A Heartfelt Lunar Odyssey
There are certain trailers that, when they first drop, make you feel like you know everything about a film or game from just three minutes of airtime. They give you a snapshot of the story, the characters, and the genre. People know exactly what they are being sold, even if at times a trailer overpromises, leaving people disappointed with the final product.
However, there are certain trailers, PRAGMATA being a prime example, where you have absolutely no idea what is being offered. The very first PRAGMATA teaser released a few years ago featured a few cutscenes showing a little girl, the moon, an astronaut, and New York, leaving us gamers with so many questions.
Now, those questions have finally been answered, and the final product is closer to the truth than we initially realised.
PRAGMATA is a brand new IP from Capcom, arriving on the heels of Resident Evil Requiem to ensure they are off to a great start to the year. I am always excited to play something new, but as I said, I had mostly no idea where PRAGMATA was going to take me. Thankfully, it was somewhere very pleasant.
Survival on the Surface
The story starts in the near future with four astronauts visiting a moon base on a seemingly simple mission. They are a happy bunch, and you play as one of them, Hugh, who discovers that the base seems entirely empty. Suddenly, a terrible moonquake strikes, reducing the team of four to just one. Hugh is left wandering around alone, wondering what to do next. Robots from the base start attacking him, but he is soon saved by a small, mysterious android girl whom he names Diana. Before long, they are working together to try to understand what has happened and find a way back to Earth.
The main story reveals itself over the course of this 12-to-15-hour game (depending on how much you wish to focus on collectibles). It is a great sci-fi story full of the usual tropes, but it also introduces some very good original ideas. What truly makes it special, however, is the relationship between Hugh and Diana. Hugh is written nicely as a sort of everyman who can joke around and be serious in the same breath; his character arc is essentially a journey of learning how to be a carer and a father figure. Meanwhile, Diana represents the innocence of a child, slowly learning what it is like to be human.
The Soul of the Shelter
PRAGMATA features some great moments of dialogue during the quieter moments in the Shelter. Building and deepening this relationship between Hugh and Diana is where the true soul of the game lies. At times, it feels like a good Pixar movie, heartwarming and deeply emotional.
The gameplay puts you directly in the shoes of Hugh from a third-person perspective, and it genuinely feels like a game from the bygone days of Xbox. You control Hugh through exploration and light platforming, utilising a limited thrust ability early in the game. You can pick up items to examine, but the mechanics truly open up when Diana is introduced and the clever combat system comes into play.
Managing Machines and Mainframes
When an enemy attacks, you have a basic starting gun that you can fire at the robots, but it doesn’t deal much damage. That is exactly when Diana’s skills come into play. In real-time, Diana zooms in on the enemy, and a hacking grid appears on the right side of the screen. You must control a cursor, navigating it to an endpoint to hack into the machine’s mainframe. There are bonus hacks to grab within the grid, which might make the robot weaker to attacks, or confuse it so it attacks a fellow robot. Upgrades and additions to this hacking mode can be found throughout, and it is a brilliant system that works excellently and intuitively. It also carries the real-time danger of having to manage both shooting and hacking simultaneously.
Gun-wise, you eventually unlock lots of different options, such as the usual grenade launcher and a close-range shotgun equivalent. There are also more interesting weapons to find, like sticky bombs or a decoy that forces enemies to attack an AI version of yourself for a short period. All these systems come together to make the combat exciting, dynamic, and genuinely fun. The boss battles are challenging but brilliantly designed, and vanquishing one feels like a massive accomplishment.
Masterful Level Design
The level design is superb, featuring lots of twists, turns, and shortcuts to unlock. Saving is done in the Shelter, which can be accessed at various points throughout the levels. This place acts as a little home base where you can spend gained XP to upgrade your weapons or acquire new hacking modules. You can also unlock extra abilities, such as longer thrusts or sharper dodges. More importantly, it is a place to chill out and chat with Diana. You can even collect extra items, like a swing set or balloons, and install them in the Shelter to pique her interest and boost her enjoyment.
My only criticism is that after using the Shelter, all the enemies respawn. This is a massive pet hate of mine and can make things feel a bit dull.
Visually, PRAGMATA captures an old-school feel while simultaneously doing something very special to show off the current-gen engine working its socks off. I loved the level design and the variety of environments you travel through on the moon base. There is a New York-themed area that is absolutely amazing to see. Diana’s character model is a brilliant piece of design, and the Shelter is a wonderful hub of creative invention. The audio is excellent as well, backed by a solid soundtrack, great sound effects, and an excellent voice cast.
A Breath of Fresh Air
I loved my time with PRAGMATA. Playing it genuinely feels like a breath of fresh air and fondly reminds of games from the 2000s. It is always great to see a new IP launch successfully, and hopefully, we will get to see this world expanded with more stories featuring Hugh and Diana in the future.
For now, though, it is just so much fun to spend time with this charming duo.
Important Links
Capcom Breaks Silence on PRAGMATA – Launch Date Revealed – https://www.thexboxhub.com/capcom-breaks-silence-on-pragmata-confirms-2026-release-window-and-reveals-new-gameplay-details/
Best New Xbox And Game Pass Games For April 2026 – https://www.thexboxhub.com/best-new-xbox-and-game-pass-games-for-april-2026/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/pragmata/9P5WNGBTL9X6/0010
Take home a Deluxe Edition – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/pragmata-deluxe-edition/9NK7RQ2S9RJB/0017/9XXPF9CGFDJR
