Yes, I’m as surprised as you. A demo for an upcoming AAA game? Yeah, it’s an oddity in both regards—me playing a new AAA game and that a big publisher in this day and age actually releasing a demo. What stunned me even more is that I found Pragmata Sketchbook genuinely entertaining. Two things had me questioning the game going in: the little girl companion, and that the combat has puzzle elements right in the middle of the third-person shooting.
Moon girl
If we start with the setting, it seems really cool, at least from the little we get in the demo. As it is, you are stuck on a moon base where all the robots have gone completely loco, with your annihilation as their new main priority. What’s perhaps a wee bit odd is that you’ve teamed up with a little girl for survival. However, she’s not an ordinary girl; she’s an AI constructed to look like a child. The narration calls her a young AI, so maybe AIs in this future/universe go through a growing phase like humans—who knows? Nonetheless, an interesting concept and as for her being so young, I write that up as Japanese eccentricities.
Being an AI, she can hack all kinds of things, which is essential, because without her skills, you wouldn’t be able to navigate the base or destroy the robots. She can open paths, doors, and elevators that are out of reach, but her main thing is putting the robots in a state of vulnerability. You do that by hacking the attacking robots in combat. The shooting is as standard as it comes, but with the hacking mini-game (puzzle), it transforms into to a pretty unique experience. I was sure I was going to hate it, but nope, it was truly enjoyable in a weird cerebral way. Just prepare yourself for a lot of dodging and running, while keeping the puzzle stuff in mind. I wouldn’t say it was that hard, though, as I never died during the demo—not even on the boss.
Beyond the battles against crazed robots, there is also platforming, collecting items, and exploration. These segments worked well too, especially the exploration. The areas in the demo were not mega huge, but I loved the verticality of the map. If you miss a crucial jump for a chest, you can find yourself at the bottom of the level, which just adds a sense of “realness” to the environment.
Overall, the demo was a nice, charming experience, with an excellent presentation in terms of graphics and audio. Pragmata is set to be released in two months, but it comes at a hefty sixty euros. Unsure if any game is worth that nowadays, but we’ll see!
Thanks for reading
– Thomas
Tom's Gaming Vault 