Pragmata hands-on preview: Capcom is cooking yet again

In every aspect of life, every now and again you come across someone or something at the absolute top of its game - where it seems nothing can be done wrong and everything touched turns to gold.

In the gaming industry, you'll find Capcom in that vein of form right now. Since February last year, there have been releases of Monster Hunter Wilds, Resident Evil Requiem and Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflections, all of which are fantastic titles that released to critical acclaim.

Pragmata is a brand new IP from the studio, which is a sci-fi action adventure game, and despite Capcom taking a huge swing with this, it looks like it's going to hit yet another home run.

That's because Pragmata is shaping up to be the single-player holy grail of having a strong story and superb gameplay. It's rare you get a game that can deliver both.

I mention this because before this Pragmata preview, I played through the 15-20 minute Sketchbook teaser demo and initially felt as though it had the hallmarks of telling a really engaging story as cyber kid Diana learns all about human emotion and history through interactions with the world and main playable protagonist Hugh.

With fast-paced third-person action shooter gameplay plus hacking mechanics to open up and gain an advantage on robot enemies, as well as navigate and open up new areas, I was a bit worried this could feel a bit gimmicky or quickly lose its novelty as the hours go on.

But having been hands-on with Pragmata on a PS5 Pro for a couple of hours playing through one of its missions, it seems as though this has the potential to land in that coveted category.

Pragmata's world building and immersion is superb / Capcom

The preview mission I played tasked me with trying to reach a Comms Tower by navigating through a futuristic open expanse, the Mass Production Array in Sector 2, filled with recreated sections of New York City which you learn about as you progress.

Early on, Diana asks Hugh all about New York City and these kinds of interactions are dotted all throughout. The moments where Diana learns to interact on a human level really stand out and offer a really deep sense of character evolution, as it does with Hugh as he reacts to Diana's development.

The Capcom formula is in full swing here - you try to move forward only for your path to be blocked, having to then explore the world around you to find a way to break down what stands before you.

In this case, a huge gate swings shut and you've got to hack six nearby beacons to progress. These are found in a linear way but you are encouraged to backtrack as more abilities unlock, breaking down previously impenetrable barriers to find rewards.

While this feels very Capcom, because it is Capcom, the gameplay and navigation are superb.

Quickfire hacking minigames are Pragmata's unique twist on gameplay / Capcom

As well as all the usual skills you'd expect, like running, gunning and jumping, Hugh has the ability to hover for a short while but Diana is what makes Pragmata really unique.

She can hack enemies to deal damage and make them more vulnerable. There are different types of hacks you can equip, such as lessening an enemy's defence or opening up weak spots. Hacks play out through quickfire minigames where you quickly control a path through a grid with an end target to deal damage in real time.

That sounds straightforward enough but you can deal higher damage by getting to the end target and going through certain nodes for increased damage and these are scarcely in the most direct route. Of course, this takes more time, so you have to work out whether you want to deal some damage quickly or a lot more damage slowly, which gives enemies openings against you as they bear down.

More of these abilities unlock as you progress, making for more strategic choices and a much increased risk and reward loop, especially when there are groups of enemies or a stronger foe. More difficult enemies have much bigger and more complex hacking grids too.

There's one hack that I came across which allowed me to take out enemies with one punch with Hugh once their health was low enough. This quickly became my go-to strategy as it was addictive finishing off enemies in such a satisfying way.

Crucial hacking nodes can be found throughout Pragmata / Capcom

Most of the hacks that debuff enemies are finite and you frequently find them as you progress through each level. This also keeps hacking feeling fresh and focused all the time, asking the question of if you want to use these hacks right now for an immediate advantage or run the risk of not having them for future encounters.

You can also chain these hacks. You can hack to lessen an enemy's defence, open up a weak spot, deal huge damage and more all in one - but it takes precious time.

As the gameplay is so quick, Pragmata always kept me having to keep one eye on the hacking minigame and the other eye on what the enemy was doing, forcing me to think quickly on the fly and adapt accordingly, which successfully keeps the intensity up.

There is also enough enemy variety to keep things feeling fresh, especially when the difficulty ramps up with bigger enemies and larger groups, forcing you to strategise, learn weaknesses and even use the environment to your advantage. These enemies are different variations of robots with some human sized, others that look around 50 feet tall with all sorts of abilities for you to overcome and more.

And these bigger enemies can evolve, such as forming a barrier to stop you from hacking completely which you have to take down by precisely shooting these areas to open up hacking again. You can also hack missiles that are honing in on you, redirecting them to the source to take them out.

With guns, there are primary, attack, tactical and defensive options where you can try and take enemies down with brute force or weaken them significantly to create openings. There are different options for each category and ammo for some of these guns is finite so choosing what to use wisely is key.

There's also an overcharge ability that generates which deals massive damage and creates openings. This is crucial for saving in bigger fights. Hugh can also heal and find health packs which he can use throughout the world. His health can be taken out with just a few hits so it's best to use these sparingly too.

This all combined creates so many layers to the game's combat and I was left feeling really impressed at how quickly Pragmata evolved and kept giving me new challenges, even just in this two-hour stretch.

The Shelter acts as the games main hub / Capcom

With traversal and navigation, as mentioned this is quite linear in this section but you're encouraged to go off the beaten path slightly to find rewards which you can use to level up weapons, hacking options or Hugh's suit.

There are also collectibles that can be found that keep Diana entertained in a central Shelter, which acts as an upgrade base. You can visit this base regularly and are encouraged to do so whenever you can, even if it's for minor stat boosts. This really helps to make a difference as you progress.

Here, you can also change your loadout as there are different options for the primary, attack, tactical and defensive weapons, so you can really tweak these to suit exactly how you want to play after finding them and trying them out. These loadout options also have options to change mods, for different stat boosts, and which hack options you want to have equipped.

When exploring, there are zones where you can take on waves of enemies for huge rewards. The one I played was early on in the mission and quite challenging but it was worth it as I unlocked rare abilities such as critical shots or faster moves.

Stamps are also earned by exploring which can be redeemed to unlock further mod, suit options and more.

To note, the game looks absolutely fantastic too - the futuristic sci-fi setting is nothing short of breathtaking with superb visuals everywhere you look. As it's Capcom, character models and details are stellar as well.

Seeing Diana learning about humans and interactions, such as high-fives, is such an integral part to Pragmata / Capcom

The preview culminated in a gigantic boss fight against an enemy called - well, Gigantic Bot. You have to put everything you've learned and upgraded into practice.

The first section of this had me feeling like I had worked it out but how the boss evolved had me barely hanging on at the end as our health bars both teetered on falling to zero. Thankfully, I had an overcharge saved and used this to deal massive damage to tip the fight in my favour right at the very end.

In terms of the story, while not much of the overarching plot has yet been revealed, the interactions between Hugh and Diana really stand out, such as Diana trying to understand what a mannequin is used for. It's these smaller moments that really shine through and resonate as you play through the fast-paced action.

It's also a perfect juxtaposition because while she's finding out and getting to grips with what we know and understand as humans, you're figuring out and learning the sci-fi setting that Diana has been 'born' into both as Hugh and as a player. Pragmata feels very clever in that way beyond what it shows and tells you, giving it a lot of depth.

Overall, I've been left feeling really impressed with Pragmata following this hands-on preview. Going into it with some reservations, these were completely gone by the time I finished the mission.

It's shaping up to have an excellent story, deeply layered gameplay and strong immersion.

In a world of gaming sequels, remasters and remakes that are pretty much guaranteed to be a hit, it's so refreshing to see Capcom take a risk with a brand new IP in Pragmata.

And for it to look like it has the single-player holy grail of a brilliant story and superb gameplay, that could turn this swing into a home run.

Pragmata is out on 17 April on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.

Elsewhere from indy100:

• Resident Evil Requiem review: Three things you need to know
• Monster Hunter Wilds review: Capcom delivers a world beater with hugely ambitious successor

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