Back in 2020, when Capcom first unveiled Pragmata, fans really didn't know what to make of the game. It gave Hideo Kojima vibes; it was abstract, purposefully ambiguous, but above all, it stuck in people's minds for years. A futuristic, New York-inspired metropolis somehow set on the Moon? Count me in.
It's been a long, tumultuous road, but almost six years after that initial reveal, Pragmata is finally here. It's likely not Capcom's next blockbuster IP and is definitely not being touted as an earth-shattering, AAA industry-changing event, as one would assume a project that takes more than half a decade to complete would be. It is a cult classic in the making. It's not for everyone and goes all in unapologetically on its gameplay gimmick, sometimes to the detriment of other core aspects, but it's a blast to play from start to finish.
Pragmata is surprisingly low on story, with the basics involving Hugh, a, for lack of a better term, space engineer tasked with finding out what happened to a space station on the Moon called the Cradle. Hugh finds himself stranded on the rock following a freak accident, leading him to find Diana, an android capable of hacking rogue AI bots controlled by IDUS, a rogue artificial intelligence that wants both Hugh and Diana gone.
It's not the most riveting setting, but it is more than serviceable at fueling the strongest narrative foundation Pragmata has: the relationship between Hugh and Diana. Having been confined to the Moon and programmed with a somewhat limited knowledge of Earth, Diana is extremely curious about life outside the space station she was programmed to aid. The banter that stems from that childlike sense of wonder makes for very funny, endearing dialogue that will make you instantly care about helping her and Hugh make it out in one piece to see the wonders of our world first-hand. There are even collectibles you can find scattered across the station that are holographic projections of various diorama-like settings, which Diana can interact with: a campsite with a small tent and lush trees, or a small living room with a CRT TV broadcasting old cartoons, to name a few.
Environmental storytelling is also a huge part of Pragmata, with various datapads helping you piece together what exactly happened inside the station and get an overall vibe of the world, which has come to somewhat accept automated help. The station itself is owned by the Delphi corporation. The company built it after finding a specific type of material that, after some refinement, can be turned into Lunafilament, which lets anyone replicate any sort of structural data. Not just buildings or machines, but even organic beings like trees.
You can start to see how topical the setting for Pragmata is. Sadly, as mentioned, as interesting as it sounds, it is mostly relegated to reading found emails and the occasional holoprojection. That said, I personally don't mind this storytelling format, and the relationship between Hugh and Diana was enough to keep me going, even if I craved for more worldbuilding directly integrated into the core narrative.
The real meat of Pragmata is its gameplay, which I find fascinatingly unique, but not entirely perfect. If you've seen previews or played the demo, you probably got the gist of it. If not, suffice to say you'll be multitasking heavily.
On the one hand, you'll be controlling Hugh, who can shoot a variety of weapons to dish out damage or help with crowd control. Then you have Diana, who can hack bots to reveal weak spots. The hacking has to be done in real time, and you'll be using the face buttons of your controller to navigate the grid presented to you while simultaneously controlling Hugh's actions. The grid has a few nodes you can pass through to maximize damage, making for a very fun, intense minigame that can get you punished if you get greedy. There's no swapping between characters and, yes, you can in fact shoot while hacking, or at least try to.
There's much more nuance than a simple loop of hacking and shooting the weak spot, however, as there is a great amount of modifiers, weapons, and upgrades you can equip Hugh and Diana with. There's your usual assortment of character mods that have little to no impact on gameplay, but the really interesting bit is the Hacking Nodes and Mode Chips selections. The nodes are special consumables you can equip to make Diana's hacking more powerful in various ways: one will let you apply a damage multiplier, another lets you confuse enemies to attack other rogue AIs. My favorite by far is multi-hacking, very self-explanatory.
Mode Chips are another great way to substantially change how hacking works, as they alter how the hacking grid functions. A quick example is that if you apply the Offense Mode, once you start hacking an exposed enemy, the regular damage nodes turn to offensive ones, which rack up extra damage when you pass through multiple nodes and if you deal damage with Hugh's weapons.
I want to stress this is not a hint at what the game is, but it did really remind me of a Mega Man game. Battle Network 3 had a Style Change mechanic that impacted how MegaMan.exe functioned in combat. Pair that with the overall futuristic vibe and the connection both pairs of characters form (Hugh and Diana as well as Lan and Mega Man), you can't convince me that the Battle Network series was not somewhat of an inspiration. At least that's my headcanon, but I digress.
In any case, you can mix and match modes and nodes as well. The game allows you to build a loadout when you get to a safe zone called The Shelter. It has amenities, including a literal talking cabin, called Cabin. This nifty little beacon of joy will give you access to stamps, which you can fill up using Cabin Coins found across each of the playable areas or by completing training challenges. The rewards are very much worth it, as they include cosmetic outfits, exclusive hacking nodes, and even weapons.
Hugh's arsenal is quite varied, with a nice selection of short and long-range damage-dealing weapons like space shotguns, rifles, and even a railgun. But you can also get access to very fun utility-based toys, like a decoy generator or sticky bombs that make the hacking grid much smaller and easier to navigate.
The level design is not great, and navigating each of the sections feels more like a chore than anything. There's some very light (and I truly mean very light) puzzle sections and there are quite a few collectibles in each area, but for the most part, the bells and whistles of seeing a futuristic rendition of New York or a derelict section of the station will wear off quickly once you realize you'll essentially be doing the same in almost every section: open a locked gate.
but the enemy variety makes up for it, and the big boss fight set pieces truly deliver, making you utilize every resource at your disposal. That being said, some of the encounters do tend to feel a little overwhelming due to the number of enemies and the different gimmicks they toss at you in specific areas. Luckily, if you don't feel like you have enough dexterity to enjoy Pragmata as is, there's an auto-hack ability you can unlock after a couple of hours of playtime, just as things start getting too hectic.
One final thing I'd like to mention is performance. I played the Nintendo Switch 2 version and, let's face it, it's not a looker. But oh boy, does it run incredibly well. There are some framerate drops in handheld and dynamic resolution makes it look too blurry at times, but docked, it's basically a rock-solid 60FPS.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Pragmata. Capcom created a very interesting Sci-Fi dystopia that I wish were more explored in the game's main narrative. Combat is great, if a little overwhelming, with some amazing set pieces that really make the most out of its system mechanics. If you're one to support new IPs, now's the time to show Capcom you want more than Resident Evil or Monster Hunter from them.
A code was provided by the developer for the purpose of this review.
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