Pragmata is one of my favorite games of the year so far, and a big part of that is down to the relationship between protagonists Hugh and Diana, a deeply normal in-over-his-head guy and a wide-eyed, enthusiastic young android. Banter that could so easily come off as infantilizing, and a story that could easily come across cloying as Hugh instinctively protects Diana, are instead handled with a deft touch.
This hasn't stopped Pragmata from being lumped into the "sad dad" canon alongside The Last of Us and God of War in some reviews; I agree more with Kotaku's Kenneth Shephard, who wrote "Pragmata reads like it was made by people who think that fatherhood rules, actually, and that getting to provide a young mind with insight, fun, and dreams is a meaningful thing that enriches a person’s life."
When I think about Pragmata's dad-ness, I'm also thinking about the people behind the game, given that the sad dad narrative has ...
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