Few studios in the industry are operating with the level of consistency and technical confidence that Capcom has demonstrated over the past several years.

From expansive refinements across long-running franchises like Resident Evil Requiem and the upcoming Onimusha: Way of the Sword, to consistent evolution and celebration of mascots like Mega Man or Monster Hunter, all the way to bold new IP, the company has steadily built a strong foundational reputation.

Over the last week, I played through Pragmata on PS5 Pro, and it took me around 10 hours to finish the game, along with a handful of side objectives and challenges. To get a full 100% completion playthrough, it would likely take at least double the amount of time.

The dual character gameplay loop is a really unique selling point that gives the game a distinct identity and is extremely fun and dynamic in practice. Instead of just being a third-person shooter, it's also a fast-paced puzzle game at the same time due to how prevalent the hacking system is for both combat and exploration.

Overall, Capcom has done a phenomenal job of injecting a ton of personality into Diana, and seeing how her relationship with Hugh evolves over the course of the game is ultimately the main selling point. 

The reviews speak for themselves, and I agree wholeheartedly. After 87 critic review scores, it's sitting at a strong 86 average on Metacritic.

Pragmata will very likely end up in my personal top 3 favorite games of the year.

Going beyond the game itself, Pragmata serves as a compelling case study in how Capcom continues to evolve its internal tools like RE Engine alongside its games.

Rather than simply showcasing visual fidelity, Pragmata demonstrates how RE Engine is maturing into a fully scalable, systems-driven platform capable of supporting increasingly complex gameplay, rendering techniques, and artistic direction across genres and platforms.

One of the defining aspects of RE Engine is that it is not treated as a static foundation. Internally, Capcom seems to operate more like a co-development model, where game teams and engine engineers collaborate closely, often building new features in response to specific project needs.

In the case of Pragmata, that collaboration led to tangible upgrades. The development team required more advanced character simulation, particularly for Diana’s long, physically reactive hair. This pushed RE Engine’s strand-based hair system beyond its previous limitations, prompting new solutions that can now be reused across future titles.

From a rendering standpoint, Pragmata represents one of the most visually ambitious uses of RE Engine to date. And to learn more about the game's visual techniques over on PC, we spoke a bit with an NVIDIA representative about how it leverages path tracing features versus standard ray tracing in Pragmata specifically:

One of RE Engine’s most consistent advantages is its ability to scale across a wide range of hardware, and Pragmata continues that trend.

At a time when most developers and publishers seem mostly focused on sequels, spin-offs, prequels, and live service games, Capcom is like a breath of fresh air. Pragmata is a brand-new single-player only game set in an all-new original universe that doesn't leverage an existing IP at all. And it's fantastic.

We should have a more in-depth interview with developers from Capcom all about Pragmata going up as soon as we're able.

Also, make sure to subscribe to our Newsletter, join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.

And, if you're a fan of what we do here at 80 Level? Then make sure to set us as a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our content in your feed.