Originally meant to release in 2022, Capcom’s futuristic game – featuring an astronaut and a mysterious blond-haired little girl – has just re-emerged from stasis; and it looks like it will be worth the wait
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hen Pragmata was first announced five years ago, it wasn’t clear exactly what Resident Evil publisher Capcom was making. The debut trailer featured eerie, futuristic imagery, an astronaut, and a blond-haired little girl, but there was nothing concrete or clear about its content. And when it missed its 2022 release window and was “paused indefinitely” in 2023, it wasn’t clear if Pragmata would ever come to be.
That all changed on 4 June, when a brand-new trailer was broadcast during a PlayStation showcase. The blond-haired little girl turns out to be a weaponised android, accompanying an astronaut called Hugh (of course) through space-station shootouts. I played about 20 minutes of the game during Summer Game Fest the following weekend. A lengthy, troubled development cycle is usually a bad omen, but my time with it was promising.
Pragmata begins with the aforementioned astronaut, Hugh Williams, unconscious and lying prone amid metallic detritus, his suit is blaring a repeat warning: “integrity compromised”. A child with long, unkept blond hair wearing an oversized blue jacket and nothing else (a bizarre choice, if I’m being honest) runs past Hugh and struggles to tip over a large case nearby. When she finally knocks it on its side, she opens it up to reveal a device that emits lunafilament nanoweave, a material that absorbs and copies any information it is exposed to. She uses it to repair his suit, which in turn heals his wounds, and he’s on his feet (though confused) in no time.
