Capcom’s Pragmata is right around the corner (even more so now that the launch date got moved up, a rare but welcome occurrence in our industry), and it’s safe to say it’s one of 2026’s most anticipated titles. I’ve had my fair share of hands-on opportunities with a small vertical slice of the game over the last year. Recently, I got to go get a hefty two hours with the unique third-person hacking shooter. I played a much larger, more open New York City-inspired portion of the game, complete with plenty of time to experience the full gameplay loop.

My preview session was through a development build on a PlayStation 5 Pro, but I wouldn’t have minded if it was the final product. What I played was not only gorgeous and fresh, but the controls were smooth and responsive. Pragmata has some of the most fun and interesting combat I’ve played to date. This is consistent with previous demos I’ve been fortunate enough to check out. This time, I started out in the Shelter. This is Pragmata’s central hub where Hugh and Diana can upgrade their equipment, gear, and hacks. You can also chat with the robots on board for some backstory, with plenty of lore and world building to be found.

Take Shelter

You’ll return to the Shelter quite often, and I highly recommend you do so. You’ll be able to return essentially at will during any given mission. It was imperative I return every chance I had after a stint with the open zone environment, collecting materials and currency to outfit my arsenal and get stronger. You’ll also fill out the Cabin’s Stamp Club, a sort of bingo card that will award you with unique and useful items by finding Cabin Coins throughout your adventure. This, and hoarding other materials, really incentivized exploration and straying off the beaten path. You’ll rinse and repeat this core gameplay loop, and I never once felt it was a hindrance or burden. In fact, I rather enjoyed returning to the Shelter solely to check out the new dialogue options Diana offered.

The relationship between Hugh and Diana is an adorable father-daughter dynamic. This isn’t unlike what we’ve seen with Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us. Although, not as complicated (so far). You learn throughout the course of the game that Hugh is an orphan. He shows incredible empathy to Diana’s being abandoned, having dealt with similar issues of his own. The duo banter back and forth throughout the game. — there’s plenty of cute dialogue of Hugh trying to teach Diana about Earth and what she’s missed having only been on the moon. Diana has this sort of endearing, innocent ignorance that Hugh can’t help but see himself in.

Hack and Shoot

Pragmata’s combat is the bread and butter of the experience. It’s a traditional third-person shooter with some platforming mechanics sprinkled in, but the main draw is using Diana’s hacking abilities. This adds a much deeper layer of interaction and strategy to gunfights. You’ll use the face buttons to navigate through Diana’s hacks while aiming with Hugh, then use the right stick to maneuver around enemies and dodge with the shoulder buttons. Pragmata is a game that uses every button the controller has to offer, and mastering its systems comes with a bit of a learning curve. But after familiarizing myself with how the game controls and feels, I was right back at it, dodging enemies and hacking them in no time.

In combat, there’s no reload button. You’ll automatically cycle through empty weapons as their clips empty. This forced me to think even deeper about how to approach each combat scenario. Luckily, spare weapons are strewn about each area. There’s not much of a reason to focus on conserving ammo on secondary weapons. The game ensures you’re always outfitted with something to deal damage with besides your primary weapon. You can also find various hacks in the overworld. These can be switched out or replaced if Diana’s current hacks are empty.

Immersive and Engaging

Compared to my previous demo, I got a much better idea of Pragmata’s systems and mechanics. The hacking ability goes deeper than I originally thought, adding a level of engagement I’ve been craving. We know you can hack an enemy’s body to expose their weak points. But you can also hack certain enemies’ projectiles back at them for big damage. This is a good way to play it safe, but also a super satisfying way to get a kill.

Level design is extremely intuitive and well designed. Getting lost or exploring off the golden path isn’t as big of a setback as I though, since you can easily make it back to previous areas using lifts scattered around liberally. The in-game map is easy to read, and even secret areas aren’t too hidden.

Titanic Encounters

My demo wrapped with a brand new boss fight against a gargantuan robot enemy. And when I say gargantuan, I mean it. Like, taking up the entire screen and arena gargantuan. Its sheer scale is impressive, and I was sure I’d experience at least a few frame drops or stutters. Alas, performance was smooth as hell, and I was able to focus on the spectacle of the fight and figure out its patterns. This is where upgrading Hugh’s abilities came in handy the most. I was able to increase the amount of times I could dodge, making this fight much easier to handle. Without spoiling too much here, if there are many more bosses like the one I faced here, we’re in for a treat.

Pragmata is both a well-polished third-person action game with surprisingly fresh-feeling mechanics, and an emotional story of how you can, actually, choose your own family. Luckily, since Capcom pushed the date up to April 17 from its original April 24 launch, we don’t have much longer to wait and see just how deep Hugh and Diana’s relationship will go.

All images courtesy of Capcom via screenshots of provided B-roll footage.