Ophelia Payne

I’m always on the hunt for new games to cover, and I really love hearing directly from solo devs or small teams looking to bring attention to their games. Recently, I got an email from Piebox for Capyvarias, and before I read anything about the game, I was drawn into the adorable banner with cute capybaras. Not to get too far ahead of myself, I read the email and say that this solo dev (and publisher) described Capyvarias as ‘an incremental colony game set in a cozy post-apocalyptic world. Start with just two capybaras and grow your colony one click at a time. Gather resources, assign tasks, expand your shelter, and unlock new technologies discovered by the smartest capybaras.’

So to sum up, we have

– capybaras

– a post-apocalyptic world with cute aesthetics

– colony management

– technology tree

You had me at capybaras, let’s be real.

If you’ve played any incremental colony games, like Fallout Shelter, you understand the basic premise. In this case, you start with 2 adorable capybaras and grow your colony one click at a time. Gather resources (either by clicking or assigning capybaras to specific jobs/rooms), assign tasks, learn new technologies and expand your shelter.

The technology tree has interesting options from farming, to steel production, to data collecting, running your own business and even cloning capabilities. As you unlock abilities, you will create different levels in your colony. Assign your capybaras accordingly to ensure you have enough food and supplies. You can add/subtract from the population assigned at any time if your needs change. 

Besides the normal hunger requirements to satisfy, you also must deal with the ever-present threat of radiation. This will kill your entire colony if you’re not careful. It has its stressful moments; this is not an idle sim where you can just walk away. I learned that the hard way. Running to grab a glass of water and came back to an almost decimated colony. Oopsie!!

While the world may be over, the cuddles are here. If your capybaras want to avoid the stress of the post-apocalyptic world, perhaps they can soak away the radiation in your upgraded hot tub?

This is a cute shelter management game. With its post-apocalyptic, cozy vibe, with cute hand-drawn capybaras/art and lovely music. The cozy vibe disarms you at first, and I was unprepared for the complexity and depth of the management required. I found it addictive and even with my failed colonies…sorry cuties, I couldn’t wait to start a new run and learn from my mistakes. Learning how to balance seemingly opposing recourses provided an interesting challenge, and I embraced it as I moved through the upgrades.

This is a fun little game to spend some time with, and you can save it at any time so you can come back and pick up where you left off. Worth checking out, even just for the adorable capybaras.

Until next time…be good to yourself and be good to each other.

**Special Thanks to Piebox for the review code**