Mewgenics Co-Creator Responds to Cameo Complaints: ‘I Understand We Live in a Time Where a Meow From Someone Who Has Different Beliefs as You Is Scary and Frustrating, Confusing and Controversial’

Mewgenics co-creator Edmund McMillen has discussed how he drew up the list of the personalities approached to provide the game’s numerous cameos, saying that while he “understands we live in a time where a meow from someone who has different beliefs as you is scary and frustrating, confusing and controversial… it felt interesting, so I decided to explore it.”

In an interview with RPS, following criticisms that the cameo cast included individuals perceived by some to have controversial views, McMillen said the game’s meow roster represented people from across the ideological spectrum, including people — such as Ethan Klein — who had not publicly commented on his views of the Gaza conflicts at the time he was asked to contribute. “When we added most of the people on the list it was ages ago, like, Ethan was included a good four years back,” McMillen explained.

“I wanted the game to feature a huge array of iconic voices I’ve been hearing echoing across the internet for most of my time making games. As some probably noticed, I was all over the place when it came to cameos and did my best to include and keep ones that clashed or kinda counterbalanced each other. The inclusion of Ethan and Hila [Klein] was counter balanced by iDubbbz and Anisa,” he added, referring to two creators who have publicly supported Palestine.

“I made sure to contact both to make sure they were okay with the others’ involvement so it didn’t feel like a weird gotcha on release,” McMillen explained. “They were both very adult about it and said they had no issue with the other being added, and I really respected that, since I know they have been publicly feuding for a while now. It’s hard to explain without revealing aspects of the game people haven’t really experienced yet, but the inclusion of people with clashing ideologies felt appropriate.”

McMillen concluded: “I understand we live in a time where a meow from someone who has different beliefs as you is scary and frustrating, confusing and controversial… but it felt interesting, so I decided to explore it. Also, I should probably point out that I don’t share the same opinions as, well, probably any of the people we included.

“If I only included people who share the same exact opinions as me, I’d be the only one meowing in the game. I included Chris, but also liquid Chris (those who know, know)… I didn’t [realize] Matan [Evan, an Israeli-American YouTuber] was controversial, I mean a lot of these people are characters doing bits.”

Other notable inclusions on the list of vocal performers include Stranger Things star David Harbour and Supernatural’s Felicia Day.

IGN thought Mewgenics was ‘Amazing.’ It returned 9/10 in our review, in which we wrote: “Mewgenics is a fantastic tactical RPG that’s good for more than a hundred hours of roguelike runs. Just when you think you have it figured out it’ll throw something completely unexpected and hilariously gross at you – and probably a catchy new original song, too.”

And we’re not the only ones having a good time with it; Mewgenics recouped all of its seven-year development costs within three hours of its launch on February 10. “So far this is beating expectations by quite a lot,” co-creator Tyler Glaiel told IGN. “It’s a bigger launch than any of the Isaac expansions already, and it’s only been a few hours.”

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.