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The Binding of Isaac creator's upcoming cat breeding roguelike is set to feature autism as a possible ability, an addition which has prompted the game's "biggest wishlist spike in over a year."
Mewgenics is being developed by Edmund McMillan, who also made Super Meat Boy, as well as The End is Nigh alongside his latest game's co-developer, Tyler Glaiel. The premise is simple – breed and train cats to venture out into the world, defeat bosses, and collect items, before returning home to further their bloodline. Through this process, they can inherit special abilities (or "disorders," as Glaiel calls them), which bring with them different buffs and debuffs. As of a few days ago, the devs had added 100 to the roguelike, having more than doubled that total number over the course of the last week.
One of these abilities in particular has proved to be quite a hit – autism. In a screenshot shared to Twitter last week, Glaiel has showcased what it does in the game – we can see that there's a simultaneous debuff and buff of some sort applied, and the description reads: "The spells you were born with cost two less mana. Your other spells cost one more mana."
for those curious https://t.co/IurWkpSHT5 pic.twitter.com/UMmqHfmSAMAugust 6, 2024
As with the portrayal of any real-life condition, not everyone feels 100% happy with this, with one Twitter user noting that it "feels super gross," but as the surge of Steam wishlists suggests, the reaction has generally been very positive, with many prospective players happy with the representation. "Finally, good autism representation," one fan responds. "This is the representation I always wanted, very relatable," says another. "This is literally what autism does to me, too. Going against the Way That I Am takes more effort, but I am VERY good at doing those Things That I Do," another adds.
Back in July, it was announced that Mewgenics is expected to be "content complete" by the end of the year, so it's looking like it's on track for its 2025 release window.
