Pragmata's been M.I.A. for a long time. Announced during a PlayStation 5 showcase way back in 2020, Capcom's mysterious new space title has been cooking for nearly six years. After a long gestation period, the sci-fi shooter reemerged at the Summer Game Fest alongside Onimusha: Way of the Sword and Resident Evil Requiem. Capcom invited me to play a Pragmata demo, and the upcoming game isn't what I expected. For the most part, that's a good thing.
Gameplay: Hack and Shoot to Victory
The demo opened in what appeared to be an abandoned cargo bay on a spaceship. I controlled a wounded astronaut, Hugh, who's patched up by an android, Diana, who resembles a little girl. The demo wasted no time on exposition, as I soon faced a heavily armored, robotic enemy that was virtually impervious to damage. It's here that Pragmata unveiled its unique gameplay loop: You must use Diana to successfully hack the robot before Hugh can do significant damage with his gun.
Capcom ups the challenge by making you hack foes in real time. Diana, riding on Hugh's back, automatically initiates a hack when you aim the gun at an enemy. While locked onto a robot, you use the controller's face buttons to quickly navigate a Snake-like puzzle. The hack is successful when you connect with the green node at the end of the puzzle. This cracks the robot's armor, revealing the glowing, vulnerable bits within.
There are other nodes to consider besides the green one. Passing through the puzzle's blue node boosted my damage output if I did so before completing the hack.
It took some time to get used to the control scheme. At first, it was difficult to stay aware of the enemy's placement and avoid getting hit while navigating the hacking puzzle. This gets especially tricky when dealing with multiple foes at one time. It's like tapping your head and rubbing your stomach, except in this case, you're dodging projectiles shot from killer robots.
(Credit: Capcom)I was surprised by how much Pragmata reminded me of Dead Space in design, though Pragmata is a largely bloodless affair. But as I engaged more enemies, Pragmata started to feel more like Bayonetta, a game I love because of its fast-paced action. Once you get used to the odd gameplay premise, hacking while dodging feels really good, and more arcade-like than I expected.
Hacking is not just for combat, though. As I moved through the space station, I was tasked with hacking five nodes to open a door. Hacking the environment is as simple as aiming at the hackable object and clearing a quick minigame. They were simple challenges.
(Credit: Capcom)Environments and Other Weapons
Exploring the space station gave me a few minutes to admire the stark white walls and ceilings, and the inky black space just outside. The ship's AI, IDUS, remained operational. I didn't interact with IDUS much, but it immediately reminded me of Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Hacking and shooting would quickly grow dull if there weren't enough gameplay variety. Fortunately, I found two cool weapons. The first was the Shockwave Gun, which resembled a shotgun. The other was a Stasis Net that produced a net that stunned enemies in place. This is when Pragmata fully clicked with me. Stunning robots, quickly hacking them, and then letting off with the shotgun felt good.
My only concern is that navigating the space station isn't nearly as engaging as the combat. I won't give Pragmata too much grief at this point in development, of course, as it's still got some more time to flesh out its ideas.
Platforms and Release Date
I wasn't sure what to expect when I went in to play Pragmata, but I walked out of the demo session with a better sense of what's to come. The hack-and-shoot gameplay, despite its learning curve, feels excellent once you get your head around it. I can't wait to see more of this game. Pragmata is scheduled to release on the PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series in 2026.