PRAGMATA

I was intrigued by Pragmata the day it was revealed years ago. At one point I'd resolved that it was probably another Deep Down; quietly canceled and done with. I was pleasantly surprised when they showed it in earnest, not long before release. Pragmata is a breath of fresh air. Instead of going for the low-hanging fruit of making Hugh an emotionally damaged grumpy protagonist that Diana has to "get through to", (nothing wrong with that. It's just been done enough for now IMO) they went with a more warm and lighthearted approach. Hugh is a caring, good guy, and his past life was a lovely childhood. Diana is of course an android, but she has human child personality in spades while retaining just enough synthetic sensibilities that you're reminded she's not human. Despite that fact, you still come to love her as though she really is a human child. The writers and actor walked that line with masterful skill. Technical: My machine is a 4080 Super/Ryzen 7 7800X3D with 32GB DDR5 RAM. I ran the game at 4k with all settings maxed out, Ray Reconstruction and Pathtracing on with Frame Generation and achieved framerates in thee 60s-70s. It is a heavy, demanding game, but IMO it's worth it for the sub 100fps. The game is beautiful, the reflections, lighting, shadows, everything is just amazing. While there is a little visual noise in the form of mild fuzziness you can see, it's not so overwhelming that it pulled me out. I have somewhat of an eye for it but I don't find it a big deal. If these types of things don't bother you much, you'll be fine. Exploration is fun and just enough without being too much. Loot for exploration and challenge areas always felt rewarding. There are training missions that will keep you busy trying to perfect them to receive all the rewards. I personally dislike timed challenges of any kind, as it just brings the fun to a halt, but everyone is different. Combat is weighty and responsive. Hugh in his suit feels the correct amount of heftiness as well as responsiveness. I felt no in put lag (I think studios have started to get a handle with frame gen for single player games) and everything felt good. The story is a somewhat lighthearted one that grows deeper and heavier as you progress. You really start to root for Hugh and Diana. They are so likeable and their relationship is truly refreshing and needed IMO in a world of so many dark, depressing, brooding stories. It was balanced very well here. Pragmata is an excellent game and has a well earned spot of permanence in my library. Highly recommended. Thank you for reading.