2026 has already started off with a bang, but not the good type of bang. Politics, taxes, and AI affect our lives everyday. Naturally, we want a break from all this stress with some gaming, which leads us to Mewgenics. Released on February 10th, 2026, it was directed by Edmund McMillen, creator of The Binding Of Isaac and Super Meat Boy, and Tyler Glaiel, who co-created The End is Nigh with Edmund McMillen. This game has a long history. It was announced in 2012 and it would be worked on by the same dev team of Super Meat BoyTeam Meat, and was supposed to be released in 2014. But, due to creative differences and a lack of passion, Edmund cancelled the game in 2016, left Team Meat, and went on to work on his other games, The End is Nigh and the Legend of Bumbo, which was a prequel to the Binding of Isaac. But in 2018, it was announced that Edmund reacquired the rights from Team Meat and that it was back in development with Tyler Glaiel by his side. Finally, on February 10th 2026, more than a decade and a half in development, the game finally released.
Gameplay
This game absolutely rocks. It’s a strategy game with roguelike elements, mixed in with a refreshing gameplay loop and ideas. The gameplay has you have a house used to breed and store cats. The cat’s designs and stats are randomized. You used those cats in order to send them into expeditions. First, you choose their character classes. This could range from a mage, tank, archer, or even a necromancer. Those are just some of the classes. Next, through those expeditions , you have enemy encounters, you and the enemies take turns whether it be to attack, heal, or to defend. Meanwhile, you could move around and do a ton of different actions. If you can’t, then you have to end your turn. While on expeditions, you could have special events. These events have you make decisions. Your stats actually make an impact on these decisions. Having better stats in certain areas led to better results.
Art Direction and Theme
The art style is reminiscent of the early 1960s and 1970s cartoons. The character designs are so charming and its really unique. The music in this game goes hard. It is reminiscent of 1950s-60s blues with the songs being the theme of the area you are in.
I don’t think my review on this game does this game justice. It really is that good. The only gripe I could think of is the difficulty. It requires a large IQ in order to understand the mechanics, the planning of expeditions and who to send on said expeditions. The story also is really confusing. It goes from insane to why even. If you want a new strategy game, play Mewgenics.
