Pragmata is an sci-fi action adventure by long time developer Capcom. It released on April 17th of this year and quickly garnered high amounts of attention. It is available for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Switch 2.
The game was announced in 2020 and saw years of delays up until its release earlier this year. Many point out that the game has seen quite a bit of change from previews in the years up to release. The game follows the engineer Hugh who is sent on a mission with his team to a lunar research facility. Upon arrival him and his team discover that the facility is severely damaged and are unable to find any signs of life. A moonquake causes Hugh to be separated from his team and after regaining consciousness he meets the Pragmata who he names Diana. Diana looks like a little girl but is actually a Pragmata (a sort of android). Diana is a wonderful part of the game in both gameplay and as a character. While the story is an important part of this game, lots of emphasis is placed on gameplay. The game combines a third person shooter with a puzzle game and does an amazing job at making them work well together. Hugh acts as the shooter while Diana is able to hack the robots on the ship. Hacking involves moving through nodes on a grid and reaching a specific point. A successful hack does damage to the enemy and temporarily removes their defenses allowing hugh to damage with the weapon he is wielding. Its a simple but fun and effective puzzle and gets more difficult as the game goes on. The fun comes from balancing hacking with shooting to do the most damage as neither is very effective by itself. The game is definitely on the easier side but there is plenty of action and definitely some challenge if you aim to 100% it.
Behind the gameplay is the story. Not much context is provided at the beginning of the game but the game explains things to the player over time and makes it very easy to become attached to Hugh despite the somewhat short length of the game (roughly 10 hours). The story is very good overall
Visuals are also superb. The game looks great on console and can be pushed even further on PC. An at least mid range PC is recommended to get a decent frame rate. DLSS and ray tracing are supported. Controls are also good in both normal and moon gravity. A controller is recommended even on PC.
Overall Pragmata is an amazing game with great gameplay and an engaging story. The short length of the game may be a weak point for some but there is little filler and lots of gameplay. There are some small nitpicks that could be made but the game is well worth a buy if you like action adventure games.
