Ending the day with a quick update. While Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has successfully revived interest in QTEs, players still have reservations about minigame-style mechanics in combat systems – and by players, I mean you, the ones who expressed concerns in the comments of my recent article on Pragmata.
Capcom’s upcoming space-themed shooter introduces a debuff mechanic where the android girl on your back hacks the robots you’re up against – requiring you to navigate a grid of glyphs to deactivate shields and other defenses.
On paper, this subtask may seem bothersome. However, during my hands-on experience at Summer Game Fest, I didn’t find it intrusive. But why trust my opinion, the goofball who almost got ejected from the demo session for losing his cool when denied permission to photograph the controller diagram print-out? The same knucklehead who then passive-aggressively sketched the print-out in his notepad, wasting five minutes of the session and likely losing future invites? The very same dolt who is now sharing all this for everyone to see, just in case those PR folks had forgotten?
Instead of listening to me, I recommend trying out Pragmata’s hacking mechanic yourself through this brief browser demo. It offers a glimpse of the combat system I experienced, although it doesn’t include all the strafing, reloading, and other elements.
Overall, I have a positive outlook on Pragmata, although I don’t expect it to be a groundbreaking title. It’s a well-designed and straightforward shooter with enough complexity to give you a sense of accomplishment, even when you’re seething with frustration and contemplating starting a #Capcomgate movement on Bluesky.
