Four tips to get you started in tactical roguelike kitty collector Mewgenics

Mewgenics caused quite a stir in the indie gaming community when it launched on February 10, resulting in over 1 million sales in its first week alone. But, if you’re yet to jump in, getting started can be a little daunting. Luckily for you, we’ve pulled together some tips and tricks for those just starting out, or even if you haven’t gotten very far and are feeling a bit lost on where to go next. 

Before we get stuck in though, the most important thing to mention before anything else is that the game is designed in a way where you’re supposed to lose sometimes. So, don’t get too hung up on trying to win every single time, and also don’t get attached to your cats - no matter how cute they are. 

Items, items and more items

Items are one of the most important things you can collect to strengthen your cats early on, before you even think about breeding. There are a few ways to maximize how many items you are getting too, such as taking down birds which are passive mobs so you don’t necessarily need to target them, however killing them before they fly away has a high chance of dropping an item, and you’ll get a stat buff to the cat that lands the killing blow. 

Another way to maximize levels and item gain is to always take the “hard path” option in Act 1 as this will mean more levels for your cats and an extra chance at item drops or gold. If you should also always buy the Rare Candy in the shop as this item grants you a level up practically for free. Well, not free, but for $10.  

Storage wars

With all that said, item storage is limited so you can only store 16 items at your house after donating your first cat, however this can be upgraded further each time you donate enough cats to Butch - a human you meet toward the start of the game. All of the characters will give different upgrades, and all are useful in their own way, so there are no wrong answers here. 

After coercing with Butch, I would prioritize Tracy for food and food upgrades. More food means you can keep more cats, which is especially useful if you lose your cats a lot while you are still learning the mechanics of combat. 

Upgrades people, upgrades

You can upgrade your house by placing furniture. This will increase the stats of the room the furniture is placed in, and if you ever see an item with the “mutation” stat this is a great piece to prioritise as it will increase chances for cats to develop mutations. These can give great buffs to your cats, though they’re not always positive. 

The “stimulation” stat is another worth keeping an eye out for as it leads to a higher chance of kittens inheriting stats and mutations from their parents and increases overall quality of your cats. It’s important to keep your “comfort” stat out of the negative to avoid cats fighting as much as possible as this could end in some heartbreaking losses. 

Close combat

For early game combat I recommend always having one tank, one cleric (once unlocked) and two DPS (damage per second) cats. 

Abilities and items that summon NPCs are incredibly useful early on and should be prioritised. They will attack enemies dealing extra damage and can be targeted by enemies taking damage in place of your cats. Hunter is one of the starting classes and is able to learn some summoning spells, but there are also plenty of items that can be used to summon creatures to fight for you.

Hovering over enemies will show how many spaces they can move and how much damage their attacks deal in case you need to double check to plan your next move. Enemies can also be right clicked to show their movement and attack range on the map. This is an important feature to utilise, especially against new enemies. 

Holding ctrl will also pull up a flat tactical view of the map, making it easier to see what is going on which is particularly useful if you’re fighting against a whole horde. It’s also worth noting that all units will take additional damage from behind, which can be used to your advantage by positioning behind enemies when possible but also ending your turn with your own back protected by terrain. 

The main takeaway is to remember that, as frustrating as it is, if you roll with the punches, take those losses and try to enjoy yourself, and slowly build up your items and your upgrades, your cats will improve slowly but surely and you’ll be a Mewgenics machine in no time.