Capcom's Pragmata impressed in a hands-on preview of its opening hours, blending puzzle-shooter mechanics with a nostalgic feel. The game features Hugh, a man in an exosuit, and Diana, his child-like robot companion, exploring an abandoned moon base. Reviewers noted its untainted spirit amid modern AAA cynicism.
In a Kotaku preview published on March 17, 2026, Pragmata emerged as a puzzler-shooter hybrid powered by Capcom's RE engine. The demo began in a recreation of Times Square on an abandoned moon base, constructed from Lunafilaments, complete with billboards referencing Resident Evil. Hugh guides Diana, who marvels at holograms and Earth artifacts like playground slides and old television sets, evoking a sense of wonder and nostalgia for lost times and places. Earlier impressions described it as 'an Xbox 360 game in the best ways,' a view reaffirmed during the two-hour session. Gameplay emphasizes grid-based hacking minigames, reminiscent of BioShock, to disable towering robots with doll-like heads. Players shoot glowing weak points, use abilities like group hacks, stasis bubbles, and damage multipliers, and manage a weapon wheel with color-coded pickups. Encounters vary: hacking missiles mid-air, paralyzing foes, or dismantling a boss's signal jammers to restore hacking grid access. The preview highlighted Pragmata's deference to classic design, avoiding post-2010s cynicism with bold mechanics and a sizable UI. Hugh and Diana share a father-daughter dynamic dubbed 'The Space of Us,' marked by mutual respect. Hugh shares stories and accepts gifts like a drawing from Diana at the central hub, where upgrades and interactions occur. He tells her, 'Humans got a certain warmth to ’em.' Dense, picturesque environments and earnest creative swings position Pragmata as a potential standout from Capcom.
