Since its release last earlier this month, indie strategy game Mewgenics has rocketed up the Steam charts; it’s currently sitting just outside the top 10 with 100,000 players.
Mewgenics is a roguelike strategy game where players collect and breed cats with RPG-like stats such as Charisma and Strength. Every cat has various abilities, from melee attacks to spells to dropping a literal deuce on the battlefield.
Up to four cats are then sent out on adventures, where they progress through increasingly challenging dungeons, such as the Alley and the Sewers. Each dungeon features several events, loot chests, and battles.
Turn-based battles play out on an isometric grid, with players using their party’s abilities to defeat monstrous cats, chickens, insects, animated turds, and more. The amount of abilities, stats, and synergistic combos are truly impressive. Between battles, players can work on breeding cats with better abilities and stats, while upgrading their house and facilities by sending cats to eccentric neighbor NPCs.
Also, the soundtrack of funny/weird/catchy music by Ridiculon is a total banger.
If Mewgenics’ striking, hand-drawn, humorous style looks familiar, then you’re recognizing beloved indie designer and artist Edmund McMillen, whose previous credits include The Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy. McMillen created Mewgenics with Tyler Glaiel; the two had previously released 2D platformer, The End is Nigh, a spiritual successor to Super Meat Boy.
Mewgenics was infamously stuck in development hell after being available for beta testing way back at PAX in 2013 and 2014, when McMillen was part of indie studio, Team Meat. The game was then canceled, only to get revived when McMillen later secured the rights after leaving the studio, and development began anew in 2018.
Clearly, a good idea never truly dies. Mewgenics was finally released on February 10, 2026, and instantly became a huge success, with player counts that most indie developers can only dream about. Within a week, the roguelike strategy game has sold one million copies. Ahem, sorry, one mewllion!
Mewgenics is currently only available on Steam PC ($29.99). A 10% launch discount is active until February 24. It has not yet been rated by the ESRB. See our Game Picker entry for details.
