Capcom’s Pragmata has been in the works for a long time now. An initial reveal at the annual PlayStation Showcase committed to a 2022 release window that was quickly pushed back to 2023 before being delayed indefinitely. It was just three months ago that we received a confirmed release date as part of the most recent State of Play. Previews all throughout last year touted a third-person shooter combat system that, in my opinion, appeared to limit player expression and repeat the same “hack-and-shoot” routine ad nauseam.
Since getting my hands on the Sketchbook Demo for PlayStation 5, I must admit that while my concerns about the combat have been mostly dispelled, I’ve been left with a laundry list of new issues.
Two-Factor Authentication
The initial problem I had with the “hack-and-shoot” mechanics was that it appeared somewhat limiting; trapping the player in an endless string of mini-games before they could get on with blasting apart the homicidal robots that have taken over Delphi Lunar Station. In reality, hacking is deeply integrated into combat.
Without the aid of your android companion, Diana, standard bullets barely dent the armor of even the most basic mechanical enemies, and so that armor needs to be dismantled first. The hacking mechanic involves maneuvering a small cursor through a grid, collecting blue and yellow nodes (while avoiding red ones) along the way before arriving at the central green node, resulting in things like a temporary loss of enemy armor, exposed critical weak points, and activate limited-use hacks such as a damage boost or multi-target debuff. Even across the relatively short demo, I found myself making tactical decisions about the weapons and hacks I wanted to bring into the next battle; as well as when to commit to a hack versus when to reposition with a well-timed dodge. Assuming all of these elements can be progressed throughout the full game, combat should be a consistently rewarding and challenging experience.
In Space, No-one Can See You Strafe
Capcom have made clear that the Sketchbook Demo is a vertical slice of gameplay, not representative of the full game, but there remain some rather worrying environmental design choices that could end up weakening the final package.
The Pragmata demo itself is exceedingly linear. Only a handful of optional areas are hidden around corners or behind walls, and though this could be an artifact of the demo, I was surprised by how visually confused the entire space appeared. Every single area is completely, almost blindingly, white. Though a smattering of colored lights and interactive objects break the monotony, there were multiple occasions where I struggled to identify which area I had just entered or unintentionally backtracked into one I had just left. Smaller areas like dormitories and labs have a more purposeful design but it’s those connecting hallways and arenas that need serious readjustment. I was hoping for something resembling the Metroidvania-lite exploration of Capcom’s Resident Evil series. Now, I’m worried that the tiresome visual design of Delphi Station will make that intensely satisfying gameplay loop a chore come release day.
Moreover, the hacking required to traverse that environment was almost insultingly straightforward. Answer me this: if the station is supposed to be hostile to my very presence then why am I able to restart elevators and unseal doors with only three or four button presses? Between combat encounters, Delphi Station felt like it was giving me a free pass. Hopefully, Sketchbook represents Pragmata at its least complex.
Fly Me to the Moon…
I want this game to be great. The first new IP out of Capcom in almost 15 years deserves to be great, and I am begging to be proven wrong by the final product. However, I can’t ignore the myriad issues that arose throughout a twenty-minute demo ranging from environmental design to difficulty balancing to traversal. There’s something gnawing at me that says I’ve already seen everything positive that the game has to offer.
I’m still worried about Pragmata. But I hope I’m wrong.
Pragmata releases on April 24, 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. Stay tuned to Smash Jump for our full review.
