore is a 3D printed version of New York, but it’s been designed by AI in ways that don’t make sense in reality. There are yellow taxis rumbling through the ground and shop windows that appear upside down and inaccessible. It’s like artificial intelligence becoming physical, a hallucination you can explore.

But this scene is strange. Aside from a few key moments, the story relies entirely on well-worn sci-fi tropes, meaning it constantly reminds you of other, more original tales. The company that runs the colony, for example, is basically… AlienWeyland-Yutani, a group that uses the lawless nature of space to conduct ethically questionable experiments. The relationship between Hugh and Diana mirrors almost every story about an artificial being who wants to be human Pinocchio to finisher. Hell, there’s even an enemy that’s basically a robot Sand dunes Sand worm.

What’s worse is that most of the actually interesting narrative bits – like the sheer cruelty of the tech company, or the way many employees transfer their responsibilities to the AI ​​- only appear if you choose to read the many optional notes included or listen to the talking holograms. If you would like to get anything from practicalA story, you have to look for it.

This is especially frustrating given the core of a truly unique game practical. It’s well designed and has a few new ideas. But at the same time, it feels very derivative. This is not uncommon in games; There are a lot of brand-new franchises that struggle to establish an identity at first before falling apart in sequels, like Progress From watch dogs to Watching dogs 2. Hopefully something similar will happen with practical. Capcom has shown a real talent in developing its franchises, and practical He feels painfully close to joining that list.

_{practical It will be released on Switch 2, PS5, Xbox, and PC on April 17.}