Pragmata’s love of fatherhood rules, indeed

In my review, I called out Capcom’s new puzzle shooter pragmatic a “Dad game for dads who love their kids”. In the time since this review was published, however, I’ve seen some discuss the game as if its central relationship places it squarely in the lineage of certain “father” games from 10 and 15 years ago, rather than responding to it. The New York Times‘ Review, for example, calls it a “sad dad” game, comparing it to The last of us i BioShock Infinitebut I fundamentally disagree with this reading. On the contrary, I think pragmatic it reads like it was made by people who think that parenthood actually rules, and that managing to provide a young mind with understanding, fun, and dreams is a meaningful thing that enriches a person’s life rather than an obligatory burden. It’s a point of view that comes across in a number of ways, most notably the fact that dad stuff becomes a core part of what you do in the game, between shooting and hacking your way around a space station. Instead of acting reluctant to take on the role as many of his video game forebears have done, Hugh embraces it.

Compared to most parenting games, Hugh and Diana’s relationship is pretty much drama-free. There’s never a moment where Diana runs off alone, believing she can survive without Hugh’s protection, and the space marine never treats the infant android as a nuisance or a burden. It’s actually kind of natural. Diana is boisterous and curious, and instead of moaning as she talks about her latest hyper-fixation, he smiles, nods and asks her to chat some more. Fostering that curiosity and excitement is literally a game mechanic pragmaticand while you might roll your eyes at how game-like it feels, I found it very endearing.

the pragmat boy has done lethal damage to my heart pic.twitter.com/c1QwVBVPUe

— Mako Fukasame 🦈👩‍🏫 | AU version (@MakoFukasame) April 17, 2026

One of the main collectibles of pragmatic they are “Read Earth Memories”. These are holograms that form into tangible items at Hugh and Diana’s base. There are several sets, each building a “room” for Diana to play with accessories like crayons to color or a slide to ride. Diana has always lived on a space station and has no memories of playing with children’s toys, so Hugh is giving her something she’s never experienced, and she’s looking forward to a future where he can give her more of these moments after they escape to Earth.

Almost every time you return to the couple’s hideout, Diana is ready to give Hugh an earful about whatever’s on his mind, whether it’s what they’ve been up to recently or a question she has about life on Earth. There’s a naivety to her because she’s basically been raised in a box and doesn’t really understand that bad things happen and that someone can betray her or hurt those she cares about. Diana is an innocent untainted by cynicism and teenage angst, and pragmatic he makes protecting this attitude of joy one of his main guidelines. It’s not enough to get Diana out alive; That fighting spirit is worth defending, whether it’s shooting a robot with bullets or pasting the drawings it brings you after playing parts of the game on a wall to make you feel like the next Pablo Picasso.

Many parent games make their children either relatively passive observers of the player’s actions or magical support characters who throw something useful into a deck at random times or when you specifically ask them to. pragmatic it may not go into the same kind of complicated nuances that games do The last of us i god of war do, but I appreciate that Hugh wants to spare Diana the kind of angst and suffering experienced by characters like Ellie and Atreus, retaining her childish whimsy for as long as possible. Hugh is looking for father of the year. He is, at least, the best father in the Moon.