Capcom has been on a hot streak since their successful Resident Evil revival in 2017, consistently releasing high-quality titles in beloved franchises. Monster Hunter is another example, dominating sales numbers and having multiple types of games to appeal to a wide range of players. But the true test of a publisher is that of a new IP. Many prefer the guaranteed sales of a tried-and-true name in this industry of constant evolution. Thankfully, Pragmata is a leap of faith Capcom needs, providing a fresh take on space-station survival made popular by the likes of Dead Space. Pragmata is not full of blood and gore. Enemies are robotic, and while they can often creep up out of nowhere (watch out for mannequins!) the action set-pieces are more adventurous than fearful. What stands Pragmata out from the masses rests on two core functions: the hacking mini-game during intense battles, and a shelter connecting robot to humanity. There is also an engaging, heartwarming story that many may classify in the genre of ‘sad dad’ (God of War, Last of Us – the list goes on) where the main character must assist a younger counterpart through an unforgiving world while dealing with his own issues. But here, the girl Diana is more capable than the man Hugh. Her hacking and AI powers make her helpful and essential, rather than a hindrance. Whether it is story, setting, constant upgrades or premium visuals, Pragmata keeps the Capcom train rolling with its seamless entry into their station of hits. It’s not perfect, and repetition impacts the landing, but there is so much here to enjoy.
The story of Pragmata is a slow burn following a cut-scene involving a curious crew descending onto the moon’s space station. Much like any space arrival, the protagonist is soon alone navigating abandoned hallways of tech. Thankfully, we soon meet an AI child affectionately named Diana rather than her lengthy robot name. Her skills assist Hugh in learning more about the enemy AI and provide a path to progress through the many biomes to reach a goal. The story is heartfelt and leans on the trope of human and helpful AI coming together against vengeful AI. This moves into deeper territory later in the game, though much of the story is conveyed through little moments of humanity found in the space station. This is where Hugh discusses being an orphan, or tells Diana about parts of our world we take for granted (animals, games, technology, life). This is like Ellie and Joel seeing a giraffe or pretending to fly into space. Dialogue that creates growth with the characters. It allows the game to slowly pick up the pace towards what I consider a very interesting, despite slightly predictable, conclusion in terms of its themes.
Let’s get into gameplay, which is where the game will either hit or sink for players. At its most basic, it is a shooter with four initial gun slots and scanning abilities. You can dodge, hover and use upgrades to defeat an array of robotic baddies. The gunplay is responsive, tight and varied. Ammo can be limited and guns outside of your top slot disappear once they run dry. There is strategy in attack, and this is never more important than when hacking. Diana’s ability allows her to scan enemies, which brings up a mini-game in the top right corner. On the PS5, this involves using the four shape buttons to move across a grid to reach the green ‘on’ button. Doing so opens up the enemies (literally) and allows for mass damage. There are nodes that can be added to this grid for perks, which may include a longer open time or greater damage. This means you are fending off attacks, dodging, shooting and constantly completing the mini-game. It sounds like a bunch to handle, but after about hour two everything is fluid and seamless. Navigating the mini-game should only take a matter of seconds, though the enemies will continue to attack while you’re watching a box off to the side. The character (Hugh) feels slow to start off, but once you have the dodge it can become a mad dash around the screen to keep distance. The many, many upgrades open up with game progression and are well spaced out to always feel like a fight holds danger. There are two opening difficulties (standard and casual) and on standard I didn’t die until about three hours in while trialling a new gun. After a hectic, massive boss battle that took a few tries, difficulty seemed more balanced.
While the story and gunplay are exciting, downtime is needed. This takes place at the shelter, which serves as a base to return to for a range of purposes: saving the game, upgrading weapons and gear, and engaging with Diana. There is also a training room, information on enemies and a little bingo game to unlock collectibles. Different checkpoints are littered across levels, ensuring you can return to the shelter often to put your points into upgrades to better deal with the enemies. Upgrades can include guns, hacking improvements, scanning abilities, more health, new nodes – the list goes on. The rate at which you can upgrade is fast and always rewards exploration, and is especially important when the difficulty starts to increase. The other side to the shelter is really Diana’s playground. While navigating levels, you’ll find remnants of the real world like a basketball ring or television. Hugh gives these to Diana as presents, and they are then displayed for her use. Seeing her engage with these staples is endearing and helps connect human to AI. The shelter is quite a relaxing place, with screens along the walls showing beautiful vistas of Earth to enhance atmosphere away from the carnage of the levels. Returning to the shelter does respawn enemies, so it is recommended to only do so when needing those upgrades. But it is a point of difference to many other run-and-gun games that never really provide a home.
Performance on the base PS5 was excellent in my playthrough. I, of course, chose framerate over visuals and believe all still looked crisp once I turned off lens distortion. A particular highlight was the second main area, emulating a well known city. Boss battles can be large scale and I never really had any issues when the game pushed the limits of the console. Music and atmosphere are strengthened by the overall sound design, and load screens are minimal. My main gripe with visuals was Diana’s hair. It simply did some outrageous things in cut-scenes that pulled me away from the story. Otherwise, a game focused on AI enemies does very well to project its best self.
My main criticism of the game is that at about halfway, maybe earlier, it hits repetition. Battles can take a while, and enemies can be similar, therefore entering a room with 10 robots after just dispatching the same 10 robots can become tiresome. At times, dealing damage is so minimal and your ammo needs to refresh too often. Thankfully, the action is so varied that you can simply try to destroy the enemies by other means or guns. The assortment is not boasting anything overly new, but the expansive options in dealing with similar enemies can see experimentation and strategy come into play. The runtime of about 11 hours meant the game did not overstay its welcome, despite the repetition and length of fights at times slowing story.
Pragmata is a new IP with endless potential based on the lore. I was navigating space stations, but then I was in cities and in forests. There is a wow factor here that Capcom will rely upon to ensure this is not a once off. There is a solid layer of polish across the game’s gunplay, visuals and story that creates a potential GOTY nominee if the loop hits. While repetition did come in, I struggle to recall many games that have been able to navigate this for a full playthrough. Hugh and Diana will take you along for a wild ride, and it’s not one you’re going to forget any time soon.
Pros
- Tight, responsive gunplay with variety
- The shelter is a home to relax within
- Epic locations
Cons
- Does become repetitive and relies on its tropes
- Turn off lens distortion for best visuals!
- Boss battles take quite a while despite not being overly challenging
