Mewgenics (PC) Review: A brutally clever tactical roguelike where every cat life — and death — matters

Mewgenics finally arrives on PC after years of anticipation, launching on February 10, 2026, and it is every bit as strange, punishing, and brilliant as fans hoped. Created by Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel, Mewgenics is a turn-based tactical roguelike built around cursed cats, grotesque humor, and long-term generational strategy. It’s a game that dares players to fail repeatedly — and then asks them to learn, adapt, and breed something stronger from the wreckage.

This is not a lighthearted pet sim despite its premise. Beneath the cartoonish cats and crude jokes lies a deeply tactical experience that rewards patience, foresight, and mastery of layered systems. Every run feels personal, every loss instructional, and every victory earned.

Tactical combat that demands respect

Combat in Mewgenics unfolds on small grid-based arenas where positioning, turn order, and ability timing are everything. Each cat has distinct stats, mutations, and skills that dramatically affect how they perform in battle. One wrong move can cascade into a full-party wipe, especially when enemies exploit debuffs, environmental hazards, or your own poor spacing.

Key combat strengths include:

• Deliberate, turn-based strategy that rewards planning multiple turns ahead
• Synergy-driven builds, where traits and abilities can combine into devastating effects
• High-risk decision-making, forcing players to weigh survival against potential rewards

There’s no button-mashing or brute-force approach here. Mewgenics expects you to think, and it punishes impatience without mercy.

Breeding, death, and long-term progression

What truly sets Mewgenics apart is its generational breeding system. Cats that survive runs can be paired to produce offspring who inherit traits, mutations, and stat tendencies from their parents. This creates a powerful meta-layer where failure still fuels progress.

Some traits are blessings, others are borderline curses, and many fall somewhere in between. Learning how these traits interact — and when to embrace or avoid them — becomes a core part of the experience. Over time, you’re not just improving your skill as a player; you’re engineering a lineage designed to survive deeper, more brutal encounters.

Death is frequent, but rarely meaningless. Each fallen cat informs the next generation, reinforcing the game’s central theme: evolution through failure.

Presentation and tone

Visually, Mewgenics leans into exaggerated, grotesque hand-drawn art. Enemies are unsettling, animations are expressive, and the UI is dense but readable once learned. The crude humor is ever-present — bodily fluids, disturbing enemies, and dark jokes abound — but it’s never random. Every gross detail is tied directly into mechanics or status effects.

The soundtrack and sound design heighten tension with eerie, off-kilter audio cues that keep encounters feeling unpredictable. Together, the presentation reinforces Mewgenics’ identity as a game that is intentionally uncomfortable, darkly funny, and mechanically sharp.

Replayability and challenge

Replayability is exceptional. Procedural generation, branching builds, unlockables, and the breeding system ensure that no two campaigns feel the same. The difficulty curve is steep, and the game makes few concessions to newcomers, but that challenge is precisely what makes victories feel so satisfying.

That said, this is not a casual experience. Players looking for quick runs or forgiving systems may bounce off early. Mewgenics demands commitment, experimentation, and tolerance for loss.

Final Verdict

Mewgenics is a confident, uncompromising tactical roguelike that knows exactly what it wants to be. It blends punishing turn-based combat with a brilliant generational progression system, creating an experience that is as strategic as it is bizarre. The crude humor and unsettling visuals won’t be for everyone, but for players who enjoy deep mechanics, emergent gameplay, and hard-earned success, this is one of the most rewarding roguelikes in recent years.

Game Information

Developer: Edmund McMillen & Tyler Glaiel
Publisher: Edmund McMillen
Platforms: PC (reviewed)
Release Date: February 10, 2026
Reviewed by: Mandy Valentine
Reviewed on: February 7, 2025

Review Score: 9.0 out of 10 👍

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

Mewgenics is a deeply strategic, turn-based roguelike that thrives on failure, experimentation, and long-term thinking. Its breeding system transforms death into progress, while its tactical combat rewards patience and mastery. The game is intentionally punishing and unapologetically weird, but those qualities make its victories unforgettable. This is a standout title for players who crave challenge, complexity, and games that refuse to play it safe.

In the long run, Mewgenics is the kind of game that quietly rewires how you think about progression. Instead of chasing a single “perfect” run, it encourages a mindset of experimentation and adaptation. Bad luck, poor decisions, and brutal enemy combinations are not just obstacles — they’re data. Each failure feeds the next attempt, and that slow accumulation of knowledge makes eventual success feel deeply personal rather than procedural.

What’s especially impressive is how well the game balances absurdity with consequence. The crude humor and grotesque visuals might initially suggest chaos for chaos’ sake, but beneath the surface, every mechanic has weight. Status effects linger, positioning mistakes compound, and inherited traits can define an entire playthrough. The comedy never dilutes the tension; if anything, it sharpens it, making victories feel triumphant and losses sting just enough to push you back in.

Ultimately, Mewgenics stands as a testament to confident design. It doesn’t over-explain itself, it doesn’t soften its edges, and it doesn’t chase mass appeal. Instead, it trusts players to meet it halfway — to learn its systems, embrace its weirdness, and accept failure as part of the journey. For those willing to commit, the result is a uniquely memorable experience that lingers long after you’ve stepped away from the screen.

“9.0 out 10 - Mewgenics turns failure into evolution, blending brutal tactics with dark humor to create one of the most rewarding roguelikes you can lose yourself in.”