Edmund McMillen’s first game was not Super Meat Boy, but it was certainly the game that put him on the map. Super Meat Boy is also one of the great early indie games of the Xbox 360 era, which can be thanked for helping the indie community soar. Another great game of his was The Binding of Isaac, and now McMillen’s team is back with a very strange game called Mewgenics.
10 Turn-Based JRPGs With Wild Difficulty Spikes Fans Still Secretly Love
Even the most beloved JRPGs can have challenge bursts that feel downright unfair.
Players will run a house filled with mutant cats that they then need to breed to make powerful kitty armies. They can take a few into dungeons, as this is a run-based roguelike with turn-based tactical combat. For those who finish Mewgenics, they may fill their cat-less holes with the following games that have similar vibes or mechanics, or to be cute, mew-chanics.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Pit People
Just As Weird
The art style and pure oddness of games from The Behemoth are so close to everything that Edmund McMillen and his team develop that it almost seems like the games are already coming from the same studio. Pit People is a strategy game that is set in a fantasy apocalyptic land that fell into ruin when a giant bear crashed into the planet and screwed everything up.
Players can get an initial party and find more members along the way as they take their caravan on quests. Random events and encounters are unpredictable, and fights are always way more challenging because they will outnumber players. The jaunty music, character/enemy designs, and challenging hexagonal strategy battles fit right in with Mewgenics or vice versa.
Darkest Dungeon 2
The Soulslikes Of Roguelikes
- Developer(s)
- Red Hook Studios
- Genre(s)
- Tactical, Strategy, Roguelite, Dungeon Crawler
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Darkest Dungeon 2 is a 2D roguelike RPG with a turn-based battle system, and to call it bleak would be an understatement. Players can choose from a variety of heroes, each with their own class, to fill out their four party slots before adventuring off into gothic hell. The Highwayman, for example, is a gunner while the Plague Doctor can use alchemy to infect enemies.
When characters die on a run, they will retire for the remainder, seemingly making the rest of the campaign almost impossible without high luck. While it’s not a tactical game, the bleakness and high challenge rating of Darkest Dungeon 2’s campaign will certainly resonate with some Mewgenics fans.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Fight Back The Alien Scurge
XCOM: Enemy Unknown was a reboot for the XCOM series, which updated some mechanics and made it slightly more accessible while still adhering to the difficult nature of the campaign. Players are part of an elite team designed to fight back against alien invaders, and all battles, as they attack multiple parts of the globe at once, are randomized. Players will have to make difficult decisions about abandoning one area over another, depending on what rewards they will get in return for the rescue.
Battles themselves are strategic, with units able to move freely, not on a grid in any direction, and take cover when their turn is done, be it from moving or attacking. Like Mewgenics, characters and abilities will be randomized, and there is permadeath, so players have to treat each move as if it were their last. Missing a single attack could be fatal for the team, which makes achieving victory the best sense in the world.
The Last Spell
Gotta Get Back To Hogwarts
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Tactical RPG
The Last Spell is a mouthful of a genre as it’s a tactical roguelike tower defense game. After magic has ruined the world, a powerful mage is casting the literal last spell to destroy all magic left, which in turn will stop the zombies and monsters from invading the last bastion of humanity.
In each campaign, players will get a random set of characters they can choose from, with upgrades unlocking new options as players go along. Before battles start, players can fortify the town to protect the mage, along with getting the battlefield prepped. Monsters will come in waves, and the limited party members can attack individually or cast area-of-effect attacks on the grid-based maps. The full randomization of the battlefields, enemies, and party members falls in line with Mewgenics, minus the house management and breeding nature.
Grand Kingdom
Building Up Your Guild
Grand Kingdom
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 76 /100 Critics Rec: 65%
- Released
- November 19, 2015
In Grand Kingdom, players are in charge of a guild that they will manage by going on missions for the various kingdoms. Players can create all of their party members, all of whom belong to typical classes like Witch and Rogue. If players want an entire party full of Archers, they can, but it would not be smart. On missions, the party will be placed on a board and represented by a chess piece.
As they move around, so too will enemies, and once encountered, battles will play out like a 2D tactical game, which takes into account different lanes, almost like a MOBA. Players can also find treasure, and random events can play out, which could net players bonuses for their run. While it may not be an exact match for the Mewgenics crowd, fans will certainly appreciate managing their guild, relationships with other countries, forming and upgrading party members, and the hybrid tactical nature of battles.
The Banner Saga
Looking For A New Life
The Banner Saga is another game that’s not exactly brimming with happy vibes. A group of settlers is traveling across mystic lands as they are chased from their homeland by supernatural pursuers. It’s kind of like The Oregon Trail if it were also a tactical RPG, because in between battles, players will be stopped with decisions to make along the way.
10 Classic RPGs With Turn-Based Combat That Still Feel Modern
Your modern tastes are in for a pleasant surprise if you give these classic RPGs a chance to blow your mind.
Using supplies poorly or going in the wrong direction may have grave consequences for the party, which can also affect the tactical combat. Also, progress can carryover between the two sequels, so it really will feel like a journey. The richness of the story, characters, and the wonderful artwork will make players try to keep their party alive as much as possible, which is something the cat lovers of Mewgenics can appreciate, along with the rewarding combat.
Massive Chalice
Double Fine’s Forgotten Throne Builder
- Developer(s)
- Double Fine
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Windows, macOS, Linux
Massive Chalice was developed by Double Fine, and it’s one of their more forgotten titles. A literal massive chalice is helping keep a kingdom alive despite an ever-looming darkness corrupting the lands around. Like XCOM: Enemy Unknown, players will have to make decisions on where they go for missions, plus the strategic battle setup is similar.
Mewgenics fans will love the progression system of Massive Chalice because players can never get too attached to the warriors as they will age and die. The point is to breed the best of the best together to create offspring to carry on stats, but breeding may also carry over defects like heart disease that can kill characters faster. Like everything in the game, there are many risks.
Pokemon Conquest
The Ultimate Critter Series
Pokemon Conquest is kind of like a palette cleanser for Mewgenics and everything else on the list. It’s a grid-based tactical RPG that combines the 4X series, Nobunaga’s Ambition, and the Pokemon franchise. With their samurai lord, players will fight across Japan to unite it. Opposing rivals will do the same, and it’s almost like a game of Risk as different parties are vying for the same land on repeat.
It’s a full RPG, meaning that the Pokemon will level up their abilities and won’t explode like the cats in Mewgenics if they faint. For those wishing that Mewgenics was a bit cuter and had more easy-to-understand progression systems, but still want a bit of unpredictability in terms of how the campaign is arranged, then Pokemon Conquest is worth a shot.
5 Turn-Based RPGs With Better Combat Than Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may have won RPG of the year, but does it have better combat than some of the best RPGs of all time?