On the weekend, MeinMMO author Johanna tried out the new shooter Pragmata, although it initially seemed boring to watch on Twitch. Playing it myself on Steam felt completely different.
On the weekend, I was once again searching for a game to fill my free time. The new shooter from Capcom, Pragmata, immediately came to mind. After all, it had just released on April 17, 2026.
However, before I wanted to fork out 60 euros for the game, I first watched some gameplay on Twitch. The first impression I got from several streamers was quite sobering. It just looks like a shooter
, I thought. The only thing that would probably be engaging, in my opinion, would be the story, and to experience that, I would simply have to finish watching a Let’s Play rather than play it myself.
However, something moved me to try the sci-fi shooter after all. Don’t ask me what exactly, but my intuition or gut feeling was definitely right, because oh man! Otherwise, I would have missed out on something!
Let’s go with Hugh and Diana
So I quickly downloaded the game and took on the role of Hugh. He gets separated from his crew on the lunar base that is to be explored, and the station’s AI seems to have made it its mission to eliminate us.
This is essentially just a confirmation of Hugh’s negative opinion about AI and androids. But then we meet Diana, a Pragmata, which is an android that accompanies us on our adventure from then on.
Hugh’s initially rather dismissive opinion of androids quickly changes. The reason for this is not only Diana’s cute appearance and curious behavior but also her usefulness during fights.
Two controllable characters keep me on my toes
Where we get right to the main point for which I quickly fell in love with the game: The combat system.
With Hugh, the gameplay is relatively clear: Shoot until the enemies are nothing but a pile of scrap. However, we don’t deal enough damage to take down the robots in just a few shots.
This is where Diana comes into play. She sits on our back and hacks the enemies so that we can deal better damage to them. Both shooting with Hugh and hacking with Diana are done simultaneously. I play with a controller, which is why the shoulder buttons belong to Hugh, and the right buttons are used for Diana.
And that’s the crux of Pragmata: Watching the gameplay seems boring because it doesn’t really differ from another sci-fi shooter like Dead Space. However, the simultaneous hacking requires my full concentration and gives me a gaming experience that I’ve never had before and could never feel while watching.
Fighting in this way is exhausting. The appearance of enemies stresses me, and defeating a wave of enemies is always met with a sigh from me.
No wonder I’m also nervous about the first boss. Here I need a few more hacks and shots, and the boss is also a bit faster than the previous enemies.
The relief I feel when the boss is down is incomparable. I haven’t felt so fulfilled, relieved, and full of fun in a game in a long time!
And at the same time, I’m excited about what else the lunar base has in store and whether the feeling of tension will diminish at some point. But I don’t think so; I actually think that’s just right!
If you would excuse me now, I need to continue exploring the lunar base and find cute furnishings for Diana! She always gets so happy!
By the way, I’m not the only one who is excited about Pragmata. Even before release, the new Capcom game was a highlight for MeinMMO editor Niko Hernes: A new sci-fi shooter for the PS5 could turn out really well, even if one mechanic will divide players.
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!