Mewgenics is an odd, often disturbing, and surprisingly challenging experience from front to back, and we’d expect nothing less as it comes in hot from Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel, whose works you may be familiar with if you played The Binding of Isaac or Super Meat Boy. If you haven’t touched either of them, you’re in for a treat, as things will get very weird, very quickly.
Quirky and deranged writing and artwork aside, Mewgenics is a solid turn-based roguelike experience that has a strong emphasis on team building and strategy, offering many ways for you to tackle each encounter or choke the run outright, forcing you to breed and raise more cats before you attempt to brave the storm once more!
Choose Abilities Based On Your Cat’s Class Skills
Leveling up after tough encounters will present you with a tough decision to make, allowing you to choose one of four Active/Passive Abilities, which can substantially improve your combat efficiency. While there will be some situations where a particular Ability is too good to pass on, you should always prioritize one that works well with your cat’s Class Skills.
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For example, if you have a cat that lays traps whenever they land a basic attack, selecting an Active/Passive Ability that increases the damage dealt by traps will come in clutch, especially if they’re a range-based class. This is one of many examples, as you can even get passives where eating poop on the arena heals you, coinciding with the Ability that allows you to spawn and instantly eat poop at the start of each encounter. Gross? Yes. Helpful? Also yes.
Keep Cats With Potent Abilities And Skills
While it may be tempting to give away your cats when they retire upon successfully completing a run, we strongly urge you to hold onto the ones that have extraordinarily robust Abilities and Skills, as they can be passed onto their offspring after giving birth, allowing you to start your next run off on the right foot.
So, if you have, say, a Hunter build that was purrrfect, you can more or less keep that same build by storing your equipment and reproducing a cat with the same abilities. While there is some RNG involved, and it may not be one-to-one, this method will let you enter each subsequent run stronger and better prepared than the last, helping you get closer to finishing a complete run!
Furthermore, clearing Acts of the story will have Guillotina spawn in and approach your base within seven days. To defeat her, you can ONLY use Retired Cats, so absolutely do not get rid of them the moment you finish a run. Keep your strongest kitties and take care of them, as they will be crucial later in the game!
Movement Is Strategical And Crucial To Success
Movement, like most strategic turn-based titles, is unbelievably crucial in Mewgenics, as your positioning on the battlefield can have many consequences, both good and bad. Where your cat is facing at the end of the turn, and the surrounding environments, all play into the strategy and importance of your movement, so don’t mindlessly charge toward the enemy, as it can end very poorly for you if you do.
What’s more, once you move, that’s it, there is no resetting your decision or further adjustments you can make outside of specific or unique Abilities, so ensure you’re making the best possible choice that not only benefits that specific cat, but the rest of your team, before going through with it, as it can be the difference between life or death!
Before ending your turn, click where you want your cat to look; they will face that direction even without taking an action. This is crucial to note, as you never want to expose your back to the enemy, as it allows them to deal more damage to you!
Attacking From Behind Will Deal More Damage
Speaking of movement and mobility being crucial, where you attack your enemy is equally as important, as landing attacks on the enemy while positioned behind them will deal more damage, and can even heighten your critical-hit chances in some situations or with specific builds. So, whenever possible, ensure you are moving behind your enemy before attacking them for maximum damage.
However, while this is good news for you, it should also be noted that it applies to your enemy’s attacks, which reinforces our previous point about your movement and positioning. NEVER face away from your opponent or allow them to attack you from behind, as that could deal crucial or even fatal damage to your cat, which is never a good thing. Be smart and patient when moving your units!
Don’t Be Ashamed To End A Run Early
Upon defeating the final boss of each region, you will be met with a crossroads of sorts, allowing you to pack things in and head back home, ending the run, or continuing your adventure further into even more difficult and disturbing areas. While it’s always incredibly tempting to push the envelope and go for broke, we strongly recommend cutting your run short if your units are severely injured or you aren’t satisfied with your current builds.
Ending a run not only ensures your cats stay alive, allowing them to reproduce or get adopted by one of the many weirdos who want them, but it also allows you to keep all items collected, as well as your money. There’s no downside to finishing a run early, as you can get back up and running faster, hopefully coming in stronger than ever and better prepared!
Spend Your Money Wisely During Each Run
As you make your way through each region, you will earn money by completing encounters or by collecting them off tiles on the battlefield, allowing you to spend it at unique vendors found typically before the final boss encounter of the region, allowing you to purchase a random assortment of items. However, one consistent item will be the Rare Candy, which costs 10¢ and automatically levels up a random unit, allowing you to unlock a new Ability for them.
We cannot stress how excellent this item is, and recommend snagging it every single time, as it just juices up a random unit, shifting the tides of battle in your favor. There will also be several other items, but they will vary with each run, so observe them closely and decide whether they fit your build or may be useful to you down the road. Some potent items can pop up in these shops, so make sure to look at what’s available before leaving!
Upgrades To Your House Are A Game Changer
Moving on from there, once you complete enough runs and clear the Caves region, you will unlock an NPC named Baby Jack, who sells furniture, allowing you to decorate your house, elevating specific stats for your cats, making their living space better and more relaxing.
The Comfort stat, in particular, is crucial to hone in on, as it will make or break whether your cats mate or fight. If this stat is too low, your cats will fight more frequently at the end of the day, which can lead to death and end your chances of getting an offspring with their unique abilities. The higher your Comfort stat, the more likely the cats are to mate and reproduce. Do not sleep on this aspect of the game, as it will make your life and future runs much easier!
Furniture Stats Overview
- Appeal: Attracts more unique and potent stray cats to your house with better Active/Passive Abilities.
- Comfort: Raises the odds your cats will mate, while lowering the chances of them getting into fights.
- Health: Can heal a retired cat’s injuries when entering a new day.
- Mutation: Increases the likelihood that a cat will be born with a unique Mutation.
- Stimulation: Makes it more likely that cats are born with their parents’ abilities, Mutations, and skills.
Don’t Forget To Use Items And Weapons Each Turn
Lastly, we want to highlight the importance of using items and weapons during each turn, as they can be extremely potent. Oftentimes, using a weapon won’t count as your turn, as you can still use mana-based Abilities, as well as your standard attack, essentially allowing you to attack multiple times with no penalties whatsoever. Some weapons will have limited uses per encounter, so make sure you’re using those more strategically.
Items are in the exact same boat, as some items have unlimited uses and can raise your cat’s stats every turn with no downside, but will often be forgotten or left unutilized, as you may assume they are a one-time use. Some items do have limits and can only be used a few times per encounter or once for the entire run, but they’re clearly marked, so don’t be afraid to use your items to get the upper hand in a fierce encounter!
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