Campaign Ends: April 13th
Platform: Windows and macOS
In these difficult times, I think it would be lovely to live as an anthropomorphic red panda and putter about on an island with my animal friends, perhaps do a bit of gardening. A strong contender for 2022’s most adorable game, Aka has you exploring a bite-sized open world filled with dozens of charming animal characters, including our red panda protagonist, a giant capybara, and at least one Shiba Inu.
Retiring to a small island chain after the war, it’s now your job to restore the archipelago’s vibrant foliage and wildlife. You’ll have four islands to explore, each inspired by a real-world biome. Spend time farming, gardening, building shelter, and crafting items; raw materials can be found while exploring or obtained through completing quests. Plus, enjoy some mini-games! Then, take time off at a tranquil beach or hot springs, and even snooze atop a giant capybara. A bit of rest will improve your happiness, so it’s never a waste of time!
You’ll meet a plethora of cute animals, creatures, and even ghosts throughout your journeys in Aka; help them with various tasks to unlock hidden areas and learn more about yourself. To note, while the game is definitely wholesome and peaceful, the story won’t shy away from more serious topics. Thankfully, you won’t ever need to resort to violence, as all quests can be completed through peaceful means. In total, it will take you around five hours to wrap up the story, though you can farm and craft to your heart’s delight, and perhaps even rebuild your home from scratch on a different island.
Beyond raising money for development, Aka’s crowdfunding campaign aims to help real-world red pandas in Nepal by donating 10% of all pledges to the Red Panda Network. An admirable cause for sure! Adorable, relaxing, and even educational, the game definitely deserves a spot on your wishlist if you love animals and wholesome life sims (a certain Nintendo series comes to mind). Besides, any game featuring giant capybaras is a must-play in my book.
Disclaimer: While it’s possible some of us at RPGFan may be backers of the games mentioned in these articles, this does not influence our coverage or our featured game choices. We make our selections simply based on the active campaigns we feel our readers might find interesting, and we are not given special access or perks by the developers.
tl;dr: We think these games show potential and want to share them with you.
