{"id":45796,"date":"2026-04-19T22:38:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T14:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=45796"},"modified":"2026-04-19T22:38:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T14:38:35","slug":"pragmatas-times-square-is-so-superior-to-new-york-citys-real-hellscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=45796","title":{"rendered":"Pragmata\u2019s Times Square is so superior to New York City’s real hellscape"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Pragmata<\/em>, Capcom\u2019s new sci-fi third-person shooter, is set on the moon, but a decent chunk of the early game takes place in New York City\u2019s Times Square. Well, not the real<\/em> Times Square, but a 3D-printed version using special moon-based technology. It\u2019s very similar to the real thing, with yellow cabs populating its streets and gigantic billboards peering down at astronaut Hugh and android Diana. But there are some key differences that make it so much better than the one a short train ride away.<\/p>\n

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Ask any New Yorker about Times Square, and they will sneer in disgust. No one who lives in the city goes there willingly, unless the AMC on 42nd Street is the only one showing a new film you want to catch at the only time you\u2019re available. Instead, we scuttle around beneath Times Square, too cautious and experienced to show our noses in the tourist trap. Traveling to Times Square is often a requirement for getting elsewhere in the city, as so many of the MTA\u2019s major train lines intersect there.<\/p>\n

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\"Astronaut\n <\/picture>Image: Capcom via Polygon<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Why do we detest going to Times Square? Tourists. So<\/em> many tourists. Obviously, tourists are unavoidable in New York \u2014 over 65 million flocked to NYC last year \u2014 but they gather en masse in Times Square to gawk at advertising, buy overpriced chocolate at the M&M store, and take the same pictures for Instagram that everyone else takes for Instagram.<\/p>\n

Contrast that with the streets of Pragmata<\/em>\u2019s lunar Times Square. There\u2019s nary a soul in sight. Hugh and Diana can wander around without worry of being caught in a tourist\u2019s selfie or being blasted with Jay-Z and Alicia Keys\u2019 \u201cEmpire State of Mind,\u201d which is inexplicably playing at all times on 42nd Street. They do have to worry about killer robots controlled by a rogue AI, I guess<\/em>, but, I don\u2019t know, man. I bet those robots at least know how to correctly walk on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n

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\"Astronaut\n <\/picture>Image: Capcom via Polygon<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Pragmata<\/em>\u2019s Times Square is also so much cheaper than the real thing. There\u2019s an advertisement for a specialty spicy BBQ burger that costs $5.99. I don\u2019t know where in New York you can get a burger for five bucks, but it certainly ain\u2019t Times Square. Instead, you can get overpriced microwaved pasta at Olive Garden, because of course<\/em> there\u2019s an Olive Garden in Times Square.<\/p>\n

At one point, Hugh comments about how the moon is too clean and how he likes a little mess in his life. Sorry, Space Dad Hugh, but I\u2019m going to have to disagree there. Have you been to Times Square, Hugh? Or just anywhere in New York? This is the city that never sleeps, except when it drunkenly vomits on a seven-foot-tall pile of trash bags and then passes out. I\u2019m OK with how pristine the moon is. We\u2019re going to dirty it with robot guts, anyway.<\/p>\n

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\"Astronaut\n <\/picture>Image: Capcom via Polygon<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Jokes aside, Pragmata<\/em>\u2019s Times Square works so well because it resets expectations for what the game\u2019s environments are going to be like. After Hugh and Diana cross paths, the first main level of the game takes place in hallways and research rooms throughout the lunar base. They\u2019re all white, pristine, and homogenous, and you\u2019d be forgiven if at this point you\u2019re expecting the entire game to take place in a series of same-y hallways.<\/p>\n

Then Pragmata<\/em> takes you to its version of New York City, and blows open any expectations. Suddenly we\u2019re dodging in between taxis, some misprinted and blended with the street. We\u2019re (very inelegantly) platforming on rooftops and in between buildings. We\u2019re waltzing into a diner to check out its menu.<\/p>\n

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\"Astronaut\n <\/picture>Image: Capcom via Polygon<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

By 3D printing Times Square on the moon, Pragmata<\/em> flexes its creative muscles. The next level is just as surprising: you\u2019ll wander through a constructed forest. Future levels aren\u2019t quite as unexpected, but still inviting. Don\u2019t worry \u2014 you do get to hop around on the moon\u2019s surface at some point.<\/p>\n

Level design is just one of Pragmata<\/em>\u2019s strengths, which are headlined by the unique hacking-infused gameplay. In my review, I noted how Pragmata<\/em> reinvigorates an age-old genre (and looks like I\u2019m not alone). It also nails letting me enjoy a part of my home that I\u2019d otherwise avoid at all costs. There\u2019s only so many times a man can hear \u201cconcrete jungle where dreams are made of\u201d as Optimus Prime and Elmo take selfies with tourists.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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