Harkening back to the simple games of a bygone time (the 2000s, which only feels like a few years ago to me) Pragmata has recently been released by my favourite publisher Capcom. Originally announced way back in 2020 (the dark years as I like to call them) with an originally scheduled release date of 2022, recently released and after playing the demo I was excited.
The game was developed by mostly young developers at the studio, and blends both shooter mechanics with puzzling hacking which sounds odd on paper but actually creates an incredibly engaging battle system. Main protagonists Hugh and Diana pair up, with the prior doing the shooting, while the latter hacks to make vulnerabilities. There’s no slow down to help you, making you think on your feet and prepare your shots carefully.
Guns aren’t at a loss though as there are plenty to choose from as you progress through the game, each with their own useful abilities in taking down the robotic enemies. With limited ammo in each weapon before they break, you’ll be on the look out for more all the time to keep you stocked. You do have one weapon as a constant though, but it has a reload time and can leave you open to attack at any time.
Speaking of our enemies, it’s one we’re all fighting in our day to day life currently as creatives, AI. Without going in to spoiler territory, it appears the main system has gone haywire and all the bots on the ship appear to be turning on their human controllers.
This is where the 2000s gaming comes in, the story really is that simple, but does get deeper. The gameplay overall is simple to grasp, and with a simple but heartfelt story, it really makes it an easy game to pick up and run with. Which is why I think it sold over 1 million copies within 2 days.
The downside to having such a consise game, is the lack of replayability. By the time I finished my first run, I had collected everything there was to collect and had only one trophy left to achieve to platinum the game (played on PS5).
Graphically the game is incredible, with some dips here and there but when you consider the game was announced during COVID, to being released 6 years later and the jumps we’ve had in that small time, alongside being developed by predominantly young developers, it’s an incredible achievement.
| Criteria | Scores | Our Score |
| Artistic Achievement | 1 – 5 | 3 |
| Gameplay | 1 – 5 | 4 |
| Value/Cost | 1 – 5 | 5 |
| Controls | 1 – 5 | 3 |
| Length | 1 – 5 | 5 |
Written By: Aaron Bird
Favourite Game – Resident Evil 2 || Favourite Film – Hercules
About: Aaron is the creator of Pending Plays, and when not running things in the background, he’s busy playing games. When not reviewing, he’s busy pestering his dog Kuro.
Donate: https://ko-fi.com/pendingplays
Our Affiliates
Are you considering purchasing this game following our review to check it out for yourself? Check out the deals at our affiliate sites via the links below to see what they have to offer on this title. We may earn a small commission from any purchases made via these links, allowing us to continue our website.
Discover more from Pending Plays
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
