Pragmata hands-on preview – Capcom’s big new idea

A brand new franchise from Resident Evil and Street Fighter maker Capcom features a very unique gimmick, in this inventive sci-fi shooter.

Capcom has an extremely busy line-up for the next 12 months or so, with Resident Evil Requiem and Onimusha: Way Of The Sword, but while it’s a mild, but welcome, surprise to see the return of the latter the real shock is Pragmata: a brand new, big budget triple-A game that is neither sequel, reboot, or spin-off (well, some fans are trying to convince themselves it has a connection to Mega Man but at the moment there’s zero evidence for that).

Pragmata was originally announced way back in 2020, as part of the reveal for the PlayStation 5, but it was never heard of again until 2023, when it was indefinitely delayed – before defying expectations this year and being re-announced as a 2026 release. However, up until now it was never clear what it was, other than a third person action game by a new team within Capcom.

Even now, after having played roughly 20 minutes of the game, we’re not sure exactly where it’s going but we can say with certainty that it’s the best Xbox 360 game we’ve played in the last 10 years. And we mean that only as a compliment.

The demo we played seemed to be the opening segment of the actual game, as you take the role of astronaut Hugh Williams, who starts off near death and is revived by a young, female android he names Diana. We’re not 100% clear on the story but you’re stuck on the Moon, after an evil AI has taken over and is, presumably, threatening Earth.

Whether all of the game is set on the Moon or not we’re not sure (the reveal trailer was on Earth) but the glossy white corridors and Hugh’s overcomplicated spacesuit are all very reminiscent of a number of prominent Japanese sci-fi games of the Xbox 360 era, including PlatinumGames’ Vanquish and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Binary Domain, as well as GameCube title P.N.03.

The other reason we invoke the memory of the Xbox 360 is that this is exactly the sort of high concept new IP that just doesn’t get made nowadays, or at least not by any major publisher. And for that we really do salute Capcom, especially as it comes hot on the heels of the equally original Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess.

The gameplay is relatively straightforward, in that while Hugh is purposefully a little sluggish in his movements he handles largely like any third person action hero, albeit with a low-powered jetpack that can both hover and aid dodging left and right.

He’s equipped with an infinite ammo pistol and can pick up other weapons (including a space shotgun and a gun that holds enemies in place for a short time) but once they run out of ammo they disappear for good, and you have to find another one.

Where things get a bit weird is that you’re fighting various different kinds of robot and no matter what weapon you use you can’t pierce their armour. However, Diana, who is standing on little steps sticking out from the back of your spacesuit, can hack nearby robots in order to expose their weaker interiors for 30 seconds or so.

She doesn’t do this automatically though and instead you have to play a little mini-game using the face buttons as directional controls, as you move a cursor to navigate it around a small grid, passing over required icons, and additional bonus ones if you like, and towards a goal.

This is not difficult in itself, but the game’s big gimmick is that you have to do this while fighting the robots. So one second you’re dodging and blasting away at their weak points and the next you’re dodging and hacking their robo-brains. It’s a real patting your head while rubbing your tummy type situation and that’s clearly purposeful.

Although it takes a while to get into the game’s rhythm, we started to have a lot of fun with it towards the end, especially in the final boss fight. Its sheer novelty is attractive, for the simple reason that unlike a sequel or licensed game, you really have no idea what to expect from it.

Our only concern is that the exploration-based puzzles are pretty perfunctory in the demo, but we’re sure they’ll get more involved as the game goes on (Diana can hack other equipment and computers but it’s only when she’s in combat that she needs to do the mini-game). There’s also the concern of whether the hacking gimmick is going to get old before the end of the game, but we’re going to give Capcom the benefit of the doubt and assume that’s something they’ve already considered.

Having a big name publisher create a brand new IP, based around an original idea, is beginning to seem like an impossible dream in these days of sky high budgets and production times of six years or more. Judging by the delays, Pragamata hasn’t enjoyed a quick or easy development but that makes it all the more admirable that Capcom has stuck with it and, no matter how it turns out, we hope that can be a lesson that other publishers follow.

Formats: PlayStation 5 (previewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PC
Price: TBA
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release Date: 2026
Age Rating: TBA

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

MORE: BioShock 4 in trouble as studio lays off staff amid leadership shake-up

MORE: Best of Gamescom 2025 trailers – Resident Evil Requiem to Lego Batman

MORE: Indiana Jones not the only Xbox game coming to Switch 2 next year claims insider