2026 is a remarkably stacked 12 months for house and sci-fi video games, however Capcom might need simply dropped probably the most related one already. Pragmata is a love letter to the sci-fi motion video games from the PS3 and Xbox 360 era, but its up to date tackle acquainted tropes and a vibrant coronary heart make it particular.
The advertising and previews offered Pragmata’s concise pitch very nicely: You are on the moon as a system auditor named Hugh Williams. One thing has gone mistaken, and a mysterious synthetic intelligence known as IDUS has taken over a “Massive Tech” firm’s installations. Your solely ally is somewhat android lady named Diana. Survive, warn Earth, and return residence. The plot by no means will get extra complicated than that at any level, however the recreation’s use of those hackneyed story parts and themes is agile and good.
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AI as an uncanny imitation of actuality
We have had an absolute deluge of AI games that task players with battling through abandoned, torn-down research facilities and space stations. Others throw us into Terminator-like post-apocalypses without a flavor or voice of their own. Then, we’ve also had sci-fi series like Halo, which focuses on an alien invasion while using the idea of a companion AGI for additional spice and drama.
Pragmata does fairly a bit of all that, however its perspective on AI feels extra prescient. For starters — and with out late-game spoilers — IDUS does not (instantly) pose a risk to humanity. It is extra of a contained “Massive Tech” experiment gone mistaken, and fortunately, it occurred on the Moon. However that is additionally a giant challenge; with comms to Earth shut down and solely Hugh’s group is conscious of what is going on down, IDUS has greater than sufficient house and time to develop into a bigger menace. It is a quite literal warning on the hazards of unchecked AI.
That menace is not completely chilly metallic optimized to eradicate humanity or a corruption of the human physique. As a substitute, IDUS has produced uncanny copies of animals discovered on Earth and even people, however with distinctive options that all the time lean into the unsettling and deformed.
The fundamental killer drones roaming the services are oddly elongated, whereas the latter giants seem like probably the most messed-up maneaters in Attack on Titan. Spider-like invisible robots combine the thought of many arms and a ‘ribcage lure’ in a manner that each is sensible and feels just like the delirium of a rogue AI. You’ll be able to see the underlying imaginative and prescient behind their creation, but it surely all got here out mistaken.
Pragmata is, fairly explicitly, a recreation about battling AI slop. IDUS is not erasing what we symbolize or changing people with one thing higher and completely different. It is imitating, very like its uninspired residing creators. Sooner or later, it took over, but it surely solely iterates on the concepts and corporeal shapes that exist already elsewhere, recreating constructions and areas that, whereas purposeful, are inaccurate. Creation by no means comes from nothing, however regurgitation is not creation. There is no originality in IDUS’ creations, solely perversion. It is incapable of strolling the identical high quality line that Pragmata’s builders have with this unassuming mixture of standard sci-fi ideas.
Humanity, irrespective of the place, is the reply
Pragmata’s not-so-secret sauce is, before everything, its beating coronary heart. Hugh and Diana are enjoyable to be round, not depressing or hopeless. That is one other ‘dad recreation’ on a floor stage, sure, however there is no repressed trauma to beat or a number of deep-cutting feelings twisting them and the journey forward. As an adopted baby, Hugh immediately bonds with a misplaced baby filled with innocence, however their resolve is infectious.
Many would inform you a great story wants extra friction, however loads of animated flicks get alongside high quality with just a few earnest emotional beats that do not convey down the temper. Pragmata is precisely like that, like an old-timey Pixar movie that never slows down but can deliver effective character moments regardless.
A regular Joe and his adopted android daughter can carry a breezy adventure with only sincerity and optimism in the face of danger. In a life-or-death situation, past and future don’t really matter much. Pragmata never feels weighty or downbeat, and that sets it apart from its relatives.
Hugh and Diana represent the only logical answer to everything a soulless AI system stands for: Choosing to believe in ourselves and our imperfections, to dream big even if the data suggests the end could be near. The enemy is that which doesn’t feel and only believes it thinks.
Humanity and caring about others will save us. Resident Evil veteran Haruo Murata’s script makes sure to point out early on that Diana and the other Pragmatas are different, and it’s up to the player to decide whether an artificial person is really a person. The game won’t bore you with ramblings we’re all familiar with. Instead, you’ll get quieter scenes like a heartwarming chat at a man-made beach, a brief respite amid the endless robotic horrors.
To the Moon
The Moon also carries some implicit meaning as the setting. It’s barren and lifeless; a perfect place to create life that isn’t real. Humans brought plants and animals from Earth without much trouble, but that isn’t enough. The Moon must be the home of something different and better. The material known as “luna filament” has incredible properties that enable the 3D-printing of replicas and new technologies, but you can’t get rid of fakeness. Of course, that doesn’t matter to the corporate machine; it does a briefly cool thing that no one asked for and can increase productivity, so they push the new tech to the limit no matter what.
Pragmata kicks off with a ship approaching our natural satellite, but unlike Artemis 2‘s recent mission, there’s nothing magical about it. For the squad of workers visiting, it’s just routine. For the company in charge out there, it’s just a safe space to experiment without being limited by concerns of any kind. “It’s free real estate,” many would say. Looking at budget cuts to NASA and other essential space agencies, I fear we’re nearing a similar scenario where the conquest of outer space is outsourced to forces we can’t trust.
Despite its anxieties over such matters, Pragmata wants to believe we can do better and regain the lost wonder. Around the halfway point, Hugh and Diana go for a spacewalk and take a good look at our planet. They want to get here, but they also feel fortunate enough just to be there and get a good look at how far we’ve come. The rest can wait.
Pragmata is now available to buy on PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
