IT General

TL;DR: Live stream Arsenal vs. Leverkusen in the Champions League for free on Virgin Media Player. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

A number of Champions League matchups are hanging in the balance, including Arsenal vs. Leverkusen. The score is tied 1-1 after the first leg. The expectation for a lot of fans is that Arsenal will prove too strong for Leverkusen at the Emirates Stadium, but they'll need to deliver a strong performance to overcome Kasper Hjulmand's side.

Leverkusen are unbeaten in six games, including fixtures against Arsenal and Bayern Munich. They're climbing up the Bundesliga standings and will come into this clash with confidence. It could be a tricky night for Arteta's side.

If you want to watch Arsenal vs. Leverkusen in the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Arsenal vs. Leverkusen?

Arsenal vs. Leverkusen in the Champions League kicks off at 8 p.m. GMT on March 17. This fixture takes place at the Emirates Stadium.

How to watch Arsenal vs. Leverkusen for free

Arsenal vs. Leverkusen is available to live stream for free on Virgin Media Player.

Virgin Media Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock Virgin Media Player to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Arsenal vs. Leverkusen for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Ireland

4. Visit Virgin Media Player

5. Watch Arsenal vs. Leverkusen for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Arsenal vs. Leverkusen without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select Champions League fixtures before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Virgin Media Player?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Virgin Media Player, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Ireland

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Watch Arsenal vs. Leverkusen in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Manchester City vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League for free on Prime Video. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Champions League is slowly creeping towards its latter stages, and Real Madrid already have one foot in the next round. They confidently beat Pep Guardiola's Manchester City 3-0 in the first leg of their matchup, and now they take that advantage to the Etihad Stadium. Manchester City will need to produce something special to overturn that healthy lead.

Forget Mbappe and Vinícius Júnior. It was Federico Valverde who starred in that first-leg contest. Can he lead his side to another victory this week? You can follow all the action from this all-important clash without spending anything.

If you want to watch Manchester City vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Manchester City vs. Real Madrid?

Manchester City vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League kicks off at 8 p.m. GMT on March 17. This fixture takes place at the Etihad Stadium.

How to watch Manchester City vs. Real Madrid for free

Manchester City vs. Real Madrid is available to live stream for free on Prime Video (30-day free trial).

This free stream is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone from around the world can unlock with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock Prime Video to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Manchester City vs. Real Madrid for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit Prime Video

5. Watch Manchester City vs. Real Madrid for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Manchester City vs. Real Madrid without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select Champions League fixtures before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Prime Video?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Prime Video, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Watch Manchester City vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.

SXSW isn’t just about movies or music. The annual Austin festival has also become a hub for inventors and entrepreneurs who use technology in exciting new ways.

So while my colleagues in the entertainment section score interviews with Dropout TV stars and hit the I Love Boosters red carpet, I went looking for the latest word in tech. Here's what I learned while attending panels on robots, playing next-gen VR games, interviewing AI experts — plus eating a dangerous amount of tacos to power me through it all.

SEE ALSO: 17 SXSW movies you need to know about right now AI Doom is out. AI Apocaloptimism is in.

If it feels like they’re adding AI to everything, it’s because they’re adding AI to everything. It seemed like every other booth and event at SXSW was about some new way to integrate AI into ... whatever doesn't have it yet. It's a gold rush, still loves a bubble until it pops.

SXSW offered panels about runaway AI, job loss, environmental crisis, cognitive decline, and everything else you need for your full-blown panic attack before heading to the IBM AI Sports Club for a consoling round of drinks with other apparently obsolete humans.

But between the AI doomers and the AI goldrush crowd, a middle path is emerging: AI Apocaloptimism. 

The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is one buzzy new documentary at SXSW. Mashable hosted a panel about the movie with its producer, Daniel Kwan ( one half of the "Daniels" duo that directed 2023 Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All At Once).

An Apocaloptimist, according to Kwan's movie, is someone whose eyes are wide open to the perils of AI, but also to the promises. The AI Doc is also a call to action for viewers to support responsible AI development and regulation. You can catch it in theaters from March 27.

Bleeding-edge tech on display at XR Exhibition

As in years past, SXSW hosted an XR Exhibition, where artists, pranksters, and game developers debuted installations on the bleeding edge of XR technology. It wasn't new, but it has shown more staying power than the AI trend. Of all the tech I saw at SXSW, this is the event crowds were most excited about. There was a line and rush at the door when the hall opened.

Ironically, however, this event's popularity may be a sign that XR in the wider world is not popular. Most people don’t have Meta Quests, Galaxy XR headsets, or Snap Spectacles, so they jump at the chance to try them.

SXSW saw the global debut of Fabula Rasa, a virtual reality game driven by fully improvised and AI-generated conversations. I wrote about the experience immediately after trying it, and it could be a preview of what RPG games will become in the AI era.

Imagine this: No more dialogue trees or circular conversations. You can talk, in real time, to every character you meet.

SEE ALSO: 'Fabula Rasa' is the new AI VR game that made me ask: Is this the future of RPGs?

Snap also hosted the U.S. debut of a new augmented reality art exhibition with Jonathan Yeo, the painter behind a controversial portrait of Sir King Charles. Yeo's exhibit powered by the Snap Spectacles.

Some AI is doing good

ElevenLabs, the AI audio company, announced a new initiative at SXSW that’s genuinely exciting — the company pledged to restore 1 million voices for people with permanent voice loss.

The company announced the news with Rebecca Gayheart Dane, the actress and wife of actor Eric Dane, who recently died after a struggle ALS. Dane worked with ElevenLabs to clone his voice prior to his death, which he used to talk to his family and care team. Now ElevenLabs is looking for people all over the world to participate in the 1 Million Voices Initiative.

"Because [AI] can be used for good, and maybe this will inspire others, other AI companies, to do something good with their capabilities instead of something nefarious," Gayheart Dane said.

One Silicon Valley founder told me that EleveLabs is “dialed in,” and the company’s lawyer said they’ve been shipping products and models at a furious pace. While the company’s AI music album was a swing and a miss, the company is certainly generating buzz with its new models and AI tools. I heard from multiple people at SXSW that they were using ElevenLabs voice models in their own products, including Fabula Rasa.

Robotaxis are everywhere Two Waymos and a Cybertruck drive into a bar... Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

For Austin locals and San Francisco visitors, robotaxis are old news. As someone coming from New York, I got to take my first Waymo robotaxi rides in Austin. It was weird!

SXSW itself was sponsored by Rivian, which showed off a self-driving electric truck. I also saw a lot of Zoox robotaxis, and Tesla took the opportunity to show off its new Tesla Robotaxis. (I saw a Robotaxi in a big display case ... being towed by a Cybertruck.)

Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

Welcome to the future. The cars aren’t flying, but they are driving themselves.

Sustainability tech

Climate and sustainability has long been a popular topic at SXSW, and this year was no exception. Several sustainability startups were recognized at the annual SXSW pitch competition, and preventing waste was a common theme among the winners.

Promising new companies like PLNTmatter take plant waste and turn it into sustainable fabrics. EcoSphere Organics sends a robot around Detroit collecting food waste to make upcycled products. MayimFlow helps eliminate water waste at data centers.

I also saw a startup called Flotier that wants to bring compact wind turbines to commercial rooftops, so that buildings can harness solar and wind. It's one of those ideas that makes you think, why aren't we doing this already?

The Ammortal Chamber, built for Darth Vader Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable

Have you ever wanted your very own Darth Vader chamber you can climb into when you need to refresh?

That's how I've taken to describing my experience inside the Ammortal Chamber, the $160,000 rejuvenation machine that combines light therapy, molecular hydrogen, breathwork, vibroacoustics, pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF), and guided meditation into one experience that will refresh even the crankiest Dark Lord of the Sith.

As the Ammortal sales rep told me, it lets you plug yourself in like a cell phone. If you frequent medspas, you may see Ammortal Chambers on the spa menu soon. The devices are also popular with pro athletes, I was told.

The creator economy grows up

The days of creators negotiating brand deals themselves in lengthy negotiations with a massive power imbalance are over. Or, at least, that's the idea. I interviewed Arthur Leopold, the CEO and co-founder of Agentio, a platform that lets creators match with brands and sign deals in a couple of clicks.

AI analyzes their body of work to find natural brand partners, and creators don't need to worry about sketchy contracts they don't understand.

Agentio hosted a panel with YouTube megastars Rhett and Link, the company's marquee clients, and they made a compelling case that billions of ad dollars will soon be shifting to creator marketing.

I also spoke with Snap's head of creator partnerships team, who walked me through monetization tools like Snap Spotlight and the newly launched Creator Subscriptions tool, currently in beta.

Performance SUVs are a thing now because people got tired of choosing between fun and practicality. You no longer need a low, two-door sports car to enjoy a great drive—today’s compact luxury SUVs can haul your stuff and still feel quick and composed on a back road.

In the midst of the ongoing storage shortage, who can afford to just throw away an old HDD? Even if you can, don't do it. There are better things you can use those old hard drives for.

Three Jane Does, two under 18, filed a lawsuit against xAI yesterday about the generation of child sex abuse material (CSAM) on Grok, Elon Musk's AI tool.

"Like a rag doll brought to life through the dark arts, this child can be manipulated into any pose, however sick, however fetishized, however unlawful," the complaint states. It goes on to allege that while other AI companies recognize the dangers of AI and put up guardrails to prevent child sex predators from using them, "xAI did not."

SEE ALSO: Adult performer Siri Dahl doxxed by Grok: 'Go f*ck yourself you nazi clanker'

"Instead, xAI — and its founder Elon Musk — saw a business opportunity: an opportunity to profit off the sexual predation of real people, including children," the suit, which is a class action, states.

In January, Mashable reported that xAI admitted that Grok generates images of "minors in minimal clothing." A report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate stated weeks later that Grok was able to create around three million sexualized images, including 23,000 of apparent children, between Dec. 29 and Jan. 8.

Several countries, including France, the UK, Ireland, India, and Brazil, have announced that they're now investigating Grok. Stateside, California is also investigating the chatbot. Now, the lawsuits have begun.

This one, filed March 16, has been filed in federal court in California. It states that the Jane Does, who live in Tennessee, have suffered severe harm from xAI's production of CSAM.

Around Dec. 6, 2025, Jane Doe 1 discovered from an anonymous Instagram message that images of her had been generated by someone she knows and disseminated on Discord. The perpetrator had created images of at least 18 other girls, many of whom Jane Doe 1 recognized. Jane Doe 1 is now an adult, but was a minor in the photos used of her, according to the lawsuit.

Then, around Feb. 12 this year, Jane Does 2 and 3 were notified by local law enforcement that their images were used by the same perpetrator to generate CSAM. They are still minors.

Another lawsuit against xAI was filed in the same court on Jan. 23. Another Jane Doe, an adult, is suing due to Grok "undressing" an image of her, rendering her in a bikini.

Mashable has reached out to xAI for comment.

Following his Marty Supreme press run, Oscar loss, and beef with the entire ballet and opera communities, I'd understand if you were experiencing Timothée Chalamet fatigue. But after watching the teaser for Dune: Part Three, I no longer share that same fatigue.

The conclusion to Denis Villeneuve's epic, Academy Award-winning sci-fi trilogy takes place 17 years after Dune: Part Two. (In Frank Herbert's novels, there's roughly a 12-year time jump between Dune and Dune Messiah.) By the end of that film, Paul Atreides (Chalamet) became Emperor, took Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) as his wife, and declared the very holy war he'd been struggling all movie to prevent. Horrified at what Paul has become, his lover Chani (Zendaya) flees into the desert.

Based on Dune: Part Three's teaser, though, Chani and Paul's story is far from over. In tender scenes, likely flashbacks to their time together during Dune: Part Two, the pair wonder about what they'd name their children. If they have a girl, Paul declares she'd be called Ghanima. If they have a boy, Chani says she'd name him Leto, after Paul's late father (Oscar Isaac). These are the names of Paul and Chani's children in Herbert's books, so you can guess we're in for some Dune babies in Part Three.

SEE ALSO: 'Dune: Part Two' ending explained: What comes next for Paul and Chani?

Aside from Paul and Chani's sweet musings on their future children, there's very little comfort to be found in the teaser. Everyone is going through it because, you know, the whole universe is at war.

Between pulse-pounding action scenes and sneak peeks at new locations in Dune's vast world, Dune: Part Three's teaser introduces some new major players. Paul's sister Alia (Anya Taylor-Joy) is all grown up now, and likely wrestling with the immense powers she absorbed when her mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) drank the water of life when she was pregnant. Robert Pattinson stars as Scytale, a shape shifting Face Dancer from the genetically altered Bene Tleilax order. On top of all that, Jason Momoa is back! While his character Duncan Idaho perished in the first Dune film, he returns in a fashion as Hayt, a ghola, or artificial human created from dead matter, created by the Bene Tleilax.

That's already a lot to take in, and that's before we get a glimpse of bald Paul Atreides. Check out the full trailer above to witness the Dune: Part Three teaser in all its glory.

Dune: Part Three hits theaters Dec. 18.

When it comes to modern movie franchises, there are plenty we could point to, like Marvel and Star Wars. Today, everyone is talking about Dune, the latest and greatest in the world of book-to-movie adaptations. It also happens to be one of the best sci-fi movie franchises of the last decade.

Earlier this week, Nvidia held a big press conference where it announced, among other things, something called DLSS 5. The long and short of it is that, using artificial intelligence, DLSS 5 "infuses pixels with photoreal lighting and materials." In other words, it uses AI to supposedly make games look more realistic on the fly, even going so far as to change lighting and character appearances. It will be available for some PC games this fall.

SEE ALSO: NVIDIA GTC keynote: Everything Jensen Huang announced from AI gaming to space data centers This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

According to Nvidia's press release, here is a list of games that will support the feature in the near future. Though, to be clear, more games than just these will support DLSS 5 over time:

• AION 2

• Assassin's Creed Shadows

• Black State

• Cinder City

• Delta Force

• Hogwarts Legacy

• Justice

• Narake Bladepoint

• NTE: Neverness to Everness

• Phantom Blade Zero

• Resident Evil Requiem

• Sea of Remnants

• Starfield

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

• Where Winds Meet

DLSS 5's announcement was met with some controversy online. Specifically, plenty of folks are unhappy about the idea of AI coming in and making transformative changes to a game's art direction, seemingly without any input from the game's creators. If you look at the Resident Evil Requiem example embedded above, Grace Ashcroft looks like a completely different person with DLSS 5 turned on. Environmental lighting can also dramatically change, giving areas a totally different look from what they were intended to have.

The good news is that this will be an optional feature for some PC games, not something that's on by default.

Despite having only five remaining retail outlets, Sears still has an active and widely used Home Services division, complete with an AI chatbot. Unfortunately, that chatbot was reportedly quietly leaking customer conversations to anyone who knew where to look, according to WIRED.

Security researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered three publicly accessible databases last month containing 3.7 million chat logs, 1.4 million audio files, and transcripts captured between 2024 and this year, according to WIRED's report. The exposed data included customer names, phone numbers, home addresses, appliance information, and details about repair and delivery appointments.

SEE ALSO: Former DOGE hire still has 'god level' Social Security data, whistleblower says

The data has since been secured after Fowler notified Transformco, the company that owns Sears and Sears Home Services. Transformco did not respond to WIRED's requests for comment.

What's most unsettling about the report may be the hours-long audio files from customers who thought the calls with the AI chatbot, named Samantha, had long since ended. Several recordings ran for up to four hours, potentially capturing private conversations, background TV, and ambient household noise that customers had no idea was being recorded.

"The thing to remember is that it is real data of real people," Fowler told WIRED, adding that companies rushing to deploy AI cannot afford to cut corners on data security.

As of the writing of this article, Transformco has not publicly addressed the breach.

Home Assistant provides native to-do list integrations such as Local To-Do and Shopping List, as well as third-party integrations for Todoist, Google Tasks, and more. You can use them as traditional to-do lists, but there are some clever ways to get a lot more out of them.

I wanted to use my Ugreen NAS as a central hub for my homelab—but that required mounting external storage servers to it. For some reason, Ugreen doesn’t let you do this within the operating system, but I found a way around it with just one command.

Spotify has quietly had a very impressive start to the new year. Over the last three months, the streaming service has released a handful of genuinely great features. The most recent update is headed to Wear OS devices, and it makes the app nicer to look at and easier to control.

TL;DR: Live stream Sporting vs. Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League for free on Virgin Media Player. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The next round of Champions League fixtures includes some really interesting matchups, including Sporting vs. Bodo/Glimt.

Bodo/Glimt have been the story of this Champions League. They've already created history, beating some of the biggest names in European football. And now they hold a 3-0 advantage coming into this huge second-leg matchup with Sporting. The Portuguese side will need to produce something special to come back into this contest, but we've seen it all before. Anything is possible in this competition.

If you want to watch Sporting vs. Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Sporting vs. Bodo/Glimt?

Sporting vs. Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League kicks off at 5:45 p.m. GMT on March 17. This fixture takes place at the Estádio José Alvalade.

How to watch Sporting vs. Bodo/Glimt for free

Sporting vs. Bodo/Glimt is available to live stream for free on Virgin Media Player.

Virgin Media Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock Virgin Media Player to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Sporting vs. Bodo/Glimt for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Ireland

4. Visit Virgin Media Player

5. Watch Sporting vs. Bodo/Glimt for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Sporting vs. Bodo/Glimt without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select Champions League fixtures before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Virgin Media Player?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Virgin Media Player, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Ireland

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Watch Sporting vs. Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.

Even if you’ve never used FFmpeg, you’ve almost certainly used a video editor or media conversion tool based on it. FFmpeg is one of the most popular tools for recording, converting, and streaming audio and video, and version 8.1 has arrived with some Vulkan-powered enhancements.

If you're using Windows, there's a good chance Microsoft is collecting all kinds of telemetry data from your PC to help improve your user experience, fix bugs, and troubleshoot errors.

Buying a hybrid is a major step toward saving money at the pump, but simply owning the vehicle is only half the battle. While the hybrid system and its corresponding technology do most of the work, you can put a few more fuel economy points on the board by having a thorough understanding of how to strategically use that technology to your advantage while driving.

If your bookmarks folder is stacked with saved sites, you’ll know the struggle of finding anything on Chrome for Android isn’t exactly quick. Unlike on desktop platforms, where everything sits neatly in a bookmarks bar, phones have a multi-step process just to open any bookmark. Google is finally fixing that friction with a desktop-style bookmarks bar that’s rolling out now.

Android Auto is easily the coolest feature your car can have if you're an Android user. It turns your car's head unit into an extension of your smartphone, and when it works correctly, it's perfect for displaying your maps, music, and messages all on a large screen that doesn't distract you during driving.

For far too long, video games have been besieged by the scourge of Dad Games. Things like the recent God of War entries and The Last of Us have popularized the idea of giving players some kind of paternal duty over a young, mostly helpless companion. It's played out and boring, among other things.

That's one of the reasons why I'm so into what I've seen of Capcom's upcoming Pragmata so far. This sci-fi third-person shooter, originally announced six years ago, has a similar enough premise to those other games I mentioned. You play as a guy named Hugh who finds himself needing to protect and work with a strange little girl named Diana as they try to escape a space station full of angry robots.

The difference, though, is that I would categorize Pragmata as more of an Uncle Game than a Dad Game. I got to play about 90 minutes of Pragmata at a press event recently, and it seems like a totally kick-ass action game with a really neat hacking-based hook, but the lighthearted interplay between Hugh and Diana was also significantly more endearing than the heavy-handed self-seriousness of something like The Last of Us.

SEE ALSO: How Resident Evil Survived Itself Pragmata is basically Resident Evil 4 with an air dash The hacking aspect of 'Pragmata' is extremely sick. Credit: Capcom

In case you haven't been following along with Pragmata's marketing (there's also a free demo available on every platform), the main thing to know is that it's a space-based third-person shooter with similar gameplay guts to that of the more action-oriented entries in Capcom's Resident Evil series.

Of course, Pragmata is not a horror game, so the vibe is pretty different. But at its core, this is still a game about carefully positioning yourself in the middle of overwhelming fights and trying to precisely line up shots on the weak points of enemies who (mostly) creepily move towards you in a slow manner. An obvious difference is that Hugh can also sprint, jump, and dash around the environment, giving it a much more fast-paced feel than you'd get as Leon S. Kennedy of the Resident Evil series.

These guys suck to fight. Credit: Capcom

The real meat of Pragmata's combat comes from Diana's hacking abilities. She sits on Hugh's shoulder at all times, and aiming at an enemy will bring up a square-based hacking grid that you navigate using the face buttons. In essence, you're doing a hacking mini-game while also running and shooting, and successfully hacking an enemy can open up weak spots or stun/slow them down. It is absolutely key to success, and the first time you do it, you'll immediately understand why it's a cool idea.

All of that had been known about Pragmata prior to this recent hands-on opportunity, though. One major new thing I got to see this time around was the game's hub area, which you can travel to from any checkpoint in the world. It's got a training range, upgrade stations, and even a friendly robot named Cabin who exists to help you do whatever you need to do in that space. Just from the demo I played, Pragmata seems like it's got a pretty satisfying upgrade loop to it. You collect different kinds of currency from exploring levels and defeating enemies, which you then use to upgrade Hugh's core functions like health, as well as all the different guns he uses along the way.

It's straightforward enough, but Capcom is one of the best purveyors of this type of single-player action game. I think they know a thing or two about player progression, and it showed in the demo I played.

Pragmata also has a ton of personality Of course, there are fun costumes to unlock. Credit: Capcom

While the actual gameplay side of the demo didn't show me a ton I didn't already know about Pragmata, it was set in a substantially more interesting environment than we had seen previously. Specifically, I got to run around a weird, 3D-printed simulacra of Times Square in New York City, but inside a space station. Billboards and ads were full of fun references to other Capcom games like Ghouls 'n Ghosts, while the buildings and storefronts sometimes faded halfway out of existence because they clearly weren't fully completed before...whatever happened in this space station.

Going back to the whole "Uncle Game" thing, what impressed me most about Pragmata is the amount of heart there is in all of Hugh and Diana's interactions. She's never been to Earth, so Hugh spends most of the NYC level explaining various Earth concepts to her to sate her infinite curiosity on the subject. I especially dug a bit where Hugh mentioned that the fake NYC wasn't nearly as dirty as the real one.

Cabin's a cool dude. Credit: Capcom

Most importantly, I didn't get a ton of paternal energy from what I saw between Hugh and Diana. There was one scene where he had to save her from her own curiosity, but other than that, what I played was bereft of Hugh scolding, lecturing, or otherwise acting like much of a parent towards Diana. Rather, he feels a bit more like an uncle who's been tasked with watching a kid for a weekend. Just like any good uncle, you can even find gifts in the world and give them to Diana in the hub area, at which point she will adorably go and play with them.

At this point I've only played about two combined hours of Pragmata at various press events, but every time I see it, I want to play the final game more and more. I really think Capcom has stumbled onto something very cool here, between the sweaty, stressful sci-fi combat and the cute interplay between its two leads. We'll find out pretty soon whether or not it holds up over the course of a full game.

Pragmata launches on April 17 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series consoles, and Nintendo Switch 2.