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Capy Castaway is an undeniably cute and impossibly cozy upcoming game from the creators of Pekoe, Kitten Cup Studio. It’s a coming-of-age tale based on a co-dependent friendship between a capybara and a crow, and as a self-proclaimed ‘cozy expert’, I’ve been keeping an eye on development for months now.
With the brand new trailer for Capy Castaway releasing during the Women Led Showcase today, we sat down with CEO and Creative Director of Kitten Cup Studios, Saffron, to dive into the inspiration behind Capy Castaway, the hopes for the game’s reception, and our shared perception of lovable chaos.
OL: Capybaras are undoubtedly adorable, but I need to know: What inspired a whole game based on them?
Saffron: Back in 2016, I kept seeing all these videos on my feed of capybaras bathing with all of the Yuzu, and I was so inspired by them that I did a little illustration of it. That was sort of the idea that sparked this. I was like, “I like what this turned into, how can we turn it into something more?”
We also have this story here in Toronto of two capybaras that escaped the High Park Zoo at around the same time, and that totally took the city by storm and gave more life to the game, and it all just took off from there. They’re really cute as well.
OL: I do love capybaras! So, I know it’s a coming-of-age tale. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much will Capy Castaway emotionally damage us? Should I bring some tissues?
Saffron: We’re trying to make it maximum impact, because I love a game that tugs at your heartstrings as well, so I’m hoping for a solid eight. That’s the aim. Not so much that you’ll be emotionally damaged, but maybe a little emotionally wounded, like a nice bruise, in a memorable way. A nice, soft way.
OL: You say there are a lot of cute friends to meet along the way. Which was your favorite to work on? Other than Capy, of course.
Saffron: That’s a very good question. There are a lot of interesting characters in the game. I think, right at the very beginning, we have a couple that I really like. All of the animals are inspired by actual animals at the zoo, because we like to take inspiration from Toronto.
There’s one, I think the very first one, called Yak. He’s got this sort of 70s vibe about him, and I guess I feel attached because he’s one of the first other characters that I worked on. There’s another one that I also like who has a really 1920s vibe about her. I just really like her design. She’s an emu, so that’s also fun.
OL: Are we going to be building friendships with the critters we meet? I know in Pekoe there was a really cool friendship-building mechanic, is there a similar one in Capy Castaway?
Saffron: There isn’t quite the same friendship building. With Pekoe, that was inspired a lot more by Harvest Moon, and the mechanic where you have a lot of interactions, and you’re trying to get those levels up. In Capy Castaway, it’s a bit more natural. You do make decisions, and you have these quests with the characters. Depending on the decisions you make as Capy, it affects the story and how the characters react to you. It’s similar, but different.
OL: Were there any surprises that took the development of Capy Castaway in a new or different direction?
Saffron: Not really. We don’t really have any surprises since we have a clear idea of the development of the game. With that being said, the approach that we have to the design of the game is very ‘play-based’. It’s very informed by curiosity. We do a lot of playtesting because the game is informed by simple pleasures, like digging something up or the fun of throwing something around.
We’ll sort of say “yes, and…?” a lot. It’ll be like “oh this was fun, but what if we could also wear it on our heads?” or “what if we could fling this extra far?”. That’s how we’ve been approaching it.
OL: It feels very organic in that sense.
Saffron: Yeah, exactly.
OL: In the trailer, I noticed that the logos for Blue Sky Games and Kitten Cup Studios made an appearance. Is that the kind of tongue-in-cheek humor we can expect from Capy Castaway as a whole?
Saffron: Yeah, I’m a big fan of humor in games. I love putting little references in, and we had a lot of puns in Pekoe. We’re going to try and have more puns in Capy Castaway, so here will be a lot of that, like you said, tongue-in-cheek humor.
OL: Capy Castaway is also described as “Spirited Away meets Untitled Goose Game.” What are the inspirations you took from both of those, and how do they blend together?
Saffron: With Untitled Goose Game, you’re playing as a horrible goose in the town. With Capy Castaway, you’re playing as a little guy and you’re running around, digging things up, and you’re causing chaos. That freedom of play is what we took from Untitled Goose Game.
As for Spirited Away, it’s the coming-of-age feeling. You come into this one way, and you’re exiting it in another, literally coming of age. But Capy Castaway is set in a more fantastical kind of space, like the world of Spirited Away.
I also love the movie. Fantastic movie, fantastic world.
OL: I agree! Are there any new mechanics, or any that you’re particularly proud of, that we can look forward to in Capy Castaway?
Saffron: I do like the digging… I don’t know if it’s new, but that level of just interacting with the environment. You do play as Capy, but you also play as the crow, Corvy. You can use the controller to control both of them. You can send Corvy to go and pick something up as you’re controlling Capy, and you’re thinking about how you can control both of these characters and navigate within the space.
I don’t think that’s it’s particularly new, but I do think that the mechanics we have added are things that, again, we think are really fun in games. Like picking things up, or maybe eating things, we really enjoy that. Just doing things that you think would feel natural to do if you were a capybara or a crow. We hope it feels intuitive and fun to play.
OL: What’s the lasting impression you want people to have of Capy Castaway when they’ve finished playing?
Saffron: A good time. I was thinking about this recently, and I was thinking about A Short Hike, which is one of the games that inspired Capy Castaway. We also have Mark [Sparling], who did the soundtrack for A Short Hike. When I think of A Short Hike, I like to return to it.
So it’s one of those. I want a feeling of satisfaction, where I’ve made all of the choices that I wanted to make, but I can also go back and revisit these friends I made. I hope it feels like that.
OL: Is there anything else you want people to look forward to when it comes to Capy Castaway?
Saffron: Look forward to the shenanigans of being a little capybara and crow! I also really look forward to sharing a bit more of Toronto. I feel like I’ve talked about this when I talk about Capy Castaway, but I really like living here and sharing the things that are or were special to me and the team growing up.
“Oh, yeah, that thing”, then we put it in the game, and we’re bonding with other people who remember that thing. I hope people get that sense of nostalgia, even if they’re not familiar with Toronto. A general sense of nostalgia, I think, would be fun.
What are you looking forward to?
OL: Chaos.
It’s safe to say that Capy Castaway is something that all cozy gamers should be looking forward to. With an emphasis on friendship, growth, and humor, it’s set to be a hit, just make sure to go into this expecting some hypothetical bruising to your heart from the story.
Capy Castaway does not have a definite release date yet, but it’s due to come out at some point in 2026. For now, you can head to Steam and add it to your wishlist in anticipation.
