Since CAPCOM first unveiled this near-future sci-fi game in 2020, it has undergone numerous delays. The title, officially named Pragmata, is finally set to release on April 17, 2026. We had the opportunity to experience a PC demo available to the media, uncovering the story deep within the lunar base and...NVIDIA DLSS-4.5The "Path Tracing" technology allows you to examine the ultimate visual performance of this masterpiece at full power.
Escape from the Lunar Base
The game "Human Machine Network" is set in a near-future lunar world, and Diana is actually a physical robot girl with a high level of AI. Her official model and identification code in the game is "DI-0336-7".
The demo begins with Hugh, the protagonist, wearing a heavy spacesuit, and his exploration team being separated from their leader and others during a mission inside a lunar research facility due to an unknown tremor, causing them to fall into the depths. Upon awakening, Hugh is confronted by a humanoid robot with the identification code DI-0336-7, which he later names "Diana" (the Roman goddess of the moon).
Before Hugh could even grasp the situation, the AI system within the lunar research facility mistook him for an intruder, causing the robots that had just helped clear obstacles to attack him. When Hugh tried to retaliate with his weapons, he found the robots' armor too thick to be effective. Just when he was in dire straits, Diana climbed onto Hugh's back and began hacking into the enemy, allowing Hugh to successfully defeat the robot once its armor was deactivated.
A revolutionary combat rhythm: a perfect combination of "dual protagonists" and "hacking system".
The game features a "dual protagonist system": players can control Hugh to engage in gunfights or move and dodge, while Diana provides backup, specializing in hacking to break through enemies and traps.
When Diana begins hacking enemy machinery, a square unlock UI will appear next to the enemy. Players need to use the "X," "Y," "A," and "B" buttons on the controller, corresponding to "Up," "Down," "Left," and "Right" respectively, to operate the cursor. Once the cursor successfully reaches the "green square," the hacking is successful, instantly disarming the enemy's armor. If the cursor deliberately circles around the "blue square," the disarming time will be extended, and the damage will be increased.
When facing enemies who only engage in melee combat in the early stages, players can calmly maintain distance to unlock them; however, as more enemy characters appear simultaneously, or when facing boss-level enemies, the battle becomes extremely intense. Players must constantly switch between "focusing on unlocking the grid" and "observing enemy movements to dodge," thus testing players' coordination and offensive strategies. For example, players might try to find enemy weaknesses while hacking Diana, or use electromagnetic nets to restrain enemy movements.
Special effects in the game
CAPCOM faced numerous challenges in designing Diana's visual identity. Originally conceived as a pure robot, she was ultimately changed to a humanoid appearance combined with stiff gestures to create the "uncanny valley" effect, in order to balance emotional expression and global cultural sensitivity. Game director Cho Yonghee also revealed that he drew inspiration from his own parenting experience when conceiving Diana's behavior and the "distance" in her interactions with Hugh.
The game itself is built using CAPCOM's RE Engine, and Diana's realistic hair rendering is achieved through the RE Engine's physically based hair simulation system (Strand hair system). The ray tracing technology in the game scenes corresponds to global illumination, thereby producing indirect lighting effects. The PC version further utilizes path tracing technology from NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 to present multiple bounce lighting and higher-quality ray-traced reflection effects.
The PlayStation 5 Pro, which uses an AMD processor, offers a single display mode and can stably run at 4K 60fps. The Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2 versions each use upscaling technology to support 4K, 1440p (upscaled from 720p), and 1080p (upscaled from 540p) video output respectively.
Hardcore sci-fi lighting and shadows powered by NVIDIA DLSS 4.5
For this test, I used a PC equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus processor, an ASUS ROG STRIX B860-G GAMING WIFI motherboard, G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB DDR5 7200 16GBx2 CL34 XMP 3.0 Ready memory (model TZ5RK, total 32GB), and a Seagate FireCuda 530R SSD Heatsink 2TB for storage, to experience the visual performance of the PC version of "Man vs. Machine" with real-time ray tracing and path tracing enabled.
With path-traced rendering, the visual presentation of the lunar base reaches a breathtaking level. The armor of the enemy robots, the reflections on the metal walls and floors inside the base, all exhibit extremely precise real-time ray tracing effects. In the low-gravity environment, the shadows cast by the lights and the projection effects when Diana initiates the hacking intertwine to create a highly realistic yet slightly oppressive atmosphere reminiscent of *The Dimensional Breaker*, with its dynamic diffused global illumination.
Enable ray tracing, path tracing, and DLSS ray reconstruction
Turn off ray tracing, path tracing, and DLSS ray reconstruction.
What's even more impressive is that in the final, intense boss battle filled with laser beams, sparks, and frequent hacking of the interface, DLSS 4.5's built-in Ray Reconstruction and frame generation technologies seamlessly integrated complex lighting calculations with high-speed camera movement. The visuals were not only free of tearing and lag, but also maintained an extremely smooth high frame rate, allowing players to be fully immersed in this epic lunar escape.
summary
After nearly six years of waiting, *Human Machines* proves that the time spent polishing it was absolutely worthwhile with its unique hacking combat and delicate sci-fi narrative. Hugh and Diana's lunar adventure has only just begun, and the perfect combination of PC hardware and NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 path tracing technology makes this game one of the most anticipated visual and gameplay experiences of the future.
