CATNIP

MEWGENICS is a lesson in embracing the joy of chaos

- By Robin Valentine

Environmental effects-such as toxic goop-affect your cats and interact with each other. You can use water to put out fires, for example.

If you've been thinking about forming an unhealthy relationship with a videogame in 2026, Mewgenics is for you. 'Obsession' isn't a strong enough word to describe my last three weeks with this bizarre Roguelike strategy game/cat breeding simulator. Its core loop—sending cats out to face the dangers of the neighborhood, returning with the spoils, and then raising a new generation for the next expedition—has kept me enthralled for 100 hours and counting.

Each run, you handpick four of the cats currently scurrying around your home, and assign each of them a familiar D&D-style class—such as fighter, mage, or cleric—which adds new randomized abilities to their character sheet alongside whatever odd gifts they were born with. Then you pick a region to start in—at first just the alleys of your local neighborhood—and set off across a simple overland map.

Along the way are points of interest like shops and events, but the meat of each adventure is the fights. Pitting you against a variety of bizarre monsters, these turn-based battles are pleasingly quick and accessible, avoiding the steep learning curve that can plague some Roguelikes.