496 Words About: Capybara Spa
It’s a videogame about Capybaras. How can you beat that?
By making the videogame about giving capybaras spa days that’s how.
Capybara Spa is the sort of videogame that I see on Steam and think to myself, there are still geniuses in this world who understand the importance of good vibes in videogame design. Though I spend most of my time playing action adventure and shooter videogames, I understand the importance of games that rely on point-and-click interfaces for the purposes of just letting the player relax and build things.
To wit.
There is no plot to the game Capybara Spa, or at least not a complex one. The player is given a plot of land with three levels of hills. These hills are covered with tree trunks, mushroom patches, and stray grass. On the ground are small flowers and rocks that need to be removed so that the player can earn in-game currency to spend on clearing the various debris on the other levels. Once I’ve acquired enough coins and cleared a space I can build my first tub, and then I wait.
It doesn’t take long for the first capybara to appear.
The capybaras can’t climb into the tubs, so I have to pick them up, and if that sounds adorable it’s because it is.
Once in the tub thought bubbles with hearts appear above their heads and they form a smile. If the player doesn’t die of cuteness immediately they'll eventually see a carrot, a strawberry, and/or a blueberry form above the capybara’s head. The game explains I also have to feed the capybaras and who’s not going to do that?
Once a capybara has been fed it will relax in the tub for a while longer until it indicates with a green check mark that it’s ready to leave, and by now other Capybaras have begun to appear stained with mud and ready for a soak. I can click and drop the capybara on the ground, or, I can simply drop him from the hill at which point a small parachute appears and floats the animal down to the ground.
Somehow this isn’t the cutest element of the game, because eventually baby capybaras appear.
I repeat, baby capybaras.
Every capybara that visits my spa will grant me more coins and that allows me to expand my operation to get more tubs, more produce, butterflies that bring capybaras food, and I can expand my tubs to allow adults and babies to take baths. It’s, simply put, the sweetest damn thing.
Capybara Spa is absurdly cute, and a reminder that a videogame succeeds when it accomplishes its aesthetic goal. Using just a point-and-click interface design, the game provides players with a building mechanic dressed in an adorable aesthetic. It’s not complex because it doesn’t need to be. Playing this game is a gentle vibe that inspires joy.
And, again, it has capybaras.
Capybaras rule, and they always, always show up to the afterparty.
Joshua “Jammer” Smith
8.1.2024
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