Mewgenics, a tactical RPG and life-sim roguelite about breeding and battling cats, launched on PC via Steam on Tuesday and quickly topped the charts. Created by Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel of The Binding of Isaac fame, the game boasts an enormous scope, with developers estimating 200 hours to beat and over 500 for full completion. It has received the highest Metacritic score for 2026 so far.
Mewgenics was announced in 2012 but faced a prolonged development period, including a cancellation, before its release this week. The game combines elements of tactical battles and cat breeding, where victorious cats retire, forcing players to start anew with their kittens. In a recent AMA on the Steam Deck subreddit, McMillen described it as “one of the largest tactical RPGs of all time,” highlighting 281 Steam achievements and 1,000 unique abilities to unlock.
Developers revealed that an average player might need 200+ hours to complete the main game and 500+ hours for 100% completion. Glaiel noted, “there’s a lot of little things that I think people will be discovering for months or years. But we will reserve the true ARG level stuff for DLC.” The team plans to start DLC development in the coming months, aiming for a release about a year later. McMillen also hinted at a potential Switch 2 port, though the game is currently PC-exclusive.
Despite its tumultuous history, Mewgenics has launched to strong acclaim, becoming the highest-rated game on Metacritic for the year. McMillen shared an example of the game's creativity during the AMA: “my nephew Eli had one where he could punch one of his other cats in the face and it would send out 1000 sparkles to totally destroy all enemies instantly…the game is so insane man, you don’t even know.” Early player reports suggest extensive secrets await discovery, echoing the long-term engagement of The Binding of Isaac.