I have never really been a fan of Death Stranding. I respect what it tried to do, I understand why people love it, but I was never patient enough to keep walking from one end of the map to the other. What did stay with me, though, was BB. That tiny, fragile presence you carry around, the one thing in that entire harsh world that feels human. On the other hand, Dead Space is exactly my kind of game. Tight corridors, constant tension, and that feeling that something is always watching you from the shadows. It is unsettling, but also incredibly fun to play.
Noe for the longest time, I have wanted a game that sits somewhere between these two. Something that feels as emotionally grounded as Death Stranding, but plays with the intensity and confidence of Dead Space. And somehow, Pragmata gets very close to that idea.
After spending roughly 10 hours in this world and watching the credits roll, one thing became very clear to me. I would absolutely go back and do it all over again. Not necessarily for the story or the characters, but for the way the game feels when everything clicks.
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Now, before we get into the experience of the game, here is the system I tested the game on.
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090
RAM: 32GB LPDDR5
It is also worth mentioning that my rig is custom water-cooled. Moreover, I always turn my AC on and set the temperature to 18 degrees while playing. With that, let’s get to the game.
Within the first few minutes, Pragmata drops you into a lonely space station where silence does most of the storytelling. The corridors are long, metallic, and just eerie enough to keep you on edge. Every turn feels like a setup for something unexpected. And then, just as you start settling into that isolation, the game shifts tone. You are no longer alone. You are suddenly responsible for someone else which is not quite human, not entirely machine, but vulnerable enough to change how you move through this world.
When I first launched the game, I was expecting a straightforward sci-fi shooter. Something fast, something loud, something predictable. What I got instead was a game that constantly pulls in two different directions. One side is tense, lonely, and quietly unsettling. The other is softer, more emotional, even if it does not always fully land.
Now, the moment you begin a new game, the first thing that you will notice is, of course, the graphics and the setting. And Pragmata takes you by surprise at first because of how clean, yet chaotic, everything looks. In other words, it feels like planned chaos. And that’s always welcome, right?
There are metallic walls of the space station, reflective surfaces, and long corridors that seem to stretch forever. It is the kind of setting that makes you feel alone even before the game tells you that you really are.
Talking of graphics, the game is impressive, but not anything you haven’t seen before. The lighting is excellent, reflections are handled well, and there is a clear focus on realism. But since the setting leans heavily into that sterile sci-fi aesthetic, you start noticing how similar everything feels after spending some time in the game.
This is where Pragmata proves its worth. The core gameplay is built around not just shooting enemies, but hacking them first with the help of the android child. And this one twist changes everything.
The first time I aimed at an enemy and realised I had to solve a grid-based hacking puzzle while also dodging attacks, I took a long breath for a second. It simply felt like too much was happening at once, and you definitely take some time getting used to fighting this way.
And in all honesty, my first boss fight was, well, messy. I missed shots, got hit more than I should have, and for a brief moment, wondered if this mechanic would become annoying over time.
But as I progressed more in the game, things got easier. I started scanning enemies faster, planning my hacking path instinctively, and timing those shots more confidently. Suddenly, what felt overwhelming at first became engaging. Perhaps this is why I spent over 3 hours at one sitting when I initially planned on trying out the game for roughly 1 hour.
Moreover, the gunplay supports this combat style well. Weapons feel weighty, each shot carries impact, and there is a satisfying feedback loop when you hit exposed weak points. Then there are weapon cooldowns that add a small layer of strategy, forcing you to switch things up instead of relying on a single gun.
On my main rig, the game ran at around 50-60 FPS with max graphics settings and path tracing enabled. And considering the fact that I was playing this on a custom-cooled PC equipped with a 5090 GPU, it is evident that the game is quite demanding.
Now, the moment I switched on DLSS 2x, it jumped to 120 FPS, and DLSS 4x pushed it well past 200 FPS. There were also no sudden frame drops, no weird stutters during combat, and nothing that pulled me out of the experience.
Pragmata doesn’t try to slowly pull you into its world. It throws you straight into action. In a few minutes, the game pairs you with a mysterious android child and expects you to figure things out while everything around you is already falling apart. And honestly, that mix of chaos and companionship is what makes it all so interesting.
You play as Hugh, a fairly standard action protagonist, and you are accompanied by Diana, an android child who handles the hacking side of things. Their relationship is at the centre of the story, and it is very obviously aiming for that emotional, protective dynamic. In fact, there are ample reels on Instagram calling this game a ‘father simulator.’
And you can see the inspiration. It feels similar to what Death Stranding did with Sam and Lou (the Bridge Baby). And it comes close to establishing that emotional connection, but it still feels like a lot more could have been done.
Hugh feels like someone you have seen before. He is tough, quiet and capable, but not as memorable as you would want him to be. Diana is more interesting because she is directly tied to gameplay, but her emotional arc feels a bit rushed. The bond between them develops quickly, almost too quickly, without enough moments to make it feel earned.
Talking about the story, it starts slow, picks up pace and gets super interesting towards the climax. Yet, there seems to be a lot of potential that wasn’t fully taken advantage of. There is a rogue AI, a failed lunar colony, massive 3D printing systems gone out of control and a lot more that could have been explained in depth. But much of it stays in the background.
You find pieces of it in logs and optional content, which is fine, but it often feels like the most interesting parts of the story are happening outside the main narrative. That disconnect makes it harder to stay invested.
In simple words, the story of the game starts on a promising note, feels a bit fragmented in the middle, and reaches its full peak towards the climax.
After investing some time in the game, you start noticing a pattern. There are tight corridors, you enter an open area, fight a wave of enemies, explore a bit, and then repeat. It is a structure that works, and to be fair, it keeps the pacing steady.
But it is also predictable.
The environments do not change enough to keep things visually exciting, and the game does not do much to surprise you with its level design early on. You always know what is coming next, even if the combat itself remains engaging.
That said, boss fights break this pattern in a good way.
They are larger in scale, more intense, and make better use of the hacking mechanics. These encounters feel like proper highlights, the kind that make you sit up and pay attention.
There is also a decent amount of side content through simulation missions and collectables. If you enjoy the gameplay loop, there is enough here to keep you engaged beyond the main story.
Pragmata is not aiming to redefine storytelling or deliver a deeply emotional journey. What it does instead is focus on gameplay and combat, which are its biggest strengths.
If you enjoy action-heavy games with Sci-Fi settings, this is definitely worth your time. But if you are looking for a fully story-driven experience that stays with you long after you put the controller down, this might not be it.
That said, this is a demanding game which is best experienced on an Nvidia 50-series or even a 40-series GPU (if you are willing to tone down the settings a bit). So, if you are running an older GPU, you might not get to experience the game in all its glory.
On the pricing side, the game’s price starts from Rs 3,799 on Steam and the PS5. Now in a market like India, this pricing is considered premium. For players where budget isn’t an issue, the pricing might seem fair. But for those who have budget constraints, waiting for a sale or a discount might be a sensible choice.
Rating: 8/10
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