Edmund McMillen, the developer ofThe Binding of Isaac, has taken some time to talk about his next major release,Mewgenics, which is a game about breeding cats and having them fight one another in turn-based combat. Originally announced back in the early 2010s,Mewgenicshas gone through a number of revisions and revivals over the course of the past couple of years, though its core gameplay loop now appears to have been nailed down.WhileThe Binding of Isaacmay have defined McMillen’s game development career for the longest time, he and his team have now fully moved on to the production ofMewgenicsafter their previous title,The Legend of Bum-Bo, didn’t end up achieving the same heights thatIsaacdid.Mewgenics, instead, is supposed to be the developer’s major new project, with the team wanting to make a game that could keep being updated for years on end.RELATED:The Legend of Bum-Bo Gets Free ‘Lost Expansion’ Update"I really seeMewgenicsas the sequel toThe Binding of Isaac," said McMillen in a recent talk with Polygon. He proceeded to explain thatMewgenicsis all about taking “something likeIsaacand [making] it into a bigger and better thing.” Theinfamously obfuscated story ofTheBinding of Isaacmay receive a new and updated parallel onceMewgenicsis out, though the cat sim is designed to stand on its own two legs. WhereasMewgenicswas initially supposed to be a side-scrolling brawler game, the final product will instead take its cues fromInto the Breach, with players breeding their cats to perform specific roles in combat.
Mewgenicsis being made by a two-person team consisting of McMillen himself and Tyler Glaiel, with the two having worked together onThe End is Nigh. In comparison,Mewgenicsis a substantially more complex game that appears to be intended to go beyond even the likes of2021’s DLCThe Binding of Isaac: Repentance, which is in a class all its own. Glaiel has explained that he needed to create an AI that ran thousands upon thousands of battle scenarios just to playtest all the different DNA combinations players could breed their cats into, so as to avoid potentially unwinnable situations.
McMillen and Glaiel also make note of the fact thatMewgenicsis supposed to be very modular. Players that enjoyed finding the verybestBinding of Isaacmodsand learning their ins and outs should, theoretically, have a field day withMewgenics as well, with long-term content plans already having been announced.
Those who are disappointed by the potentiallack of breeding in newPokemongamesmay wish to look intoMewgenics, as McMillen and Glaiel specifically compareMewgenicsto Game Freak’s seminal hit. The team estimates thatMewgenicsis roughly 18 to 24 months away at this time, though it’s worth pointing out that the game has no release date just yet.
Mewgenicsis currently in development for PC, with other platforms still unconfirmed.
