PRAGMATA STORY AND ENDING DISCUSSION, 1/2

PRAGMATA STORY AND ENDING DISCUSSION, 1/2 MAJOR STORY AND ENDING SPOILERS. If you haven't finished Pragmata, stop here. This is the part I kept out of my recommendation. I really enjoyed this game. The story made me emotional, and I still think it's one of the best games I've played in a while. I just didn't necessarily like the ending as much. I would have rather had a better result. By the end, Hugh gets Diana onto the shuttle and sends her to Earth without him. The dead filament has caught up with him. After the credits, Diana has reached Earth, and we see her looking back toward the Moon. That is a rough place to leave these two after spending the game together. Diana reaches the place she's been learning about, but Hugh isn't there beside her to experience it with her. The relationship is what gives that outcome its weight. Hugh and Diana depend on each other in the fights. Diana opens enemies up through hacking, and Hugh handles the shooting. Then the Shelter gives that relationship room outside of combat. Bringing back things for Diana, talking with her, and playing hide-and-seek give you time with her when nothing is trying to kill you. Those quieter parts matter. Earth becomes more than the direction of the escape route. It's somewhere Diana can imagine living. That gives the last stretch something personal to take away from them. You can understand what an ending is going for and still wish the characters had gotten a better outcome. That's where I am with this one. It made me emotional because the story was very good. That doesn't suddenly make the result my favorite part of the game. I also said the game gets a little repetitive further in, especially when you're trying to do the challenges. It ended up being longer than I originally expected. I still think there's a lot here worth playing, and I still highly recommend it. My issues with the ending and some of the later repetition don't erase how much I enjoyed the game overall. There is also an optional ending detail people bring up when this conversation happens. That needs its own explanation, because calling it a completely different ending gives people the wrong expectation.