Pragmata Review: A Heartfelt Adventure on the Moon

In an age of established franchises, sequels and prequels are what dominate the market. Capcom is no stranger to this, as Resident Evil and Monster Hunter continue to top their charts, and even looking to the future, their biggest releases are currently a new Onimusha and Mega Man game. With that said, there are some shining beacons for new intellectual properties for 2026, and Pragmata is certainly one of them.

Original ideas are far from dead, and Pragmata is a proof of this, as Director Cho Yonghee, best known for his work on Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and NieR: Automata, is bringing to life a futuristic story about artificial intelligence, parenthood, and the dangers of overstepping. After five years since it was first announced, is Pragmata everything we could have hoped for?

A Heartfelt Story Like No Other

The story of Pragmata takes place in the future where humanity has built a massive station on the Moon after finding an almost limitless resource called Lunafilament. This can replicate any item, and with automation, can be molded into form within a matter of seconds. Of course, something goes horribly wrong and the station-run AI IDUS seems to have gone rogue and begins sending killer robots at the protagonist, Hugh Williams.

The overarching story itself is pretty lackluster. There’s a little more to it than a simple rogue AI, as we get to know why Diana, the second star of the show, was built in the first place, but the story is wildly predictable. Thankfully, what redeems the adventure is the connection and dynamic between Hugh and Diana.

Hugh as a character is a little disappointing just because he doesn’t necessarily have an arc throughout Pragmata. He’s just a good person through and through and while getting to know about his past is interesting enough, it’s his interactions with Diana that really sell his character.

Diana is definitely the heart of Pragmata, which is a strange thing to say considering she’s emotionally (and physically) a child. With that said, her curiosity and general affection for helping others are the best parts of the campaign. She is just downright adorable, and her interactions at the Shelter help develop her character significantly. Because of that, the story will pull on your heartstrings in certain spots, as we get to know Diana and want to protect her at all costs.

The campaign itself will take a little more than ten hours to complete, with an extra three or four hours to handle any of the side activities such as finding Cabin Coins to unlock cosmetics or mods, and the Challenge simulator. There's quite a bit to do in Pragmata, even when the credits roll; while each section of the station is relatively straightforward, there are still a lot of collectibles and challenges to find.

Third-Person Shooter with a Twist

The combat in Pragmata is a little different from the typical third-person shooter. There’s still the over-the-shoulder camera angle and blasting away at robotic body parts, but there’s a bit of a twist to it. While Hugh is the gunner, Diana is the technician as she’s able to hack into enemies on the fly and make them weak to her partner's attacks, among other things.

It’s not just implementing weaknesses, as there’s a large variety of different Hacks Diana is able to learn. This includes multi-chaining enemies, confusing them so they attack other robots, or increasing the amount of heat gauge they generate, allowing for Hugh to unleash a critical hit after they overheat and become staggered.

The best part of this is that it comes in the form of a mini-game mid-combat. One would think this would cause more of a headache, having to focus on an in-your-face mini-game amid a frantic battle, but it becomes a lot more strategic than one would think. It’s all about picking your shots and when to initiate a hack, not to mention which nodes should be opened. Even just a quick hack can be largely beneficial, as it not only does damage to the enemy but exposes them for Hugh to do significantly more for each shot.

Speaking of which, Hugh has a shocking number of weapons to choose from while progressing through the story. This starts off with a standard pistol, but then he’ll find things such as shotguns, charged rifles and more advanced weaponry such as a device that can reduce the hacking grid of an enemy, as well as remove any unwanted nodes. It’s fun to play around with the different loadouts, as there will be some that work better for certain enemies or bosses than others.

...the story will pull on your heartstrings in certain spots, as we get to know Diana and want to protect her at all costs.

RE Engine Shines Once More

From a visual perspective, Pragmata is absolutely beautiful. It runs on Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine, used on virtually all their games in the last decade, and it has a sleek, clean look to it. It’s supposed to be a futuristic setting, and it certainly nails it, somewhat reminiscent of NieR: Automata with some of its surroundings and enemy designs.

There’s a strong emphasis on clean white environments, maybe a little to its detriment, because it can make things look a bit monotonous at times. There is added variety, such as going into space or having overgrown trees weeding through a station, but for the most part, it doesn’t break much from its clean, white focal point. It almost reminds us of Capcom’s P.N.03 Gamecube game from two decades ago. It’s difficult to escape this given that it’s a fairly isolated setting, so Capcom has done a decent job with its variety, all things considered.

Animation is also a strong point, as each enemy has their own unique move set, along with Hugh and Diana. There are even multiple skins that players can equip on the two characters, a couple of which feel like they were ripped straight out of Master Chief’s closet. While there are only a handful of bombastic cinematics, mostly near the end, it’s the somber moments in-between with well-designed lighting and camera shots that help sell the strong connection between the two protagonists.

Closing Comments:

Pragmata is a heartfelt experience not only about the human experience, but also parenthood. While we never truly see Hugh grow into anything more than he already is, it’s his genuine interactions with Diana and teaching her all about the amazing things Earth has to offer that really defines him as a character. His interactions with the curious and childish Diana are the best parts of Pragmata, and while the story is somewhat predictable, it will pull on your heartstrings from time to time. On top of that, the combat is pleasantly varied, with the numerous types of weapons at Hugh’s disposal and a decent number of enemies, ramping up as the story progresses. Diana’s hacking mini-game mid-combat is also a breath of fresh air as it adds a layer of strategy needed in a somewhat traditional third-person shooter. While Pragmata has its issues, it’s a solid, highly engaging adventure that’s difficult to replicate.