Mewgenics (2026) is a game that was in the oven for the better part of a decade. The passion project of Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel, the former being the creator of The Binding of Isaac, the staple rogue-like indie darling (that has actually seen a bit of a resurgence lately), has a lot going for it. It’s personally my favorite game of this year, it’s funny (In the classic, scatological way McMillen favors, just teetering the edge of complete immaturity), but most importantly, it’s got the craziest, most ripping soundtrack of any game I’ve played, thanks to the talents, efforts, and most importantly, versatility of Ridiculon. 

A cursory listen to the music of this album is enough to raise eyebrows, because if the songs on this release are anything, they’re memorable. Whether it be the manic, crazed laughing of Carla Kihlstedt (One of the many, many professional musicians attached to this) on Guillotina, the crooning, 20’s-esque jazz on So High, or the vocaloid(?) vocalist on Brush Your Teeth, this soundtrack is as eclectic as it is full of talent. Ridiculon, composed of Jon Evans and Matthias Bossi, don’t mess around when it comes to their soundtracks. Fans of McMillen know that the soundtrack for The End Is Nigh (2017) is a highlight, and in all the time it took for Mewgenics to finally release, the attention to detail is very evident in their music. 

Vocally, the album is uncharacteristically good, better than any other game out there considering most don’t wager to include lyrics, with Ridiculon being great singers but greatly benefitting from the dozens of guest vocalists, to the point where almost every main-game song has its own vocalist. 

However, the music can’t really stand unless it’s got good bones, and much like the cats so emblematic of the game, Ridiculon have been chugging and lapping up that Musician’s Milk. The guitar playing is consistently amazing, with tracks like Chumbucket Kitty, Flush, and Alone in the Dark having some of the most ear-wormy and downright nasty riffs and licks (fitting for disgusting each of these songs are lyrically). 

One other tracks, like Down With The Devil, they channeled all the jazz in their minds to create some of the best sax tones and tunes I’ve heard on any rock-oriented album, and it leads to some absolute insanity near the end, where it feels like the walls are breaking down with just how oppressive the slamming guitars, roaring sax, and drums like pistons just tearing everything up, an album highlight for sure.

As the game progresses and more songs are unlocked, Ridiculon just starts firing on all cylinders, bringing out one of the catchiest tracks on the album with Mom I Really Hate You, a simultaneously serious song with lyrics that finally aren’t about poop, while being a tongue-in-cheek reference to The Binding of Isaac. 

Also in this later crop of tracks is the trilogy of songs Chaos, Crazy Days, and Bolt of Lightning, which sum up to be probably the strongest set of songs for any area in the game. Chaos, being the stated personal favorite song of McMillen from the game, surrounds you with one of the most expressive guest singers, Storm Large, and great backing vocals from Ridiculon, as well as one of the most varied instrumentals, with keyboards, guitar (electric, acoustic, and a sitar too!), keyboards, and strings, creating a truly chaotic listening experience. The one-two punch of Crazy Days and Bolt of Lightning is truly off its rocker, with the former song being a relentless, swing/rockabilly tune that sounds like Elvis Presley with a car battery running through his body, and the latter culminating the craziness with what I can only assume to be the devil himself helping with the singing, backed by reversed riffs, muted guitars in the back, and an extremely strong horn section, one of the strongest on the album if you ask me. 

However, the insanity and feline frenzy this album sics on you slows down once you reach the end, and the sardonic and inane experience you just had culminates with Dig Your Own Grave, which is what I consider a perfect song, and maybe the finest song ever put to a soundtrack. Split into 3 movements, this song builds and builds into something so great and encapsulating, it is mind boggling to think this exists on the same album as the song about eating rats. With a truly inspired vocal performance from Matthias Bossi, the ravings and scorning of this cat-deity build and build as the holy figure of this world gradually gets more and more upset at you until he eventually just starts a fire-and-brimstone preach, and the instrumentals match this, with an absolutely incredible horns section utilizing mutes, castanets are thrown in the mix, and the best drumming on the album bar none. It's a behemoth of a song, with the full version of it being ~14 minutes, but it's the greatest quarter hour you can experience if you ask me. All the greatness of this song is multiplied by the fact it is the last song of the entire game, a fittingly climactic and powerful song to cap off what is a once in a lifetime game.

Every single track in Mewgenics works excellently as a stand-alone song, and made even better after having heard it in game. That's what every truly good soundtrack should do, have music able to be separated from the game, and still have that music be made better with the context of the game. The primary method in which the music is implemented in the game is by having an instrumental, 16-bit instrumental, and full vocal rendition of each song per stage in the game, which creates a feeling of progression, intimacy with the instrumental and vibe, and satisfaction when you hear the lyrical payoff of the tune that’s been churning for the past 20 minutes of gameplay. This is the best implementation of music I’ve seen in a game personally, and is a major reason why the music of this game sticks so much for me and others.

All of that is without even mentioning the WMEW tracks that play and are unlocked throughout the game, which are just as good as the main game songs, but without that feeling of progression that the implementation of the other songs have. Regardless, they still help give the game such an endearing and memorable soundtrack, with each ditty being permanently ingrained in your head. For the original soundtrack, being the adventure + house songs, there just is not a single bad track. The worst it gets is still memorable, cat-chy, and overwhelmingly well done. Also tangentially related to the music, the house DJ that introduces each song, Jimmy “The Hammer” Valentine, is ridiculously funny and a major inspiration for how I approach my show here.

I understand that the premise of this game is inherently ridiculous and the finer details don't do well to paint it in a serious light, but I at least think that this soundtrack deserves notoriety and praise far above what it gets. Mewgenics is honestly overshadowed by the popularity of Isaac, and that’s not fair to the game or the incredible music that’s attached to it. Even to my friends who have never and will never play Mewgenics, just me constantly humming or singing the songs has led them to sing it to themselves, because that’s just how universally good all these songs are. Mewgenics is crude, it’s unscrupulous in its difficulty, and in general it’s kind of an ugly game, not in the graphical sense but in everything that surrounds it, but all of that works in tandem with the demented and eccentric soundtrack that accompanies it. A genre-bending masterpiece on par with Ween’s Chocolate and Cheese or Mr Bungle’s California, and a soundtrack to be remembered for all time, at least for those who made the great decision to listen to it.