Punch the monkey, an adorable macaque born last July in Japan, captured the world’s attention recently. He was abandoned by his mother and rejected by his community, only to find solace and comfort in a $20 orangutan plush toy from IKEA. His story tugged on the heartstrings of people worldwide who felt bad for the little guy and wanted him to find companionship.
He eventually did, and Punch’s prospects are seemingly better now. But Punch still lives in a zoo–the Ichikawa City Zoo–and that’s not sitting well with everyone. A new video game, Zoo Fighter, has players taking on the role of Punch and … punching bullies away with his fist or a swift kick. Knock out 100 and Punch gets to go to a sanctuary, instead of a zoo. And that’s the point of the video game.
“This game is a love letter to all animals doing a bid at the zoo. Animal sanctuaries are often better for primates than zoos because they put the animals’ well-being first instead of public display,” reads a line from the game’s description. “They offer larger, more natural spaces and rescue animals from neglect or captivity rather than breeding them,” the description goes on. “The focus is on lifelong care and less human interferecne, giving primates a safer, less stressful place to live.”
