In this day and age with the large AAA game budgets, you’d never expect a team of just two developers to come out with a GOTY-contending indie title.
Mewgenics, from The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen and The End Is Nigh programmer Tyler Glaiel, is a 100+ hour, cat breeding, turn-based, roguelike strategy game that exceeds all expectation.
You’ll be breeding or taking in stray cats, then sending them on a journey to gather food and supplies to keep the house functional.
Run preparation is half the fun; hours can be spent trying to breed the perfect cat, with inheritable stats, mutations, and diseases.
You select four cats and assign classes according to their stats (fighter, tank, mage, etc.) and equip them with various items and consumables, from armour and hats to potions and pills. Then it’s out into the alleyways, progressing onto other areas (sewers, caves, deserts) after defeating the boss.
Each area presents a map with path choices, selecting between battles, shops, and random events. The latter play out with several options, dependent on cat’s stats with a dice roll to determine how successful you are. With such a large number of differing outcomes, you’ll hardly ever encounter the same one.
Battles are the main events, however, comprising a 12×12 grid filled with collectibles, environmental hazards, and enemies you must be defeat to progress.
The depth of the combat is unmatched; each cat has a variety of passive and active abilities that unlock as they level up, many synergising to create extremely powerful combinations.
In combat, each unit takes turns moving, attacking, and casting spells, but the most impressive part is the weather and environment interactivity changing how battles play out.
Your feline might be stood on a tile of grass which, when wet, will grow into tall grass and provide an increased dodge percentage. It might be set on fire and spread, burning up the entire map and damaging everything in its path. As the game progresses, these environment interactions become more impressively advanced.
The attention to detail doesn’t stop there. Every aspect of the game is overflowing with charm and polish, from features like cross save functionality to details like cats singing along to music.
Mewgenics’ purrfect presentation cannot be overstated with stylish cartoon visuals and animations accompanied by high quality jazz tunes that change according to the action.
Crude humour, questionable themes, and the occasional UI issues aside, Mewgenics is the best roguelike since The Binding of Isaac.
The extensive cat breeding system and the impressively deep, strategic turn-based combat make for a unique, addictive gameplay loop. Presented and polished with stylish art and music, it’s the complete package.
