Greetings, so it has been some time since Pragmata has been out, and I took on this adventure on the PlayStation 5. Getting this off my chest, Pragmata was more than just a sci-fi experience for many of us. There was an underlying mood to this game from Capcom, and personally, I didn’t think I would be this invested. All right, let’s get into the review!
A Man Finds his heart on the moon:
With any space story, there is always a time when things go off the rails. A simple mission to the Moon with your buddies goes wrong, and Hugh is the only one left alive. You are abruptly woken up by a little girl designated D-I-0336-7, or as Hugh comedically sighed and named her Diana. Which begins the cutest exchange between the two that IMMEDIATELY forms a bond. Now, it is a desperate move to find your way home. As soon as you recover, the mission turns into a quest to survive.
Soon enough, you discover a rogue A.I. has taken over the compound. Now you and Diana have to fight together to escape. Luckily, Diana is more than meets the eye, as she is an android capable of hacking. Why is that important? Well, the enemies you fight are armored up, and you will need to utilize her abilities to break that armor. Soon enough, you realize that Diana is more than a tool.
Hugh didn’t expect to be a parent on the job. But neither did Diana expect to find herself a father figure in this chaos.
Hack and Shoot Gameplay:
Pragmata gives you the experience of an Action-Adventure, puzzle game, and shooter. You have to be cunning and quick, as Diana is your adorable backpack that hacks enemies. How does it work? Well, you utilize the face buttons to navigate the hacking grid to reach the goal. It’s a mini maze with obstructions to block you, but some modules aid you. As you progress through the moon base, you will unlock modules and weapons. As well as upgrades for both Hugh and Diana.
Some gamers would think that it will be a simple rinse and repeat of progress, back to base, and upgrade. No, you are going to gain experience as if you are on a field trip, but things are after you. Hugh is not your damaged father figure like Last of Us or Kratos. Yes, he lost his friends, but he is still locked in, and his story is not traumatic at all. Being that he is an orphan, that seemed to make him jump into the father role rather quickly. Little girl in a dangerous situation, no need to question it. Hop on my back and let’s escape together. Simple and to the point, you have to love that.
Hugh himself will be the ultimate support tank with four different styles of weaponry. You have your choice of offense and defensive tactics. They will be on your directional buttons. The top is your standard energy weapon that recharges in time. It can be upgraded to a rifle. However, the secondary weapons have limited ammo and a one time use. Luckily, you will be able to find more weapons throughout the maps. Expect to make return trips to each area of the moon to obtain other items that you will need to upgrade your shelter.
Keep in mind, you won’t be able to acquire all the secrets right away. So, keep pushing forward and mind your surroundings because enemies can pop up anywhere. Speaking of enemies, you will have a variety of them to fight and figure out. You have your standard droids, your smashers, your flying drones, samurai, and so much more. Each will have its own gimmicks and creepiness. I would recommend acquiring the Confusion module and upgrading that. With the confusion module, you can temporarily gain a friend. There will be times you will get mobbed by enemies, so having confusion comes in handy.
Capcom has a unique style, incorporating a bit of something from their other IPs. I bring this up because of the boss fights that feel like I am in Monster Hunter. Then you have the creepy situations that give off Resident Evil. But the bosses that you encounter to level up your shelter can give you a run for your money. However, do not panic, you got this! I think the worst of them was the Worm monster that reminded me of the Graboid from Tremors. But, if the graboid went through the Jason X experience became cybornetic. That is nightmare fuel as I think about it. Some enemies will have these blockers or red shields, which you will have to destroy for Diana to hack. Take your time, assess the situation, and take them down.
BUT WAIT…is that a Red door? Yes, the red doors are that extra taste of challenge and punishment. If you want what’s in those special cases, like the loot goblin, you are. You will have to contend with whatever is in those red rooms. Extra items like chips you will use on your other friend named Cabin in the shelter to unlock the bingo cards. From that, you can get extra suits, weapons, upgrades, and information. He will also have music and training sims for you to unlock more things to help upgrade Hugh and Diana. There will be secrets and other chests scattered all over the map, but you can get an upgrade to help you see them when you hit the scan button. I would say that is Pragmata’s version of detective mode. You will hit that scan button a lot to see secrets through the levels.
In short, BE THE LOOT GOBLIN!
The Earth looks Beautiful Tonight:
Oh Capcom, you really gave us a moon field trip that would rival the Magic School Bus. My jaw dropped when stepping outside on the moon, and the whole atmosphere changed. From the walking animation, to the sound design, because why would space have much sound? The seamless difference of the gravity stepping inside from outside is spectacular. Then you begin to stargaze at certain points where they give you a mini cutscene to look upon the area.
Then you have the different biomes that are simulating places on Earth. Pretty much the whole moon compound is one big 3D Printer using Lunafilament. Every detail is jaw-dropping. Also, big kudos to Capcom for each suit you unlock working in all the cut-scenes. Even when Hugh opens his face mask, it works universally on all suits. Freaking brilliant, and omg Diana was animated well. You get the whole essence of taking care of a child. The devs at Capcom are definitely parents, because even the goofy nature of Diana feels like babysitting a real kid.
Then getting to the shelter, where you’ll acquire playsets for Diana called R.E.M.s, while you spend time and interact with her there, you are rewarded with artwork she’s made herself. Oh my days, it is adorable and absolutely fridge-worthy. If you’ve ever babysat or raised kids, you’ll know exactly what I mean. It pulls on your heartstrings in all the right ways, driving you to want to protect her even more.
Sound design gets an A plus from me as well, between the one enemy that uses cloaking, which freaked me out. To the screeching sound of an enemy popping out of a corner. It keeps you on your toes, especially that mannequin area in Times Square. Even worse when them Big baby Giant droids come crawling at you at high speeds like a roach getting crumbs. Yes, you will go through a lot of situations.
When you forget the Apple Slices:
This is where I try to find a flaw to talk about…I would rather have ammo than lose a gun that I enjoyed. This has souls-like elements where enemies can respond when you find a waypoint to return to the shelter. But that makes sense since it is a 3D printer base. It comes down to your own skill, as you do have a dodge ability and health packs to use wisely. As well as a melee ability to do a critical hit to end any enemy with one shot. The frustration that some try to complain about comes down to your own skill issue.
My own personal nitpick is going back to re-fight all the monsters that are on a harder difficulty to get the true ending. But that is just me whining. YOU WILL GET THAT TRUE ENDING FOR THAT SWEET BABY ANGEL. Sorry for yelling!
Final Thoughts on Pragmata:
Pragmata will put you through it, and that is okay. Video games with a great story and gameplay is supposed to make you feel something. It is a great story when you give a damn, and that’s what Pragmata gives you, as well as a challenge. Once you beat the game on any difficulty, you will unlock “Lunatic Mode” which cranks up the carnage. The bad news is you will have to start a fresh save to play that harder difficulty, and that is just cruel, Capcom…how dare you!
Being the third title that Capcom released this year, Pragmata gets 5 beastly paws out of 5. I laughed, I cried, I got annoyed, and I pushed on to tackle the real boss, which will be the only thing I will omit from this review. However, you can see the end boss fight here. Thanks for checking out our review of Pragmata, which is available now on PS5, Xbox Series systems, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam. There is a demo that you can check out right now as well. Be sure to check back for all things gaming. – Beast Out –
Final Verdict:
