Grow plants and nap on a giant capybara in Aka, coming to PC via Steam later this year

In this hectic age, we can all use a chance to recline. Many games offer us the opportunity for a simpler life, cultivating farms and chatting with neighbors. Aka, coming to PC via Steam later this year, brings one such experience. However, it wouldn’t be fair to say it merely apes popular chill games like Stardew Valley. There seems to be a bit more lurking beneath the surface. Also, you can take a nap on a gigantic capybara. That alone should grab your attention.

If a game let’s you sleep on t he back of a massive capybara, it’s worthy of note in my book. Capybaras are famous for being on of the most chill animals on the planet. And in Aka, you can get some much-needed shuteye on one that’s as big as a small house. That feature alone may catapult Aka into the annals of the most relaxing PC games on all of Steam when it launches late this year. It probably helps that you play as a small, red panda.

The primary gameplay loop in Aka revolves around exploration and farming. So, yes, it does take a page from games like Stardew. You’re able to grow plants like vegetables and flowers. There’s also crafting, and a small house you can customize to your liking. Townsfolk can be conversed with, and you have quests you can take from them or others you find in your adventures. Relaxation is a major feature in Aka. You can basically find a place to pop a squat from the comfort of your home, to the aforementioned back of a snoozing capybara.

What comes after the strife

But there is also that background story hiding just behind Aka‘s comfy veneer. Your scarred red panda protagonist is looking to relax following a war. Seeking tranquility after such turmoil, our soldier moves far off onto a tropical island at the behest of an old friend. Inner peace may be hard to come by, though. The island isn’t some barely touched paradise. It, too, has “scars of the past,” and the protagonist will discover literal ghosts from their past that “need your help to be freed.”

The game does look interesting so far. Aka is coming from publisher Neowiz and developer Cosmo Gatto, and it’ll arrive on PC via Steam in late 2022.