Pragmata review: Electrifying combat underpins one of 2026’s most welcome surprises

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A star rating of 5 out of 5.

Capcom has a lot riding on 2026. While we always expected Resident Evil Requiem to be successful, I wasn’t initially very optimistic about Pragmata.

I am delighted to have been proven tremendously wrong.

Pragmata follows Hugh, a traveler in space, who gets stuck on an old, deserted research station on the moon. He discovers Diana, an android child, while he’s there.

Hugh and Diana are desperately trying to find a way back to Earth, but they’re battling the station’s dangerous artificial intelligence, IDUS. IDUS is attacking them with armies of combat robots, determined to stop them.

Pragmata’s gameplay draws heavily from survival horror, emphasizing accurate shooting and thoughtful combat. For example, players can disable enemy robots by shooting them in the knees to temporarily take them out of the fight.

It firmly sets itself apart, however, via its central gimmick of hacking.

Enemies in the game are heavily armored and very difficult to defeat. However, players can use Diana to solve quick, grid-based puzzles that disable the enemies’ armor, revealing vulnerable areas and allowing them to be destroyed.

Similar to how a scary game like Resident Evil builds tension through its atmosphere, this game creates that same feeling during combat. Even simple fights feel stressful because you’re solving puzzles at the same time.

This system is enhanced with a network of nodes. Moving through specific points on the game map can boost your damage or inflict different negative effects on enemies.

I especially like using Multihack and Confusion together. This combination makes bots in a room start attacking each other randomly.

Throughout his adventure, Hugh discovers a wide range of powerful weapons. These include standard weapons for direct attacks, as well as clever tools like holographic decoys, which can trick enemy robots and lure them into dangerous laser traps.

Many games that rely heavily on one unique idea tend to become repetitive, but Pragmata’s hacking system remains consistently engaging. In fact, it improves over time with the introduction of new weapons and gameplay elements.

Honestly, the beginning of this place isn’t too bad. The real trick is figuring out those specific test chambers – they’re where you’ll be spending most of your time and where things get tricky!

Although the game got harder as I played, I rarely felt truly challenged. It wasn’t that the game was simple, but it encouraged me to think creatively about how to use its features and abilities.

Pragmata’s combat is incredibly rewarding, feeling truly satisfying when you use skill and strategy – it’s one of the best I’ve ever played.

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The game features a straightforward world filled with hidden secrets for dedicated players, and optional training challenges that reward you with upgrades. While not groundbreaking, I found completing these challenges to be surprisingly fun.

The action in Pragmata was consistently excellent, but I wasn’t very engaged with the story throughout most of the game.

Pragmata’s story initially seems to be about Hugh and Diana trying to leave the moon, but the beginning of the game feels slow and relies heavily on Hugh explaining the meaning of humanity to Diana.

The concept itself is good, but the scenes don’t always flow naturally. Combined with Hugh’s excessively cheerful delivery, it creates a strange effect, almost making you suspect he might be a robot.

I honestly felt like the connection between Hugh and Diana wasn’t very natural. I even found myself thinking back to the quick, fun conversation Hugh had with his team at the beginning, and wondering if the story would have worked better if he’d just used a computer program or robotic suit to handle the hacking instead.

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Fortunately, the story in Pragmata becomes much more compelling, essentially serving as a warning about the potential risks of artificial intelligence.

The game’s central idea is simple: you’re battling a dangerous AI. However, beneath the main story, there’s a deeper, more complex anxiety at play.

Delphi Corporation, which operates the station, is extracting Lunafiliment – a material crucial for a new printing technology. This technology lets them manufacture almost anything, from small items like footballs to large structures like entire cities, using a process that seems like creating something from nothing.

Notes and logs dotted around the facility tell the stories of Delphi’s former employees.

At first, most people are thrilled to be involved in this crucial research. They see Lunafiliment as a breakthrough with the potential to save lives.

Eventually, though, the situation starts to fall apart. Like many large companies, a seemingly perfect exterior hides troubling activities.

Okay, so in Delphi, you start by building up a city, but it quickly shifts to weapon production – specifically, robots. These are the same robots that are causing all the trouble as you try to get through the station. It’s a really messed up situation – this tech was supposedly created to save humanity, but it’s been twisted into something that’s actively trying to destroy it. It’s a pretty dark turn, honestly.

As a gamer, it really strikes me how similar the Oracle at Delphi is to today’s tech companies. They’re building AI that’s already being used in conflicts around the world, and it’s kind of unsettling to see that historical parallel play out. It feels like we’re repeating patterns from the past, just with much more powerful technology.

Some of Delphi’s thinkers are starting to wonder if relying on AI for things like creativity and problem-solving could change what it means to be human.

The game started with some awkward explanations from Hugh to Diana, but I was pleased that Pragmata later explored more meaningful and complex ideas.

Pragmata’s story improves significantly once it starts showing what happens instead of just telling it. The second half is filled with enjoyable twists, though some of them feel a little predictable.

At first, I worried Hugh and Diana would ruin the game, but after finishing it, I realized the story actually works out well in the end.

When Pragmata was first revealed, I wasn’t interested at all. Honestly, it seemed pretty ordinary to me.

I love being pleasantly surprised by games, and Pragmata has a real chance of being the best surprise of the year – and one I’ll definitely appreciate.

This game is concise and enjoyable. Though I have minor concerns about the storytelling, the incredibly exciting combat completely captivated me – it’s one of the best combat systems I’ve ever experienced.

It’s a perfect length and I’m already excited to start playing again.

I do still think Diana is a bit annoying, though.

Pragmata releases on 17 April 2026 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2.

Authors

Alex RaisbeckGaming writer

Alex Raisbeck writes about video games for TopMob, covering both popular, big-budget titles and smaller, independent games. He’s also contributed to well-known gaming publications like VideoGamer, GamesRadar+, PC Gamer, and PCGamesN.

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2026-04-13 18:07