Ten years ago, the unlikeliest of jailbreaks catapulted capybaras from an obscure rodent to Toronto’s top news.
An escape from their High Park enclosure launched a frenzied search for the furry fugitives, with residents reporting sightings citywide.
The roundup of the rodents, which are native to South America, took close to a month and inspired countless memes and headlines. Now, a made-in-Toronto video game is paying tribute to the capybara caper of 2016.
Capy Castaway is the brainchild of indie developer Saffron Aurora and Kitten Cup Studio.
Playable as a solo adventure or cooperatively, the goal is to guide a lost capybara off a replica of the Toronto Islands. Along the way, players encounter, and are aided by, a cadre of cute animal friends.
“I love Toronto. So, any way that I can sort of represent where I’m from, I like doing that,” Aurora told CTV News Toronto.
From landscapes to city iconography, Capy Castaway is exploding with Toronto Easter eggs.
A TTC streetcar, the Queen Street Viaduct, Allan Gardens and the DVP’s rainbow tunnel are featured prominently in the game.
Players will also see subtle nods to local establishments, past and present, such as the Silver Snail comic shop, Honest Ed’s, Fran’s Diner and the El Mocambo music venue.
Gamers can also expect to run into animals from Toronto lore, such as Trinity Bellwoods’ fabled white squirrel and Conrad, a raccoon that received a city plaque posthumously after its unusual death went viral online.
“We’re not New York. We’re not L.A. We’re always cosplaying as other cities in media,” said Aurora.
“So the idea of seeing the city represented as itself, made me think, ‘I should do that.’ I hope that it’s a memorable adventure. We try to pull a lot of heartstrings in this game. It’s a heartwarming story that anyone can relate to.”
Capy Castaway is expected to launch this summer and will be available via the Steam platform.
