Capcom has announced the postponement of Pragmata, a very unusual game that was first unveiled in 2020 and at the time was slated for a 2022 release. The release date was later changed to 2023, but another postponement was announced by a new trailer that gives the first glimpse of the gameplay.

At least it was announced in quite a style. In the trailer, a character called Space Dad is fighting a robot attack while a little girl, Daisy, doodles on a piece of paper oblivious to the danger. After the robot is vanquished, he grabs Daisy and puts her on his back. When she asks, "Are we there yet?" she asks, and Space Dad says, "Sorry. We still have a ways to go."

The note Daisy was scribbling falls to the ground. The edges are filled with childish scribbles, and the year 2022 is erased before an arrow pointing to a question mark, with an arrow pointing to the year 2023 scribbled even more wildly. Below that, "VERY SONG :(" is written next to a picture of a crying face.

In other words... If you're going to announce a delay, why not announce it while melting hearts? I hereby declare that if any robot tries to come within a mile of Daisy, I will rip the guts out of that worthless machine. Space Dad will not allow it.

Yes, this atmosphere is very much in keeping with what I would call the dad genre. It's like "The Last of Us" or "God of War," a game in which you're the protector and traveling companion of a young child, but one that effortlessly stirs up emotions by repeatedly putting the child in harm's way.

The trailer concluded with a more prosaic note from the Pragmata development team:

"Dear anticipating fans, we are saddened that we have been forced to further delay the release of Pragmata. Our team is currently working hard to create the best game possible, but we need more time.

"We will continue to do our best to ensure that the final product is worthy of your patience. Thank you for your continued support."

A short snippet of gameplay footage shows the space dad fighting robots with Diana on his back, simultaneously jumping in and dodging, along with footage of some sort of superior mecha buddy (presumably another form of Diana), with Diana having some sort of space magic and ends with the reveal that she is obviously much more powerful than being a normal girl. In other words, she looks absolutely badass.

When Pragmata is released, it will be on PC. You can find out when that will be at ...... As promising as it looks, Capcom's reluctance to even say 2024 is worrisome. Hopefully the postponement is indefinite and not indefinite.