Mewgenics Review

An Exercise In Felicide

HIGH Endless creative combos

LOW Many cat graves

WTF My cat got dyslexia

Mewgenics is about breeding cats and sending them on often-fatal adventures, but that simple description obscures a work of incredible depth and creative problem-solving potential, bolstered by videogame auteur Edmund McMillen’s distinct voice.

It’s a roguelite tactical RPG replete with some of the staples of those subgenres. Things begin at a home base where the player’s cats live, which can be upgraded to accommodate more cats and furniture that affects things like how often the cats will breed or fight, the quality of kittens born, or the quality of strays that will be attracted to the home.

Starting a new adventure will see the player select four cats, choose their class, and equip whatever items they’ve kept from previous runs. Each cat has a statline that impacts how they’ll fare on the battlefield comprised of things like melee, constitution, luck, and so on.

Improving from run to run is primarily determined by ensuring the player can bring along better cats next time. How to do that? It’s in the title — a pun on feline sounds and selective breeding.

A cat’s class (including classics like fighter, mage, thief, and cleric) will alter their statlines and generate abilities from that class’ pool of spells and passives, with more powerful options are unlocked after successive runs.

Importantly, kittens may also inherit these traits from their parents, meaning they’ll start an adventure with more on their character sheet. They might also inherit mutations, some of which are truly bizarre or even just negative. One lineage developed an “eyebrow birth defect,” meaning they start with a -1 penalty to intelligence.

The core gameplay loop sees the player set up their party, then selecting an area to challenge. Each area is made up of several levels where the party moves from point to point (ala Slay the Spire). These spots include clearly marked battles, treasures, and shops. There are also events that offer players a choice and whose outcome is typically determined based on a cat’s stats. As a cat survives battles, it will also level up to add more abilities and improve its stats.

Journeys are relatively linear, offering only a few alternatives, and every level has a “hard” detour with better rewards. After a level boss, there’s a chance to go home rather than continue onto the next level. It’s worth considering as continuing is always risk/reward — the cats might get more stuff and more levels, but there are also more chances to die… And many cats will die.

They’ll be infested with bugs and explode when downed. They’ll be swallowed up and eaten by giant sharks. If an entire party is downed on adventure, they never return home (and most of the items are lost into the wilds).

Even for those cats who do return home after a successful run, death is always looming. Sometimes they’ll get into a fight with another cat while at home and die. Sometimes they’ll grow old and die. Bosses will show up to attack the home and retired cats will need to fight — and possibly die.

Black humor and zaniness is also the beating heart of Mewgenics’ combat. Knockback effects, status buffs and debuffs, elemental interactions and map objects can all create chaotic, hilarious results. Mastering knowledge of both the systems and how they interact is a rewarding challenge for the player.

There are also many, many modifiers for players to mix and match. McMillen has said there are nearly 1,000 items in the game and 1,200 abilities, and finding the right combos can make or break a run. I’ve already put 25 hours into the game and feel I’ve only touched the surface of what it has to offer.

For instance, I recently had a cat whose passive was that when he attacks a unit, it leaves behind a rock. He also learned a spell to eat rocks that increased his strength. Put both together and voila — more damage each turn, making Geppy (cats are assigned random names) into an increasingly-powerful threat.

This tone and chaotic (but master-able) system is, ultimately, the mark of McMillen. His best known work, The Binding of Isaac, is genre-defining (Rebirth remains my most-played game of all time) and Mewgenics fully transplants many of the same sensibilities into this new genre.

Mewgenics is sure to be a hit with Binding of Isaac fans, roguelite fans, and tactics RPG fans. It has McMillen’s signature ugly-cute Newgrounds flash art, a toe-tapping soundtrack, and an unfathomable number of ways for players to approach its chaotic, layered grid combat — just be prepared to see many, many, many cats expire as nine lives are not included.

Score: 9 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel. It is currently available on PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 25 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the main storyline was not completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: This game has not been rated by the ESRB. However, it does contains violence, blood, defecation, and some gruesome imagery. It is not recommended for children.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: Game information is communicated purely through text. (See examples above.) There are no audio cues or effects necessary to play. The game is fully accessible.

Controls: The game’s controls are remappable while using either controllers or keyboard and mouse.