Which is the best version of Pragmata? PS5 Pro, Switch 2, Xbox Series X, PS5, Steam Deck, and PC tested

Pragmata launches this week for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam). Ahead of its launch, I've been playing it on my Nintendo Switch 2, PS5 Pro, PS5, Xbox Series X, Steam Decks, and ROG Ally to see how the final game scales across hardware, compare load times, features, and more. The aim of this article is to help you decide which version of Pragmata is best for you and also showcase how Capcom can deliver the complete experience across different consoles and PC handhelds. 

Pragmata feature differences across platforms

Before getting to the visual and performance differences, Pragmata has some notable feature differences depending on the platform and version. 

Pragmata PS5 features: Pragmata for PS5 has full DualSense support with haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and even the lightbar and speaker. All of those are used well during gameplay. Pragmata for PS5 also has gyro support and it works great.
Pragmata Xbox features: Pragmata on Xbox supports Quick Resume, but it lacks Play Anywhere support. 
Pragmata Switch 2 features: Pragmata on Switch 2 can be played portably or docked, supports HD rumble, has good gyro controls, and it also has exclusive amiibo support.
Pragmata PC Steam features: Pragmata for Steam is playable on Steam Deck and it also has many notable visual upgrades over the console versions, but it also has keyboard and mouse support and this input method works surprisingly well. 

Pragmata visuals and performance differences across PS5 Pro, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox, and PC

Pragmata for PS5 and Xbox Series X features two different graphics modes. One prioritizes quality/visuals with a 60fps target while the other aims for a locked 60fps experience with some visual cutbacks. On PS5 Pro, Pragmata has one default mode which features a big upgrade over the base consoles in every way, but also a high frame rate mode that uncaps the frame rate.

The PS5 and Xbox prioritize resolution mode feels better suited to VRR since it rarely is a stable 60fps while it does hold that very well in my testing in the performance or frame rate mode on the base consoles. The prioritize resolution mode even early on drops into the mid 50s.

On Nintendo Switch 2, Pragmata doesn't feature any visual modes, but the console itself lets you play docked and handheld. Both of these modes have some visual and performance differences, though both target 60fps. 

Before getting to the PC version, I think Pragmata offers a bigger upgrade from base PS5 to PS5 Pro than even Resident Evil Requiem AKA RE9, but mostly because of the overall image quality. While RE9 delivered a big upgrade on PS5 Pro, I didn't think the base experience was bad aside from some aspects. Pragmata has a lot of shimmering and aliasing that are both very noticeable in some scenes. The PS5 Pro, with the new PSSR upscaling option, cleans up the image a lot delivering a stable image that has crisp image quality and great filtering across the board for textures. 

Note: For the comparisons above, I used the prioritize resolution mode on PS5/XSX and the default mode on PS5 Pro (high frame rate turned off). I also captured all platforms with my 4K capture device and cropped portions to show differences in image quality, shadows (when possible), texture filtering, and post-processing. I used the enhanced PSSR as well for PS5 Pro using the system settings.

The PS5, Xbox Series X, and PS5 Pro versions all feature the hair strand system for Diana, and it definitely feels like it was meant to be a showcase visual feature for the game given how much her hair is showcased in cut-scenes, during jumping, and other animations. This is one of the reasons the Switch 2 version understandably removing this feature is disappointing. 

Speaking of the Switch 2, I think it delivers a solid visual experience docked all things considered, but with the caveat that performance is not as stable as I had hoped. If VRR was available docked, I think a lot of my complaints would go away since Pragmata's Switch 2 port doesn't feel majorly downgraded outside the hair and reflections looking blocky or not having ray tracing when it does on PS5 and Xbox in the same area. The compromises are all expected, and an optional 40fps cap would've gone a long way. 

The Switch 2 version handheld is disappointing though. It sees even more downgrades to image quality, but runs noticeably worse. As I said in my Switch 2-focused feature on Pragmata, handheld mode never feels good. It is hard to recommend Pragmata for portable play on Switch 2 right now. It needs a 30fps frame rate cap option or much better optimization for a 40fps cap. Leaving it uncapped with a 60fps target is pointless when it runs like it does right now.

On the PC handheld side, you can only use FSR 1 or 3, which are both lacking compared to DLSS in stability, but the ability to play at a stable frame rate with tweaking elevates both of them above the Switch 2 version right now alongside the ROG Ally being able to deliver a better image as well.

Pragmata load times across PS5 Pro, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox, Steam Deck, and PC

For testing load times, I installed Pragmata on the internal storage on all my devices. This covers PS5 Pro, PS5, Xbox Series X, ROG Ally, Steam Deck OLED, and Steam Deck LCD. My LCD Steam Deck is on the preview channel while my OLED Steam Deck is on the current public release for SteamOS. I measured the time taken to reach the title screen from the console or platform's dashboard and also the time taken to load an early game save on all devices. The results below are in seconds.

As you can see, the PS5 versions load the fastest across the board followed by the Xbox Series X version. It is good to see the Switch 2 version not take too much longer, but I am surprised at how slow the Steam version is across all my handhelds. I also want to note that I ran into DRM-related issues just by testing one other Proton version on Steam Deck. Usually this happens if I swap across multiple versions, but I had it trigger just after one change in Pragmata. I hope it isn't how the release build will be because it will be very annoying to deal with for Steam Deck owners. DRM issue aside, I hope to see the launch time and save load time improve on PC handhelds.

Which version of Pragmata is the best?

While I don't have a high-end PC to test the path tracing and other Nvidia DLSS features, the PS5 Pro is easily the best version on the console side. You might think this is obvious, but I want to stress that after testing dozens of games on base PS5 and PS5 Pro, Pragmata's upgrade in image quality, stability, and performance is a lot larger than I expected. 

On the portable side, the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme delivers the best portable experience out of the devices I tested on since it has better image quality and more stable performance than Steam Deck. The Steam Deck delivers a more stable 40fps experience than the unstable performance on Switch 2 when played portably, but the Switch 2 version's image quality has the edge thanks to DLSS. If Capcom can add optional frame rate caps, I would play the Switch 2 version above both Steam Deck and ROG Ally thanks to proper gyro support and HD rumble. 

Which version of Pragmata should you buy today?

Everyone has their own priorities for what they want, so I'm going to list the advantages and disadvantages of every single version of Pragmata as a conclusion to this feature below:

Pragmata on Switch 2: The Switch 2 version is the only console release that lets you play portably or docked, but the handheld experience right now is lacking. If you value gyro as much as I do, this will be the one to get above the Xbox console version for sure. I hope Capcom patches in an optional frame rate cap, but I don't expect it. If you played the demo and got used to the performance, it does not get too much worse than that, but it does drop a lot in specific locations. I still think it is a solid docked experience with caveats, but not worth getting for handheld play right now.
Pragmata on Steam: Not only does this have PC-exclusive features like ultrawide support and path tracing above the console ray tracing capabilities, but it also can run at much higher frame rates. The DRM is annoying though. It ended up bothering me more for this than other recent Capcom titles on Steam.
Pragmata on Xbox: While it is unfortunate that there is no Play Anywhere support, the Xbox version on Series X is a good way to play Pragmata. Quick Resume also helps get around the longer load times than PS5.
Pragmata on PS5: The PS5 version is the best console version of Pragmata by far, and that is before getting into the big upgrades if you have a PS5 Pro delivering improved image quality, stability, and generally a super-polished experience. If you want to play on your TV, care about trophy support, the many DualSense features, and don't care about portable play (unless you stream to a PlayStation Portal or phone), this is the version to get. It is also the fastest version when it comes to load times.

Hopefully this helped you decide where you should get Pragmata, one of the year's best games, and another amazing Capcom release. If you haven't done so, you can read our full review of Pragmata here, my Switch 2-focused feature here, and our article covering all the DLC here.

Pragmata is now available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam).