Well, Capcom has done it again. Hot on the heels of Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata has once again proven the publisher/developer still has that magic touch. I was mostly sold on the game back when I played its demo, but between the rewarding gameplay loop, strong level design, and how likable the characters are, the game vastly exceeded my expectations. It’s interesting just how much the game screams that it’s a Capcom title despite being a brand new IP, but all of that plays to its strengths, with a very high quality, focused experiment with lots of novel touches.
Pragmata is the story of Hugh, a man who arrives on a space station on the moon with his crew, only for them to be greeted by a moonquake. Separated from his crew and gravely injured, Hugh is rescued by a child that turns out to be an android, as the two of them set out to save the station from the damaged AI deploying hostile robots all over the place. Gameplay and exploration are clearly the focus here, but Hugh and Diana (the android child that Hugh names early in the game) both have terrific personalities, and their interactions are adorable, which ends up being one of the game’s strongest suits.
The game is divided into multiple sections that need to be explored to propel the narrative forward. There are several of these, such as a 3D printed version of New York City and a plant biome (that’s also fully 3D printed), all with lots of collectibles to find and enemies to fight. You even get a couple of abilities that let you find more items when backtracking, although there aren’t many of these to find. The areas aren’t all that large or complex, but there’s plenty to explore, plus some optional areas that require a red key card to open the way. There are many rewards to obtain, too, including currency used for upgrades and the like.
Gameplay-wise, Pragmata can be summed up as Resident Evil 4 crossed with Mega Man Battle Network, as insane as that sounds. It’s predominantly a third-person shooter that focuses on careful spacing, creating openings, and attacking weakpoints. By default, Hugh’s weapons don’t hurt enemies, but aiming at them will allow Diana to hack them using a grid. Grids are comprised of square nodes, the default of which are blue and green. You want to move your cursor through multiple nodes before finally opening up a robot’s armour by going through the green. Blue nodes cause the armour to open for longer, with more time added for each one you pass through.
When their armour is open, you can shoot them pretty much anywhere to deal damage, but they all have specific weakpoints depending on the type of enemy. There’s a decent variety of guns, but only Hugh’s default type (which has infinite ammo) replenishes over time, but you do find more of these that you can swap out from Pragmata‘s hub. Other weapons are tossed away when they’re empty, but you can find more and even upgrade the effectiveness and ammo count of all of them by spending currency on their 3D printing in the hub. The shooting is satisfying, and the guns are enjoyable to use and include types such as a shotgun, a charged sniper-type, a continuous laser, a stasis net, and more.
Enemy variety is similarly solid, with human robots, larger, more imposing ones, and flying drones, among others. Landing hits on them will build up their heat gauge, which will let you use a critical attack where you approach them and press a button for massive damage. It’s not completely different from meleeing an enemy after staggering them in RE 4, really. Additionally, you’ll find (and print) more node types (which you can also upgrade to hold more), contributing more nodes to your grid. These work just like the weapons, giving you a few uses each before vanishing. Due to both the disposable weapons and nodes, your options will often vary by what you’ve found. You do eventually gain the ability to have more than one weapon of each type.
Pragmata has a constant stream of upgrades that keeps the game feeling variable. You’ll always get a currency from defeated enemies, but you’ll find it in chests too. You’ll also find yellow currency that’s used to upgrade Hugh’s health, his main guns, and Diana’s hacking capabilities. This loop is incredibly well thought-out and is fundamental to the game’s success. There are also Cabin Coins that you’ll get that are used to obtain rewards from a grid. Getting bingos in this grid will give you even more rewards. You’ll get new outfits for both characters, new equippable mods, and more from these.
Then there are the simulator challenges that all have three objectives, which grant you even more rewards. Pragmata isn’t a particularly long game by any means, but it’s completely dense with things to do. Beating the game unlocks a higher difficulty and a New Game+, but you can also jump into your save to do end-game challenges that unlock after beating it as well. This is simply one of the most impressive, engaging games of the year so far, and is honestly one of Capcom’s best. It contains so many of the company’s trademarks and puts them all in a package that’s as fun as it is novel.
Pragmata: Pragmata is an absolute victory of a game that marries intense shooting with satisfying progression and excellent visuals. – Andrew Farrell
