Let’s rewind back in time to June 2020. We were still in the early months of the pandemic and in the waning months of the previous generation of consoles with fans eagerly awaiting the reveal of what is now the current generation of consoles. When Sony held its PlayStation 5 reveal showcase, the penultimate game shown was this mysterious sci-fi game from Capcom called Pragmata that left many intrigued. Now, almost six years since its initial reveal, Pragmata is finally here and the massive wait was well worth it as Capcom has created something truly special and unique.

Pragmata opens in a very similar vein to Dead Space as player character Hugh Williams and his small team arrive to the lunar base known as The Cradle to fix some unknown issue, however, they notice things seem to be in disarray with no people around. Unfortunately, things quickly go awry thanks to a moonquake and the rest of Hugh’s team is wiped out while Hugh is severely injured and alone. Luckily for him, the titular pragmata D-I-0336-7, who Hugh simply names Diana, aids him back to health and they set off on an adventure to try to find a way to return to Earth.

Pragmata doesn’t overstay its welcome as it took me a breezy thirteen hours to complete. In such a short time, Hugh and Diana steal the show here. The duo are really the only characters of major consequence in the game with the only other humans seen in the game being shown through hologram projectors that you can find that give a bit more detail of what happened at The Cradle and what was being worked on there. Thus, Hugh and Diana’s relationship is the main crux of Pragmata.

We’ve seen a plethora of games feature a father-child type relationship such as The Last of Us or the recent God of War games that the term “sad dad simulator” has become commonplace. Many may expect that this game features that same type of relationship; especially since Hugh comments he’s not a kid person early on. However, the relationship between Hugh and Diana is one of the most wholesome father-child relationships I’ve seen in a game. Diana is extremely endearingly, and Hugh takes to her almost immediately with little issue. Even outside the development the two have throughout the story, the little moments the two have when they are in the hub area are charming and makes you love the bond between them.

The gameplay of Pragmata is what really sets it apart from other games out there. The game starts off as what seems like the typical third person shooter. Hugh has a slew of different weapons at his disposal. His main weapons are a rechargeable pistol and later an assault rifle. However, Hugh can also find different weapons while exploring that either are a more damaging type such as a shotgun or a more assist weapon such as a stasis net that freezes enemies in place or even little drones that hover around him. However, the only enemies in the game are robots, and these robots barely take any damage from Hugh’s weaponry.

Luckily, Diana is here to save the day again though as she is able to hack the robots which allows Hugh to deal more definitive damage to them. Hacking is done by completing a real time puzzle using the face buttons while avoiding the enemies. This take a bit of time to get used to, but when it clicks it feels intuitive and adds an extra dimension to what would be your typical shooter fare. Each type of robot has their own puzzle to complete with stronger enemies having more difficult puzzles to manage and some can even block your hacking altogether. You would think that these puzzles would get tedious just doing the same thing over and over, but you can pick up nodes that provide different effect if you pass through them during the puzzle such as extra damage, being able to hack multiple robots at once, and even being able to turn the robots against each other.

Hugh and Diana’s journey take them all across the base which features several different environmental locations such as a synthesized version of New York to a forest to more mechanical areas. All areas are connected to the hub area known as The Shelter that has multiple fast travel points throughout each area. At The Shelter, you are able to upgrade Hugh’s suit and main weapon as well as Diana’s hacking abilities. There’s also a shop to purchase and upgrade other weapons, nodes, and abilities for you to use. There’s also the robot Cabin here where you can play Bingo using “Cabin Coins” you collect to unlock lore, bot details or different suits for Hugh and Diana. You also unlock a training mode that features numerous different challenges that focus on gameplay mechanics like combat or traversal and completing different objective provides different rewards. Then, when leaving you are able to set your loadout with whatever weapons, mods, and nodes you wish to have while exploring the base.

What really nabs your attention at The Shelter though are the little moments between Hugh and Diana. Diana explores The Shelter with childlike wonder and you can talk to her every time you return to The Shelter to be provided with new dialogue between the two. Throughout your adventure you can find data that creates things that give The Shelter a sense of Earth like home for Diana to get to experience like a slide, a basketball, balloons, or a swing which she enjoys. She’ll even draw pictures for you to have, and you can play hide and seek with her here as well giving a sweet reprieve from the ongoing danger you face while exploring.

Overall, Pragmata is an experience that really caught me off guard with how well everything clicks. You wouldn’t expect a third person shooter that features puzzles as part of combat to work, but Capcom nails its execution. Hugh and Diana are probably my favorite new characters of the year and have one of the best father-child relationships that can be serious but has plenty of levity compared to similar stories. Pragmata is another game that shows Capcom is one of the best going today, and, unlike most major publishers, isn’t afraid to get weird with the types of games they make.

Score: 9 out of 10

Reviewed on PlayStation 5