{"id":278272,"date":"2025-06-12T16:00:31","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T16:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/12\/pragmata-brings-a-thrillingly-new-idea-to-third-person-shooters\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:08:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:08:07","slug":"pragmata-brings-a-thrillingly-new-idea-to-third-person-shooters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/12\/pragmata-brings-a-thrillingly-new-idea-to-third-person-shooters\/","title":{"rendered":"Pragmata Brings a Thrillingly New Idea to Third-Person Shooters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The third-person shooter genre is a rich lineage, with developers building on the \u201cright\u201d way to combine gunplay, exploration, and puzzle-solving over the course of decades. We\u2019ve seen these games adopt slow motion, cover mechanics, and much more, often iterating on their peers to evolve over time. But that also means it\u2019s very rare to see a new game in the genre pop up with an idea I\u2019ve simply\u2026 never seen before. Enter, <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.xbox.com\/en-US\/games\/pragmata\">Pragmata<\/a><\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Playable for the first time at Summer Game Fest 2025, Capcom\u2019s long-awaited game finally showed off what it\u2019s all about \u2013 and at the heart of it all was a gameplay mechanic that feels legitimately <em>new<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;uploadedSrc&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/PRAGMATA_SS-13-4-6f13707ef6a205e45746.jpg&quot;,&quot;figureClassNames&quot;:&quot;wp-block-image size-fullsize&quot;,&quot;figureStyles&quot;:null,&quot;imgClassNames&quot;:&quot;wp-image-209816&quot;,&quot;imgStyles&quot;:null,&quot;targetWidth&quot;:1920,&quot;targetHeight&quot;:1080,&quot;scaleAttr&quot;:false,&quot;ariaLabel&quot;:&quot;Enlarge image: Pragmata Screenshot&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Pragmata Screenshot&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" class=\"wp-block-image size-fullsize wp-lightbox-container\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"1080\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/PRAGMATA_SS-13-4-6f13707ef6a205e45746-1900x1080.jpg\" alt=\"Pragmata Screenshot\" class=\"wp-image-209816\"\/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Enlarge image: Pragmata Screenshot\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"context.imageButtonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"context.imageButtonTop\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<p><em>Pragmata<\/em> sees you controlling two characters at once: Hugh is an astronaut, stranded in a Lunar base packed with seemingly malfunctioning automata; Diana is a mysterious android in the form of a child, who saves Hugh and promptly piggybacks on his armored spacesuit, offering her ability to hack elements of the base \u2013 including those marauding robots.<\/p>\n<p>Combined, they become an incredibly effective unit \u2013 Hugh does the shooting, Diana does the hacking, and both are combined as you play. Even the weakest enemies are covered in hard-to-penetrate armor, but after a quick hack, that armor can be opened up and weakpoints exposed. In practice, it means that every single enemy in <em>Pragmata<\/em> isn\u2019t just a target \u2013 they\u2019re a puzzle.<\/p>\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;uploadedSrc&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/PRAGMATA_SS-19-1-57d9e802d1d3b1dab076.jpg&quot;,&quot;figureClassNames&quot;:&quot;wp-block-image size-fullsize&quot;,&quot;figureStyles&quot;:null,&quot;imgClassNames&quot;:&quot;wp-image-209815&quot;,&quot;imgStyles&quot;:null,&quot;targetWidth&quot;:1920,&quot;targetHeight&quot;:1080,&quot;scaleAttr&quot;:false,&quot;ariaLabel&quot;:&quot;Enlarge image: Pragmata Screenshot&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Pragmata Screenshot&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" class=\"wp-block-image size-fullsize wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"1080\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/PRAGMATA_SS-19-1-57d9e802d1d3b1dab076-1900x1080.jpg\" alt=\"Pragmata Screenshot\" class=\"wp-image-209815\"\/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Enlarge image: Pragmata Screenshot\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"context.imageButtonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"context.imageButtonTop\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<p>Hold down the left trigger to aim your gun and hover the crosshair over an enemy, and a holographic grid puzzle appears on the right of the screen \u2013 your job is to guide your cursor across the grid (using the face buttons as directional inputs) to a target square, at which point Diana will complete the hack. Along the way there might be blockers, or extra nodes that can be toggled to expose the weakpoints for longer, meaning you\u2019ll need to be strategic <em>and <\/em>efficient.<\/p>\n<p>The key here is in how well-balanced this system is \u2013 the game doesn\u2019t stop or slow down as you\u2019re hacking, turning each puzzle into a true part of the action loop, rather than a distraction from it. But, equally, no hacking puzzle felt overly complex, meaning I was never frustrated by having to complete it while <em>also<\/em> avoiding enemy attacks.<\/p>\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;uploadedSrc&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/PRAGMATA_SS-12-58412a2c9fe16397796d.jpg&quot;,&quot;figureClassNames&quot;:&quot;wp-block-image size-fullsize&quot;,&quot;figureStyles&quot;:null,&quot;imgClassNames&quot;:&quot;wp-image-209819&quot;,&quot;imgStyles&quot;:null,&quot;targetWidth&quot;:1920,&quot;targetHeight&quot;:1080,&quot;scaleAttr&quot;:false,&quot;ariaLabel&quot;:&quot;Enlarge image: Pragmata Screenshot&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Pragmata Screenshot&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" class=\"wp-block-image size-fullsize wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"1080\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/PRAGMATA_SS-12-58412a2c9fe16397796d-1900x1080.jpg\" alt=\"Pragmata Screenshot\" class=\"wp-image-209819\"\/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Enlarge image: Pragmata Screenshot\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"context.imageButtonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"context.imageButtonTop\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<p>Taken altogether, and it\u2019s a genuinely fresh way to approach combat, and one that has huge potential for the game going forward. My hands-on took place in the early parts of the game, meaning enemy hacks were fairly basic, but even here there were nuances. Levels are tightly packed knots of corridors and wider arenas, with loot and lore to find \u2013 and some of that loot ties directly into your hacking.<\/p>\n<p>One consumable you\u2019ll find is Decode \u2013 for each pickup you have, the next hack you perform will add an extra square to the grid that makes your hack more effective if you pass over it, but gets used up when you do. It starts making you ask the question: do I <em>need<\/em> to make this enemy easier to defeat, or should I save this for later?<\/p>\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;uploadedSrc&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/PRAGMATA_SS-11-e1c9efc42237f15a4687.jpg&quot;,&quot;figureClassNames&quot;:&quot;wp-block-image size-fullsize&quot;,&quot;figureStyles&quot;:null,&quot;imgClassNames&quot;:&quot;wp-image-209820&quot;,&quot;imgStyles&quot;:null,&quot;targetWidth&quot;:1920,&quot;targetHeight&quot;:1080,&quot;scaleAttr&quot;:false,&quot;ariaLabel&quot;:&quot;Enlarge image: Pragmata Screenshot&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Pragmata Screenshot&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" class=\"wp-block-image size-fullsize wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"1080\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/PRAGMATA_SS-11-e1c9efc42237f15a4687-1900x1080.jpg\" alt=\"Pragmata Screenshot\" class=\"wp-image-209820\"\/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Enlarge image: Pragmata Screenshot\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"context.imageButtonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"context.imageButtonTop\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<p>As you\u2019d hope, the traditional gunplay <em>around<\/em> all of this innovation is well thought-out, too. While I only had the opportunity to test out a few weapons in my time with the game, there\u2019s more than enough to pique curiosity here. For a start, after the expected pistol and shotgun variants, the third weapon I acquired was a Stasis Net, a gun that fires out an area-of-effect projectile that slows and shocks anything inside \u2013 perfect for firing off into a crowd before beginning my hacks, before switching to\u00a0 apunchier weapon to finish them off. There also appears to be a level system for guns, presumably letting you swap in better versions of the same weapons as you find them.<\/p>\n<p>Hugh is also a more mobile character than you might expect from his cumbersome-looking armor \u2013 he\u2019s equipped with thrusters that let him dash, boost into the air, and hover. One enemy type will smash the ground to send out a shockwave, which necessitates you thinking vertically as well as laterally \u2013 a kind of thinking more familiar from platformers than shooters.<\/p>\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;uploadedSrc&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/PRAGMATA_SS-24-52a7a07d7fb597192ff8.jpg&quot;,&quot;figureClassNames&quot;:&quot;wp-block-image size-fullsize&quot;,&quot;figureStyles&quot;:null,&quot;imgClassNames&quot;:&quot;wp-image-209821&quot;,&quot;imgStyles&quot;:null,&quot;targetWidth&quot;:1920,&quot;targetHeight&quot;:1080,&quot;scaleAttr&quot;:false,&quot;ariaLabel&quot;:&quot;Enlarge image: Pragmata Screenshot&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Pragmata Screenshot&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" class=\"wp-block-image size-fullsize wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1900\" height=\"1080\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/PRAGMATA_SS-24-52a7a07d7fb597192ff8-1900x1080.jpg\" alt=\"Pragmata Screenshot\" class=\"wp-image-209821\"\/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Enlarge image: Pragmata Screenshot\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"context.imageButtonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"context.imageButtonTop\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<p>And at the heart of it all, Hugh and Diana already feel like a genuinely interesting dynamic to follow across a whole game \u2013 even aside from the mystery surrounding them, there\u2019s a humor and warmth to their dialogue that lends <em>Pragmata<\/em> a lightness of touch at odds with its clinical, industrial world.<\/p>\n<p>As a full package, this was the perfect way to reintroduce a game first announced as far back as 2020 \u2013 <em>Pragmata<\/em> has moved from being a curiosity, firmly into my most-anticipated list.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.xbox.com\/en-US\/games\/pragmata\"><strong>Pragmata<\/strong><\/a> comes to Xbox Series X|S in 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.xbox.com\/en-us\/2025\/06\/12\/pragmata-hands-on-preview\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] The third-person shooter genre is a rich lineage, with developers building on the \u201cright\u201d way to combine gunplay, exploration, and puzzle-solving over the course<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":278273,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278272"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}