It’s almost inevitable at this point. You see a game that looks cool, and you want to buy it. Maybe you scroll through some reviews, maybe it was already recommended to you by a friend, but the game has a free demo – letting you try before you buy.
That little taster sample is free. And you skip right over it.
The developers of Pragmata don’t want you to do that. Because on top of it being a perfectly sensible thing to do, it’ll also let you get a feel for an aspect of the game that is “particularly” important for Pragmata: the controls. Specifically, whether PC players prefer the game with a controller, or the ol’ reliable option of keyboard and mouse.
“They are undeniably quite different experiences between keyboard and mouse and controller,” says the game’s director, Cho Yonghee, in an interview with PCGamer. “I think that’s true for a lot of games, but particularly so in this case.”
The game’s hacking controls were of special interest in the interview – both for the interviewer and interviewee. Yonghee says: “Whether it be the button, the key assignments for the keyboard itself, and the speed and sensitivity of the mouse and how that relates to the hacking controls, we’ve tried to make sure that it works as effectively as possible.”
When playing Pragmata, you’ll need to be able to complete action sequences and enemy-hacking events simultaneously. It’s possible that one half of the game might feel great to you on a keyboard, but you’d strongly prefer a controller for the other. And in that case, the sheer impossibility of swapping between them might prove troublesome.
For many, it’ll cost a heap of change to discover how you can best experience Pragmata. For others, they can just follow the recommendation of the devs and try the demo first.
“If it’s possible for people to compare,” Yonghee continues, “I’d encourage them to do so. For example, if you’re able to play through the demo on a controller and then go through it again with a keyboard and mouse, I think you can find which one you prefer, and it is something of a personal preference.”
Pragmata’s still a month out from release, but the game’s demo is already available for the curious.
Pragmata’s Controls Take Some Getting used To
From people’s first looks at the game, getting used to Pragmata’s controls does seem more challenging than in other games. Gamerant wrote that the game has a bit of a “learning curve,” but after some time ends up “surprisingly intuitive.”
“The concept of moving around a hacking grid with the face buttons, while simultaneously dodging enemy attacks with the left joystick is a bit like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time.”
Pragmata is not the sort of game that will click with you immediately, and it’s not designed to be. And until then, until you figure out the game’s unique challenges (and the physical tools by which you’ll conquer them), you might as well keep yourself on a $0 budget. The devs recommend it.
