There's Something about Mewgenics 🎮

I tried to write about Mewgenics a couple of times now and failed — there’s so much going on in this game that makes it challenging to write about! But that’s been my go-to game for a long time now, and it’s time to try again. Oh, and in case you forgot: all the games I write about work on Linux through Steam’s Proton, as this is the only way I play (no Windows, no thanks).

Mewgenics is… a dungeon crawler. Kind of. But it’s also a very simplified turn-based tactical RPG. But it’s also a rogue-like, with some elements of base building. It’s the messiest game I’ve seen in a long time, with so many things thrown into it, but somehow it holds them all together spectacularly. With 145 hours invested in it (and more added every week), I think “addictive mess” is the best definition I can come up with.

OK, let me start this review again: with the confusing introduction I made above, you should be prepared. Now, think toilet humor. Think graphics that look like a 6-year-old made with crayons. Think The Binding of Isaac (the game) and you won’t be far off, because the same guy is behind it.

In the main game, you have a squad of four cats, each one has a specific class (loosely based on DnD and video game tropes: a cleric, a fighter, but also a “Tank”, etc.) Your goal is to fight different kinds of eeky enemies (mosquitoes, ticks, rotting cat zombies, headless dogs with exaggerated anuses, turds (yes, actual shit turds), puking leeches, and many more) and defeat the mini-boss and the main boss at the end of the level. You’d think that with four or five levels of this nasty comedy you’d exhaust the number of enemies you can run into, and you’d think wrong. This game has a way of looking like a small toddler joke that doesn’t have much going for it, but somehow it keeps introducing more sophisticated mechanics as you keep playing.

What do I mean by sophisticated? Let me take an unexpected turn, because this is what this game does constantly. The soundtrack. It’s so good I am actually considering buying it, with over 50 original tracks that stick with you. The kind you find yourself humming in the kitchen while doing dishes. You’d think, “How many songs about pussy-cats (har har) can you come up with?” That’s what I thought. The game plays a theme (instrumental) throughout the level, and the theme expands to the full song with lyrics when you fight the boss. At some point after defeating another boss I realized that it’s not a coincidence: the songs are actually decent, and some are good and catchy. The game has a whole radio station built in, complete with a DJ, sponsors, and music.

A radio station means a radio, which means you need to listen to it somewhere. So you have a home base. A home, which is also your base, as in an actual house, complete with furniture and expansions you can unlock throughout the game. That base provides your mini-game off the main game, where you’re doing your best at breeding your cats. Yes I’m serious, the game is called Mewgenics after all. Each cat has unique abilities (rogue-like, remember) and it’s your job to decide which female-kinda cat to put with a male-kinda cat in one room, sit back, and watch them do their thing so one of them produces offspring. And yes, the genders in this game are also a question mark, literally — some of those cats have question marks hovering over their heads and they can be both genders or neither. They’re also complicated enough to have mutations, sexual orientations… Hell, they come with an entire family tree which you can unlock as you keep playing.

Speaking of unlocking, this is another big feature of this game. You have different NPCs that you meet early on, each one providing further bonuses and tips if you give them your cats. For example, the mad scientist (of course there’s a mad scientist) gives you unique cursed items you need to take into your adventures as sidequests; the stereotypical gay dude wants babies because him and his wife can’t have offspring and gives you all kinds of relationship advice which unlocks to additional features; there’s another guy who has a grandma (nanny) that doesn’t hear well and wants to sell you weird furniture; a bitter psycho that seems to work for PetSmart, and more.

But wait, I didn’t really talk about the actual turn-based RPG part of the game, which is the main thing!

The main game consists of taking turns with your cats on a grid that has different environmental effects (lava, water, flowers that heal you, garbage bags you can destroy, grass that can catch fire and spread, etc.) and attacking the enemies with your unique abilities. Some of those are straightforward (you shoot an arrow over a range, or swat with your paws), some are magical (a fireball or a lightning bolt), some are weapons (shotguns, broken glass, rocks), etc. Your cats, depending on the class and unique skills you pick up along the levels, also have other unique abilities like healing other cats, raising the dead, backstabbing, charming enemies, and more. Your goal is pretty simple (For once! Something simple in this game!): clear the level of enemies.

The enemies have unique abilities of their own. Some are plain dumb, while others are completely disastrous (one of the bosses can possess one of your cats, which then turns on you. I hate this guy). Each level brings a bunch of new enemies, environmental hazards, and items that help you along - these are reshuffled each adventure. The game adjusts to difficulty levels, so you won’t see all the enemies a certain level has until later, and then some enemies can be “elite” status, creating even more havoc.

At the start I didn’t think I could make it just with four cats, but as I progressed I unlocked abilities that made them real badasses; it helps that you can heal cats and even bring them back if they die, while you can recruit various other creatures to help along the way.

I’m looking at the level list, my achievements list on Steam, and the wiki for the game, and I’m realizing that at this point I’m not even half done. It’s a game I picked up last year after finishing Hades 2, and I’ve been playing often. It’s a game that’s easy enough to pick up at any point but hard to put down. It has a lot of content (if this post is any indication) and I highly recommend it if you’re into cats, rogue-like turn-based dungeon crawlers tactical games, dirty humor… look. Just get it. It usually hovers over the $20 range, and it’s worth every penny. Now if you excuse me, I have a mini boss to deal with that’s giving me a hard time.