Review : Pragmata : Hack and Hack

Pragmata caught my eye the second a man in a space suit appeared on screen, and I absolutely adored it. The NASA-punk style established by the team at Capcom made a strong impression on me upon its first reveal because I am a man easily distracted by the aura of science fiction. This feeling was only exacerbated by the demo, which 1-2-punched me in the face with a unique hack-and-shoot style that felt reminiscent of my youth when the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were the top-of-the-line consoles. But in a year fully packed by a slew of amazing titles, does Pragmata actually stand out as something more than a potential dad simulator? Oh, you’ll be as surprised as I was.

Plotmata

Pragmata puts you in control of Hugh, a human sent to investigate the moon with a team of folks just before the A.I. there goes completely rampant. Hugh doesn’t like robots and finds them quite appalling, but that changes when he meets Diana, a robot that has the body of a child. Together, they go on an adventure around the moon trying to disable robots and evil 3D printers. Creality and Bambu Lab better not get any ideas.

The story itself is quite quick, wrapping up in as little as 10 hours for me. Usually I would say that is short for a modern game, but Pragmata understands one thing that many other games do not: pacing. It is quite difficult to master at times because it requires a balance between game play sections and storytelling sections with just the right amount of threads to follow. Some games present multiple threads that culminate in a messy conclusion. Capcom understood the assignment, and seemed to narrow the focus down to fewer elements to ensure a more cohesive story that doesn’t overstay its welcome.

I can tell that there were multiple times where the developers wanted to embellish on a particular section and then pulled back for the sake of a better experience. There are tropes within the story that challenge the status quo. There is an instance where you lose the hacking ability, and instead of trying to go a whole section trying to annoyingly dodge enemies, you have this moment of storytelling that shows you how important the characters are to each other and to you as the player.

Dialog feels grounded and that is saying something. While most “dad” games feature a story about how a broken man can only be fulfilled by being a father, Hugh takes the responsibility upon himself to act as a guardian to Diana. It encapsulates the fatherly experience that I am also experiencing in my real life, but doesn’t lean too hard on the theming. You understand the subtext of the story without anyone looking at the camera and going, “this is a metaphor for fatherhood.” Diana doesn’t call Hugh “dad” at any point which almost felt like a certainty.

Thematiga

Capcom has a reputation for delivering games that could feel cheesy or schlocky. Famous one-liners like “You were almost a Jill sandwich” echo through the annals of Capcom’s history to a point where I think about every time my child wants lunch, a classic peanut butter and jelly. Even Resident Evil Requiem managed to squeeze a bunch of these types of one-liners in. So, I am surprised to say that what I experienced here was the total opposite.

Instead of having Hugh mutter throwaway lines straight from the cutting room floor of an Arnold Schwarzenegger film, I got something deeply personal instead. Moments between hacking and shooting I was met with personal conversations between Hugh and Diana that challenge the very core nature established earlier in the game. Hugh’s disdain for robots was quickly established within the opening throws of the game where it accurately foreshadowed the premise of Pragmata. Sure, he doesn’t like the walker bots, and honestly I am on board with him on that one. But, what if the robot was a 6-year-old child? What if it seemed to have its own consciousness in a way? What if the only way for Hugh to get through this was to befriend Diana? These play into the narrative nicely, with a breath of seriousness needed so that people can understand and bridge the gap between the player and the characters.

As I adventured through the game, I learned more about Hugh, how he came to be in the position he was in. I learned about his upbringing and lack of proper track to follow. He was someone who gained sympathy for others due to his own circumstances, and that feeds into his reasoning to act as a surrogate father to a robot that would absolutely outlive him no matter what. Diana’s innocence, even when faced with a global threat, is retained throughout thanks to the empathy and protective nature of Hugh. This is something I personally feel in my own life as a father with a 6-year-old who seems to be growing up faster than I could imagine, always feeling like I am not seeing enough.

To speak on the voice acting of both Hugh and Diana, amongst the rest of the cast, I will say that they make every effort to deliver a performance that managed to crack away the outer shell of my being and nestle itself right into my heart and soul. As I said, it is a believable, emotionally charged performance. Thanks to the acting abilities of both David Menkin and Grace Saif, I was fully invested in how authentic and real these conversations were. Even when Hugh must explain something that is complex to Diana, it is done with a level of sincerity, and feels relative to my own personal experiences of how I teach my child. Granted, Diana is a robotic being, which makes the theme here quite impactful when you take a step back from it.

I also must shout out Lawrence Smith as the voice of Cabin, who feels like a well-adjusted version of the titular Clap Trap character from the Borderlands series. This little dude is absolutely thrilled to see me walk into the safe room every single time with his glowing blue face and overall positive demeanor. My child laughed at his plain yet eccentric tone.

Graphicata

I played Pragmata on the Switch 2 mostly in docked mode with the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro controller. In all honesty, this was my preferred way of playing it. The scaling and overall performance of Pragamata was astounding and quite surprising, hitting a high-resolution that felt smooth and crispy while scaling frame rate.

I would say that 95% of the time, framerate was always smooth. Most of the game takes place within enclosed spaces, which helps with rendering and balancing resources. It begins to get a bit choppy in certain open areas where there is a whole lot more occurring. For instance, being chased by the robot Shai Halud moon worm caused my frame rates to dip a bit, but never low to the point where it felt like I was playing a Powerpoint presentation.

I figured there would be compromises in various areas elsewhere however. Signage felt a bit distorted and Diana’s hair looked like microwaved pasta. Honestly, if those were the only areas that required a downgrade, I’ll take it. Holographic elements, level design, edges, these all could have been rendered poorly with ample staircasing. Instead, Capcom put in the work to make sure that both the cast and environments looked as sharp as they could on this impressive little machine.

Granted, this changes in handheld mode. I noticed more imperfections throughout, but it wasn’t enough to fully pull me out of the experience. If you are thinking about double-dipping or even what console you should play it on, the Switch 2 is a good option if you don’t mind the undocked performance.

Combata

There is a strong sense of duality within Pragmata where the essence of the gameplay is built right into the thematic concepts that surround the main characters: Hugh and Diana. Hugh, a human, resorts to using kinetic weapons, tangible armaments that he must physically carry on his back. Diana, who is also stuck to Hugh’s back, leverages a hacking element that makes foes more susceptible to Hugh’s weapons. What makes the gameplay even more interesting is how certain weapons can impact Diana’s hacking capabilities, creating a level of synergy that makes the complete package feel tremendous and exhilarating. You can put some real thought into what you bring with you when you decide to take on the robotic foes that stand in your way.

Hacking is a mechanic I didn’t think I would have enjoyed as much as I did. It adds depth to the gameplay by making you think about multiple scenarios at once. It works quite easily. When you are aiming towards a foe, a grid will show up. You simply guide a box over the various blue spaces and then head to a green power button. This opens the robotic enemy, showing you the glorious blue insides for you to destroy with whatever weapon you have. When you get into specific hacking mods, you can deploy crowd control mechanics to manipulate the battlefield. It brings me back to the moment I owned my very first PC and spent hours playing Pipe Dream on it.

Slowly, over the game’s runtime, you will have multiple hacking mods with varying degrees of utility. You can even daisy-chain multiple hacks, creating unique combinations with varying results. You can deploy a “confuse” hack, pairing it with the fine aroma of a “multi-hack” node to trick these enemies into fighting each other on your behalf. Hugh’s weapons like the decoy gun can open up a window of opportunity for you when the fight gets too tough, allowing you to perform various hacks with ease. Everything within this combat system is designed to make you feel like you are breaking the game and when the room is cleared you feel like a 4D chess master.

Moments where I quickly side-stepping larger enemies, engaging in a hacking mechanic, dodging again, then blasting the weak point with one of the chunkiest shotguns I’ve ever used in a game is utterly euphoric. Many times, I have hit that green button on the grid just in the neck of time. It is by far one of the best combat mechanics I have ever used, and will stay in my mind like a core memory.

You would think that it would become overwhelming because there are simply too many enemies and a lot going on. But, with Diana as your second pair of eyes, she announces when off-screen enemies are incoming with various attacks. Her hints are quick and non-intrusive, and oftentimes actually helpful. You know, unlike the A.I. we have here in our computers today.

Audiomata

I want to briefly mention the sound design because it is highly detailed! Aside from the voice acting, Pragmata really knows how to use sound to immerse you into this world with sound. There is a perfect balance to it all, with the serene moments accompanied by a majestic soundtrack all the way to the sounds of what could best be described as Michael Bay’s Transformers engaging in coitus with each other.

Traveling though the halls of the moon base, I could hear the sounds of mechanical monstrosities in the distance. The clamoring of the titan-like executors searching for my presence. The chimes you hear as you navigate the hacking menus all stand out. Even better, the sound mixing is so good, that I can derive exactly what is happening at specific times. In many games, sound effects can easily just become noise, an amalgamation of sound that exists simply because it must. Pragmata’s sounds exist because they have a reason to exist. From the low steps of a creeper to the sound of the shotgun, audio effects really make this game pop!

Even better is the soundtrack that swaps back and forth without me fully recognizing it. Somber tones as you walk through the various areas of the ship to the more thumping tracks when things are going fast. It all combines into a symbiotic relationship with the rest of the audio to enhance the entire experience.

Conclusionmata

Pragmata is a game that doesn’t necessarily do anything entirely new, but I can’t count that against it because everything simply works together so well. Games don’t need to reinvent the wheel and when they don’t do it, I don’t think we need to demote it. Pragmata might be influenced by other games within Capcom’s influence, but it is simply a perfect package filled with hours and hours of gameplay. As of my writing this, I still have a lot to explore after I rolled the credits. New Game+ and special modes unlock at the end which makes revisiting this masterpiece an inevitable happening for me. To be honest, the only reason why I am not playing more is because I am obligated to write this.

So, can I recommend Pragmata? 01011001 01100101 01110011 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110!

Thank you to Capcom and our PR partners for providing review access to Pragmata. You can find Seasoned Gaming’s review policy here.