It’s hard to believe that Pragmata was announced way back in 2020. It teased at some form of sci-fi adventure and not much else. I remember being struck by the sheer scope of what the trailer showed. Thinking about what a game set on the moon could look like. I didn’t expect it to be such a beautiful story that made me cry multiple times over. I went into Pragmata not sure what to expect, and I walked out of it feeling like I’d just played something special. Capcom has made a wonderful game.
Space engineer Hugh and his crew travel to the moon to respond to a research base that has completely blacked out. Upon their arrival, things go horribly wrong, and Hugh is the only one left. Thankfully for Hugh, there is an obscene amount of lunafilament around – a material that can be used to 3D print anything. Hugh is saved by the lunafilament in the form of a small girl – a Pragmata – who is able to fix his suit and bring him back to health. After the Pragmata attempts to introduce herself by repeating her model number and her intro sequence, Hugh decides to name her Diana, and she happily accepts.
At first, Hugh says that he’s not interested in babysitting and doesn’t want to take her along, but he soon realizes that it won’t be an option if he wants to survive. The pair is attacked by a rogue automaton, and with the help of Diana’s hacking abilities, Hugh is able to damage it. Without her help, he is as good as dead. During the game, Diana will always be on your back as you traverse the world and fight robots. When fighting, Diana can hack enemies to bring down their defences. This is done through a little minigame that appears on the side of the screen. You must maneuver through a maze while passing through different nodes until you hit the final destination. Each node you pass through increases the damage the hack will deal. Once the hack is finished, Hugh’s gunshots will deal significantly more damage. If Hugh is hit during a hack, Diana will need to start again from the beginning. On top of hacking and shooting, you also have to worry about dodging and avoiding enemy hits. It seems like a lot at first – and it is -, but you will eventually reach a flow state. The combat is just so satisfying and so rewarding.
There are myriad nodes you can pick up throughout the world, each with different effects. One node confuses the enemy it is used on, causing them to attack others. Another node will freeze the enemy in place, allowing you to hack them freely. Hugh also has access to various weapon types. There are some flat-out offensive weapons, like a laser beam that shoots a constant stream of fire that deals damage over time. There are homing missiles, plasma rifles, and an electric shotgun! There are also utility weapons, like a big ring of stasis that stops any enemy who walks inside. There are also sticky bombs that shrink the hacking maze, making enemies easier to deal with. There’s also a support classification of weapons, like the decoy gun and these little flying drones that constantly deal damage. Every single weapon has a very limited amount of ammo, except for your pistol, which is constantly reloading on its own. Some of the weapons are better than others, and you’re incentivized to swap constantly because of the low ammunition. Being forced to use shitty weapons felt a little rough, but I understand the idea of getting the player to use everything. Ultimately, I didn’t hate the decision.
While the combat and weapon variety in Pragmata are great, the best part of the game to me is Hugh and Diana’s relationship. Watching the two grow into a loving father/daughter team is the most beautiful and gut-wrenching stuff I’ve seen in a video game in years. I cried 6 times through my playthrough, and half of them were just when Diana was showing love to Hugh. Hugh and Diana can avoid danger by visiting the shelter. In the shelter, you can upgrade your gear, have conversations, and look at collectibles. One of the collectibles is a pack of crayons, and Diana takes an interest in them and will periodically bring you drawings. Every single time she would bring me a picture she drew of her and Hugh holding hands I would just start sobbing. I don’t have kids, but I felt so paternal toward her. I feel like if any father would probably react similarly to how I did. Watching this engineer fall in love with this little girl made of moon material felt so real and so beautiful and I just couldn’t get over how magical their relationship is. I seriously couldn’t believe what Capcom was able to pull off here. This is one of the most touching relationships I’ve ever seen in a video game, and the team should be praised.
The world of Pragmata is staggeringly huge in scale. The game takes place in a lunar research site and is appropriately sci-fi. The corridors are blindingly white and glossy, as if lubricated. The way light bounces off every surface is just so arresting as a player. It’s hard not to just be amazed at how the aesthetic just pops. The NASAPUNK aesthetic is one that I’m really into. It reminds me of Starfield – a much worse game – but the best thing about Starfield was how it looked. Highly futuristic but intentional in design. There are no in-betweens with the environment designs, colours or atmospheres. It’s all pushed to extremes and feels like Star Wars cranked up to 20. It’s really something that needs to be seen to be fully understood, in my opinion. Pragmata looks incredible, and visually, it stands on the shoulders of giants of the sci-fi gaming genre.
Capcom took a huge swing and knocked it out of the park with Pragmata. Capcom has actually been on a tear lately with all of their major swings. Pragmata can sit confidently next to its Capcom sibling, Resident Evil Requiem, as one of the best games of the year so far. Pragmata is a stunning game with an extremely human relationship at the centre of it all. The game is a visual spectacle, and its visuals will nestle into your brain and live there long after you roll the credits. The combat is so intuitive, even though it takes a while to get used to. No other game has combat like this, and it just shows how skilled Capcom is with pushing boundaries. I genuinely think that a sequel to this game could elevate Pragmata to something truly masterful and envelope-pushing. I can’t wait to see where they go next, and I can’t wait to see the internet’s reaction to Pragmata – one of the best games I’ve played in a while.
