Mewgenics' secrets might take 'years to find, creator says

Edmund McMillen teases DLC and an ARG whose complexity will rival that of The Binding of Isaac

It's been nearly 15 years since the original announcement of Mewgenics, but people still aren't ready for what the feline tactical RPG has in store for them. And according to the developers, it will likely take some time before fans get a handle on everything that's in the game.

For those of you who haven't caught wind of the hype surrounding the roguelike that's coming out on Tuesday, here's a quick refresher. Mewgenics is the newest game by the creators of Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy, a tactical roguelike in which players send a team of cats out on dangerous adventures. Cats who survive these gauntlets can breed and pass down traits and abilities learned along the way, both good and bad.

That's the main system, but I cannot emphasize enough how dense Mewgenics is. I'm 40 hours into my first save file, and the game shows that I've only experienced around 14% of the overall content. Despite Mewgenics' constant generosity, however, it still reserves plenty of intrigue. That's by design, judging from a recent AMA by the Mewgenics developers on r/SteamDeck.

In it, one fan asks creator Edmund McMillen to rate how many secrets Mewgenics hides on a scale of 1 to 10.

"There's a lot of little things that I think people will be discovering for months or years," McMillen wrote. "But we will reserve the true ARG level stuff for DLC."

Back in 2015, when gross-out roguelike Binding of Isaac received DLC, fans found an achievement that could only be attained after going through a challenge mode with a tough boss at the end. If they prevailed, they could donate money to a mysterious machine at the end. Without getting too nitty-gritty, this set off a complicated treasure hunt involving updating icons, secret characters, cryptic social media posts, ciphers, and real-world clues. There was a phone number that only gave a clue after fans said the right phrase. Eventually, someone had to pull out a shovel IRL and dig for a clue. All of this culminated in the release of a new character.

McMillen's response, then, is as coy as it is provocative. There's the latent confirmation of Mewgenics DLC, and the tidbit that there will likely be an elaborate mystery component to it. Fans might've expected as much, given The Binding of Isaac's prolonged post-release support. Still, the idea that Mewgenics will continue to expand is wild.

It's already an enormous game. There are seemingly hundreds of items, abilities, and endless cat possibilities. The breeding system alone is a beast if you really want to make powerful cats. My colleagues say they are over a hundred hours into Mewgenics, and they are still finding new things in every run. Some of these are major additions, like characters or bosses you can fight or recruit. Some are small yet no less remarkable — like when your cat might break out into endless meows or songs. Mewgenics' production values are comparable to Hollow Knight: Silksong's — both games show an astounding, pervasive attention to detail despite their enormous scope.

OK, sure, it's going to take a good while to see everything. But what do you mean there's going to be more??? Fans should buckle up, too. Given the ARGs McMillen has done since the one in 2015, he will likely design new ones to be datamine-proof.

Mewgenics is out on Steam on February 10. Reviews are glowing: Mewgenics is the highest-rated game of the year to date. And yes, it is an excellent time on Steam Deck.