The game ‘Pragmata’ combines robots, hacking, guns, and cool uncle powers

For too long, video games have been besieged by the scourge of Dad Games. Things like the latter God of War entries and The Last of Us they expanded on the idea of ​​giving the players a sort of fatherly role over a young, helpless friend. It’s playful and boring, among other things.

This is one of the reasons I’m so into what I’ve seen of Capcom’s future Pragmata until now. This sci-fi third-person shooter, which was originally announced six years ago, has enough similarities to the other games I mentioned. You play as a boy named Hugh who finds himself needing to protect and work with an unknown girl named Diana as they try to escape a space station full of angry robots.

The difference, however, is that I will categorize Pragmata more like an uncle’s game than a father’s game. I have to play about 90 minutes Pragmata at a press event recently, and it looks like a kick-ass action game with a heist-based hook, but the interaction between Hugh and Diana was also more interesting than the self-indulgence of something like this. The Last of Us.

Pragmata basically Resident Evil 4 with air dash

In case you didn’t follow once Houses of Pragmata marketing (there’s also a free demo available on all platforms), the main thing you need to know is that it’s a third-person space shooter with gameplay similar to that of Capcom’s action-oriented entries. Resident Evil series.

Of course, Pragmata it’s not a horror game, so the vibe is very different. But at its core, this is still a game about carefully positioning yourself in the middle of tight battles and trying to time your shots at the weak points of enemies (mostly) that are moving towards you in a slow manner. The obvious difference is that Hugh can also run, jump, and run around the environment, giving you a much faster feel than you would get as Leon S. Kennedy from the Resident Evil series.

These guys are struggling.
Credit: Capcom

The real meat of PragmataDiana’s combat comes from her hacking abilities. You sit on Hugh’s shoulder at all times, and targeting an enemy will bring up a square-based hacking grid that you navigate using the face buttons. Basically, you’re doing a little hacking game while running and shooting, and successfully hacking an enemy can open up weak points or stun/stun them. It’s the absolute key to success, and the first time you do it, you’ll quickly understand why it’s a good idea.

All that was known about Pragmata before this latest hands-on opportunity, however. The biggest new thing I noticed this time around is the game’s hub, which you can go to from any checkpoint in the world. It has a training range, upgrade stations, and a friendly robot called Cabin that is there to help you do whatever you need to do in that space. From the demo I played, Pragmata it seems to have a very satisfying development loop to it. You collect different types of coins from exploring levels and defeating enemies, which you then use to improve Hugh’s main functions such as health, and all the different guns he uses along the way.

It’s straightforward enough, but Capcom is one of the best purveyors of this single-player action game genre. I think they know a thing or two about player development, and it showed in the demo I played.

Pragmata and has a ton of personality

Of course, there are fun costumes to open.
Credit: Capcom

While the actual gameplay side of the demo didn’t show me a ton I didn’t know Pragmatawas included in a a lot a more interesting environment than we had seen before. Specifically, I got to run a weird, 3D printed simulacra of Times Square in New York City, but inside a space station. Billboards and ads were full of fun references to other Capcom games like Ghouls ‘n Ghostswhile buildings and shops sometimes disappeared into oblivion because they weren’t completely finished before…whatever happened to this space station.

Going back to the whole “Uncle Game” thing, which I was very impressed with Pragmata the amount of heart that is present in every interaction between Hugh and Diana. He’s never been to Earth, so Hugh spends most of the NYC level explaining various concepts of Earth to him to satisfy his endless curiosity about the subject. I really dig where Hugh said that the fake NYC wasn’t nearly as dirty as the real thing.

Cabin is a great host.
Credit: Capcom

Most importantly, I didn’t get it a ton of my father’s power in what I saw between Hugh and Diana. There was one scene where he had to save her from her curiosity, but other than that, what I was playing was not being scolded by Hugh, teaching, or acting like more of a parent to Diana. Instead, he feels like an uncle who has been tasked with babysitting the whole weekend. Like any good uncle, you can find gifts in the world and give them to Diana in the hub, where she will happily go and play with them.

At this point I’ve only played for about two hours combined Pragmata at various press events, but every time I see it, I want to play the last game more. I think Capcom has stumbled onto something great here, between the sweaty, tense sci-fi combat and the beautiful interplay between its two leads. We’ll find out soon whether or not it will continue during the full game.

Pragmata launches April 17 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series consoles, and Nintendo Switch 2.