The developers of Pragmata are advising prospective players to test the game’s demo to determine whether a controller or mouse and keyboard offers the superior experience, noting that control preferences can vary significantly between individuals.
Finding the Perfect Control Scheme
While many PC gamers swear by the precision of a mouse and keyboard, certain genres—like Soulslikes, Resident Evil, or cozy titles—often feel more intuitive with a gamepad. Pragmata appears to join this category, as the game’s mechanics, particularly the hacking sequences, present a distinct difference in feel depending on your input device.
“We put work into the control scheme on both types of systems,” director Cho Yonghee explains. “Whether it be the button and key assignments, or the speed and sensitivity of the mouse in relation to hacking controls, we’ve tried to make sure that it works as effectively as possible.”
Why the Hacking Mechanic Matters
The game’s hacking element is a primary reason for the discrepancy. Using a D-pad provides a level of speed and movement fluidity that can feel restrictive when tethered to holding a side mouse button and dragging a cursor across the screen. Because hacking is integral to both combat and environmental navigation, such as opening doors and accessing terminals, finding a comfortable control method is essential for a smooth experience.
Personal Preference Over Universal Rules
“They are undeniably quite different experiences,” Yonghee adds. “If it’s possible for people to compare, I’d encourage them to do so. 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. It is something of a personal preference.”
The Pragmata sketchbook demo remains available for download. Since the demo acts as a tutorial for core mechanics—including shooting and hacking—and takes only about 20 minutes to complete, it serves as the perfect testing ground to experiment with both input methods.
“There are some people who find keyboard and mouse too tricky,” says Yonghee. “There are others who definitely prefer it, and that goes for us on the team as well. My son, in particular, prefers keyboard and mouse hands down. We’ve tried to make sure that whichever one is your preference, we’ve done our best to optimize the controls so that you get a great experience either way.”
While playing on mouse and keyboard is perfectly viable and won’t hinder the experience, taking the time to test both setups will likely help you master the art of dismantling AI-controlled robots more effectively when the game launches.
