Discover the Intricate Hacking and Shooting System in Capcom's Pragmata

Capcom's Pragmata was, for the longest time, an enigma. First announced in 2020 with a 2022 release date, the game suffered delay after delay with few clues provided about it. It wasn't till June 25 that we got a locked release window and proper details about the mysterious title. Even still, questions about how it would play with two protagonists, who these characters are, and what's going on in space remained a mystery. Thankfully, with the game releasing in a month, we now have a clear picture about what Pragmata is, how it plays and what exactly is happening with Hugh and Diana.

That Android Came From the Moon

Pragmata takes place on the moon at a lifeless lunar research station known as the Cradle. Hugh and his team are sent to investigate the station where they're ambushed by security robots and fatally wounded. Hugh ends up rescued by Diana, an android in the form of a 7-year-old girl capable of hacking the robots. Both hunted by IDUS, the hostile AI in charge of the station, the two must team up to escape the Cradle and return to Earth.

The relationship between Hugh and Diana takes center stage throughout the narrative. As shown in trailers, Diana, despite being an android, is inquisitive and naïve about how the world works. Hugh will take on more of a father-like persona as he teaches her about humanity and emotions. It's going to be interesting watching the relationship grow as the duo take on IDUS and its horde of robots.

A Single Player Co-Op Shooter

It may sound weird to read this, but Pragmata plays a lot like a single player version of a co-op game. On paper, the game looks like a typical third-person shooter with players able to utilize an arsenal of different weapons to take down the robots as Hugh. Throw in dodging, thrusters and gliding, and that statement feels even more true, but only at a surface level.

While Hugh handles the firearms and combat, on his back is Diana, who is performing her own style of gameplay. The robots in Pragmata are tough, and Hugh's weapons don't do a whole lot of damage. It's up to Diana to hack the bots and exploit their weaknesses. In effect, you're playing two different characters solo. If this were a co-op game, one person would be handling shooting while the other hacked enemies. That's not what Capcom wanted, though.

What the developers have created is a unique Hacking and Shooting system that combines strategy and action, forcing you to think on your feet and manage the surrounding space. You'll need to utilize special weapons like the Stasis Net to sun enemies while you utilize Diana's hacking skills to increase firearm damage and bypass shields and defenses.

It's an interesting system that works well on controllers. Aiming at a target brings up a maze-like minigame where you navigate it via the face buttons, passing through certain nodes to increase firearm damage and inflict status effects on enemies. It's a smart control scheme, as long as you're playing with a controller. Mouse and keyboard were a little more difficult to work with as the maze movement options were tied to the mouse's side buttons. Changing bindings might be necessary because, at least in the demo, Diana's controls on the mouse didn't feel as intuitive as on a controller.

Those hacking abilities are backed up by a selection of purposeful guns that are equal part great at combat and managing crowds. While the Grip Gun will always be available thanks to its recharging ammo, more powerful weapons like the Shockwave Gun or Charge Piercer only have so much. Learning when and how to best use each weapon is part of the core loop.

Hunted by IDUS, the hostile AI in charge of the station, the two must team up to escape the Cradle and return to Earth.

The big question is how well this all holds up across a full game. The mechanics are solid, the co-op play between Hugh and Diana is engaging and the plot is genuinely intriguing. How well the interplay holds up when bigger, more aggressive enemies attack remains to be seen, though. Also, while the game plays great out of the box on controllers, keyboard and mouse controls need tweaking. Pragmata is shaping up to be quite the intriguing game, especially for players who like a co-op experience, but want to play solo. Thankfully, we won't have to wait too much longer to get our hands on it.

Pragmata launches April 17 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2.