"We could have just made The Binding of Isaac 2," say Mewgenics creators, and a "very easy" sequel to one of the greatest roguelikes ever "would have gotten 20 million wishlists like one second after announcing it"

1. Games
2. Roguelike Games

"We could have just made The Binding of Isaac 2," say Mewgenics creators, and a "very easy" sequel to one of the greatest roguelikes ever "would have gotten 20 million wishlists like one second after announcing it" News By Dustin Bailey Contributions from Ali Jones published 6 February 2026

Mewgenics seemed "like a monumental task, but why shouldn't we be able to do it?"

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Edmund McMillen)

• Copy link
• Facebook
• X
• Whatsapp
• Pinterest
• Flipboard
• Email

Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter GamesRadar+ Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful

Want to add more newsletters?

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

Signup +

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Signup +

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

Signup +

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Signup +

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

Signup +

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

Signup +

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!

Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter

Mewgenics has been in various stages of development for well over a decade, and if the early scores are any indication all that dev time has resulted in a uniquely deep strategy RPG. But the devs themselves might've had an easier – and more financially viable – time making a straightforward follow-up to The Binding of Isaac, widely regarded one of the best roguelike games ever made.

"We both hadn't made [a strategy game]," Mewgenics co-creator Edmund McMillen tells GamesRadar+, "and I think we both knew going in it would be really cool to do this, but this is the hardest thing in the world to make. This is very hard, and this is going to take a lot of work. I don't know, we've been doing this for a long time, and I think we were just kind of up to the challenge."

"I've been making games since I was a teenager," McMillen's co-conspirator, Tyler Glaiel, adds, "and I definitely had tried to make RPGs or strategy games when I was younger. They're very difficult to get right because you can't rely on reflexes to balance fights. Reflexes are a very analog thing. You can be like, 'This fight is 2% too difficult, let's slow it down 2%.' You don't get that with a turn-based game because it's very discrete. The actions are very careful and thought out. The systems need to be solid, they need to make sense. There's just a lot that goes into it. A bunch of attempts – I think we both had tried it."

You may like

• Mewgenics review: "The Binding of Isaac collides with Into the Breach in a smart strategy roguelike"
• You may just see "a turn-based game with cats f****ing" in new strategy game Mewgenics, but led dev says it’s actually "very D&D"
• I'm not surprised The Binding of Isaac creator's new cat breeding roguelike Mewgenics is the highest-rated game of 2026

McMillen says he "tried twice" to make a game along these lines before, but those projects were never released. Glaiel estimates his own RPG graveyard contains even more abandoned titles. "I had like four unfinished RPGs that never saw the light of day. It's a very hard one to get right," he says.

But as work on Mewgenics got underway, Glaiel says working in an inherently more ambitious genre started to make sense. "It did feel like we had made a lot of games," he explains, "we learned a lot from all the other games that we had made, individually and together, and then it's like, 'OK, we can try this genre again. It seems like a monumental task, but why shouldn't we be able to do it?'"

"What else are we gonna do?" McMillen muses.

"What else are we gonna do?" Glaiel agrees. "We gonna make another fucking platformer? We gonna make The Binding of Isaac 2?"

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

"Exactly," McMillen says. "We could have just made The Binding of Isaac 2. That would be very easy."

"That would have gotten 20 million wishlists like one second after announcing," Glaiel reckons.

Check out our full Mewgenics review to find out why it's "a worthy successor to The Binding of Isaac."

CATEGORIES PC Gaming Platforms Dustin BaileySocial Links NavigationStaff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

With contributions from

• Ali JonesManaging Editor, News

View More

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Logout Read more Mewgenics review: "The Binding of Isaac collides with Into the Breach in a smart strategy roguelike"    You may just see "a turn-based game with cats f****ing" in new strategy game Mewgenics, but led dev says it’s actually "very D&D"    I'm not surprised The Binding of Isaac creator's new cat breeding roguelike Mewgenics is the highest-rated game of 2026    The Binding of Isaac lead says "I think we will have a few DLCs to make" for upcoming roguelike Mewgenics    The Binding of Isaac creator's new roguelike Mewgenics already has over a third of the achievements of Isaac despite it being 11 years and 3 expansions ahead    AAA lets indie games take big risks, says Edmund McMillen, then "the mainstream grabs what worked" and "cashes in"    Latest in Roguelike Games I'm not surprised The Binding of Isaac creator's new cat breeding roguelike Mewgenics is the highest-rated game of 2026    Mewgenics review: "The Binding of Isaac collides with Into the Breach in a smart strategy roguelike"    Slay the Spire 2 scares devs into early release after fearing losing fans to "an absolute juggernaut in our own genre"    "We kept waiting for another Risk of Rain 2. It never came:" New roguelike hits Steam with 2-8 player co-op    The Binding of Isaac creator's new roguelike Mewgenics already has over a third of the achievements of Isaac despite it being 11 years and 3 expansions ahead    How to get Rotburn in Cult of the Lamb Woolhaven    Latest in News "We could have just made The Binding of Isaac 2," say Mewgenics creators, and "gotten 20 million wishlists"    Nioh 3 hides game-changing settings deep in the options menu, and I'm begging you to try auto-loot and extra items    Is the Fallout TV show really Fallout 5? Star Walton Goggins says it could be, but "that's way above my paygrade"    Expectations for Haunted Chocolatier are "a huge struggle" for Eric Barone, who worries people expect Stardew Valley 2    Fallout was a "B-tier side project" compared to the D&D "money teams" at Interplay, says series co-creator Tim Cain    Todd Howard likes "to start over" on every Elder Scrolls game, and 15 years after Skyrim the slate sure is clean    GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

1. 1Mewgenics review: "The Binding of Isaac collides with Into the Breach in a strategy roguelike that has me battling bomber rats, breeding brutes, and more"
2. 2This Viking card game is perfect for two-player matches on the go
3. 3This Lord of the Rings card game is a puzzle-solving masterclass
4. 4Nioh 3 review: "Brutal samurai and ninja clashes across wide maps avoid retreading Elden Ring – this Soulslike is all demon killer, no filler"
5. 5Highguard review: "A fresh but muddled FPS genre mashup that needs refinement if it's to have any staying power"

1. 1Return to Silent Hill review: "Neither an impressive adaptation nor coherent enough to act as a standalone film"
2. 228 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
3. 3Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
4. 4Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
5. 5Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"

1. 1Wonder Man review: "A low-key gem that's up there with the MCU's best"
2. 2Starfleet Academy review: "It may feel a little different to what we're used to, but this is Star Trek through and through"
3. 3A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review: "This Game of Thrones spin-off is a surprisingly heartfelt and fun return to Westeros"
4. 4Stranger Things season 5 finale review: “Shows off both the best and the worst of Hawkins”
5. 5Stranger Things season 5, Volume 2 review: “All set up for a finale that has so much to deliver”