Pragmata Review, Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

Capcom's Pragmata has been cooking since 2020, an enigmatic project with subtle hype around it because of its sci-fi setting and what is clearly an experience that will explore complex themes. 

Finally here, the third-person action blends puzzle elements in engrossing ways, offers drop-dead gorgeous visuals and some deep explorations of not just the future, but what it means to even be human. 

Sounds dramatic, yet is: Pragmata blows past expectations within minutes and quickly becomes one of those where did the time go? experiences in the best way. 

Graphics and Gameplay

From a visual standpoint, few games sit on the same tier as Pragmata. 

Almost a tech demo in the way it flaunts features like ray tracing, Pragmata is a glossy, reflections-filled feast for the eyes with some strong detail baked into every little layer of the environment. 

The setting certainly helps. Narrow sci-fi-y corridors and the expected gamut of early enemies get the expected detail. But the moon-based locale that features gigantic 3D printers replicating bits of Earth means stumbling upon some breathtaking vistas unexpectedly. An early treat is doing a Fallout-like exit into an in-progress replication of New York. 

Sound design is good too. One big nitpick onlookers might notice is the lip-synching issues, which can be distracting given how the camera pans for the personal chats when things take a breather. 

Main character Hugh controls as one would expect for the genre, including firearms and a jetpack for mobility. Diana can hack robotic enemies and help with puzzles. Gameplay marries the two in interesting ways from the start.

The hacking minigame, which exposes weak parts of enemies for Hugh to actually damage, would be a fun game in its own right.  

At its most basic, players use the face buttons to move about the grid minigame, getting the cursor to a green spot while passing through as many blue squares as possible. 

One can see how this might get hectic. Thankfully, it's in a good way: The game doesn't pause to let players mess with the hacking minigame. It occurs in real-time while Diana rides on Hugh's back, so he's trading shots and damage with enemies while Diana tries to create the weaknesses. 

There are little bonuses beyond the basic, too. Some squares provide bonuses to damage or lower defenses, but might be out of the way. It's up to the player to decide on the fly if taking the time for the bonus nodes is worth the risk.

The attention on the minigame here isn't meant to undersell the overall combat, either. Pragmata gets the third-person action right. It's punchy, weapons feel good and enemies erupt in glowering bits of metal and leakage that makes success all the more satisfying. 

There's an underlying scarcity baked into the experience that helps the on-the-fly decision-making tension levels, too. Players aren't going to be running around with unlimited-feeling ammo on their favorite guns. Hugh has a pistol that reloads itself, but the weapons that pack a bigger punch or do things like trap enemies have limited capacities. 

In fact, Hugh just straight-up tosses aside weapons he's exhausted and ammo for what he has isn't exactly bountiful. Like the hacking, it asks players to answer tough questions on the fly. 

Overall, it's a gameplay blend that is oddly addictive and fun, to the point it's easy to think future games might take the concept and attempt to expand on it. 

Story and More 

Aboard a space station dubbed the Cradle, Hugh and Diana find themselves in the crosshairs of IDUS, a hostile AI. 

It's a little more complicated than that, but protagonists sent to space to figure out what's going wrong with a mostly-automated station isn't exactly new territory for anyone with even a passing familiarity with the genre. 

But where Pragmata layers in something new-feeling is the character work. 

There's a fun dynamic between the characters right away. Hugh can come off as rather bemused at Diana's existence. Which, hard to blame the guy, really. And there are deeper layers, of course: He views her as a seven-year-old child and the protectiveness that comes with it. She, understanding her robot status, doesn't value her life nearly as much as he does. 

The father figure guiding a younger child through peril while bestowing life lessons isn't new for video games. But the dynamic of a guy who hasn't really found his own way entirely attempting to teach a child to merely be human is, and it just works. The game toys with this dynamic constantly, even in little side banter, like Diana teasingly mimicking what Hugh has told her previously while applying the lessons to her actions.

Along the way, players uncover little bits of worldbuilding context through diaries and holograms. It's good lore stuff players will appreciate, and the little goodies that come with them make exploration and trying to 100 percent each area well worth it. 

Hugh and Diana have a home base that offers up some niche character and relationship moments through unlocks and otherwise, too. Players can spend resources there to 3D print weapons and upgrade both characters via pretty standard skill trees. 

There's some really fun stuff going on in the home base and it's nice to just catch a breather from the tense areas of the station sometimes. Players will find checkpoints that let them fast travel back to the base in each of the game's levels. Like other games, though, fast-traveling back to base and then going back out in the world means enemies in the areas respawn. 

Equipped with difficulty settings and a strong suite of options, Pragmata runs well, too, which is especially impressive given the visual flair going on most of the time. 

Conclusion

Pragmata has gone from possible sleeper hit to a serious Game of the Year contender. 

It's impossible not to feel attachment to the characters almost from the jump. And a setting and narrative so creative within its genre means those with even a fleeting interest in sci-fi, even movies and books, will want to check it out. 

Gameplay being both accessible for all audiences and complex with even small encounters feeling tense is a feat most games don't pull off this well, either. 

There's a lot of praise here for Pragmata, but it's well earned. Capcom's stellar run of late just got its exclamation point, and GOTY lists by year's end without Pragmata won't hold much weight, to be blunt.