Pragmata Review – ANDROID PIGGYBACK
This is it, folks. Capcom’s officially bringing back… the weirdness. Pragmata is one of the strangest, yet most exciting games I’ve reviewed this year.
Help, My Brain Hurts
Like most space-themed, sci-fi settings, things hit the fan pretty fast. As main character, Hugh and his cutesy android sidekick, Diana, meet after an… unfortunate set of circumstances, and must fight through hordes of AI bots to get back to that big blue rock of ours—but there’s a catch. Hugh’s bullets won’t do diddley squat unless Diana hacks the bots around them. So does that mean? Yep, you gotta slap Diana on your back and hack practically every foe you come across, unless you want each encounter to take 50,000 years. Probably not.
Now, don’t get the wrong idea, this hacking system is actually awesome. When in range of an enemy, the four face buttons move a cursor through certain nodes like extra damage, insta-kill states, freeze, confuse and multi-hack so anyone nearby can also get wrecked. And this is when Hugh can go to town with his ever-expanding weapon catalogue and do serious “stuff you” damage, especially when you start targeting weak points with the big ol’ blasters. Oh, yeah. Though if you also keep up the hack job, Diana features a limit break called Overdrive that absolutely turns tables. So there’s a real incentive to lean into and fully learn the game’s mechanics.
The good thing is, it doesn’t take long to get used to all this. Even though your brain may be getting fried trying to move, dodge, hack, aim and shoot in quick succession, Pragmata does give you enough time to strategise, as the varied bot and boss designs have clear wind-up animations that you can reliably account for. Though I will say, I only died once, at the final battle. And since you can only select Standard or Casual mode for your first playthrough, I believe most people won’t find Pragmata particularly challenging. Even when you enter the quote-unquote “extremely dangerous” Red Zones for special items, you’ll have more than enough tools on hand to kick some major butt.
Attacking the Labryinth
Speaking of tools, since Hugh has a space suit on, he’ll be thrusting alright. All over the place, if you upgrade it enough. The thrusters let him make sharp, explosive turns with ease and hover in the air, which is a breeze to control. All of his weapons and hacking-related things can also be upgraded, which does motivate you to explore and use Diana’s scan ability to scour the map. There will be times when you can’t access a specific area of a stage due to a future ability, but it’s by no means a MetroidVania. Not to take anything away from the game at all, though. I had a blast discovering hidden corridors and powering through training mode scenarios for extra goodies.
If I were designing this game, however, I would make it so that you can restore Hugh’s HP and health packs at save points, rather than going to the main hub, called The Shelter, to get back in shape. It’s also weird why you have to return there, instead of being able to fast-travel to previously explored parts of the map from a traditional save point. Did the devs think this wouldn’t get annoying, the 20th time you’ve done it? I don’t know, it’s just a very clumsy design.
The fine folks at Capcom have never been the best storytellers either, and this one is no exception. The acting is good enough with some good laughs, but the writing doesn’t do a lot to draw you in over this 10-hour adventure. Even though there are a few quality scenes about self-discovery and purpose, it won’t leave a lasting impact or offer anything meaningful at the end. I was able to predict what would happen within the first 30 minutes of the game, so there isn’t much of a mystery here either. Take that, as you will.
Decision
Pragmata is a game that fully commits to the weird, and that’s honestly where it shines. The dual-character combat system between Hugh and Diana might feel gimmicky at first. Yet when it clicks, it gets hype real fast. Hacking, shooting, dodging, and managing Diana’s Overdrive limit break all come together in a way that feels fresh, satisfying and just chaotic enough to keep you on your toes.
That said, it’s not without its issues. The difficulty leans a bit too easy, the backtracking and hub-based healing system feels clunky, and the story… well, it’s decent at best. There are glimpses of something deeper, but it never quite lands in a significant way. Still, if you’re here for creative gameplay and blasting through waves of AI bots in style at 60FPS on PS5, Pragmata delivers the goods. Just don’t think too much about a grown man carrying a small child stranger on his back, and you’ll have a grand ol’ time.
By Anthony Culinas – Reviewed on PlayStation 5
Great
Being a rather odd sci-fi shooter, Pragmata thrives on its inventive tag-team combat, where hacking and gunplay collide in fast, chaotic and genuinely satisfying ways. While clunky backtracking, low difficulty and a predictable story hold it back, its unique mechanics and stylish action still make it well worth experiencing.
This game was reviewed using a download code provided by Capcom. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website.
