This game is currently in active playtesting! I need as much feedback as possible to make this game the best it can be, so if you’d like to try it out and help me out, click this link to learn more!

Project Status: ACTIVE PLAYTEST!

〰️

Project Status: ACTIVE PLAYTEST! 〰️

New Meat is a fast-paced roguelite horror-comedy about monsters, chainsaws, and dead-ends jobs. Survive your first week of work at a questionable fast-food joint by harvesting “Meat” from a massive underground dungeon. Fight bizarre monsters, meet demanding quotas, and you might just make it to your first paycheck!

Q: So, what is this?

Like I said, it’s a roguelite! You play as Niko, the new hire at a remote burger establishment named Burger Site, and it's your job to keep the freezers stocked with meat for the hungry customers to munch on.  How do you do that?  Simple!  Just head down to the horrible sprawling flesh-dungeon underneath the building and blast a few of the roaming monsters into delicious meaty chunks!  Just make sure they don't take a bite out of you, first.

Survive five days of mayhem to earn your place as a permanent hire, and if you do really well, possibly even more.  Anything can happen in the Meat Dungeon, and there are lots of secrets to find...though you might not like what you see.

Q: Wait…didn’t you already release this game?

At the end of 2022, I released the early-access version of New Meat, but the version I’m currently working on is a total overhaul of the original release, especially in the audio-visual department. To that end, I’ve hired talented artists Ceri Langell and Christopher Null to provide all-new art for the game. Christopher Null will be drawing all the game’s monsters based on my original designs, and Ceri Langell provided the art at the top of the page…which will also be the game’s title screen!

Q: What makes this game unique?

  • Unique Progression System

    Some roguelites let you continually build up your stats between runs, while others are one-and-done. New Meat combines these two formats in a unique way, taking place over five days and allowing you to build up your stats more and more with each passing day. But, Day Five is the cutoff, and after that you're judged and start the whole week again. It's a hybrid system that should appeal to every kind of roguelite fan!

  • Every Stat Counts

    Your character stats aren't just for fighting. They help with dungeoneering, too! Raise your Attack to more easily break open barrels and chests. Raise your Defense to reduce damage from hazards, or your Agility to gain a chance to dodge them altogether. Think Luck is useless? Higher Luck gets you more AND BETTER loot from chests!

  • Many Endings, Many Secrets

    New Meat may appear to be a simple, almost arcade-y romp, but there’s a mystery bubbling beneath its surface. What is the dungeon? What are these monsters? Is it really safe to be serving this meat to people? It will take more than expert dungeoneering to solve this one. Poke at the edges, consider the clues, and remember there’s just as much to be learned in failure.

Q: You said something about all-new monster art. Can we see some?

Sure! Like I said, I’m working closely with Christopher Null to translate the very scribbled monster designs from the early-access version of the game into something more professional. Every one so far has been an incredible glow-up! Check these things out!

MEATHEAD

A common monster with a squishy skull.

Flutterhorn

This big-mouthed bat has an annoying habit of dodging incoming attacks.

Lashbat

It can’t see your face, but it loves to hear you scream.

HOVERGON

A fusion of meat and machine, it discharges unpredictable shocks.

Omneye

A powerful psychic with a look that literally kills.

Helmite

This timid monster loves to turtle-up in the face of danger.

ZEELIX

A totem-like tower of gloomy-guts that’s a real pain to be around.

Q: Wait…did you say “RPG Maker” up there?

Yep, the whole thing’s being made in RPG Maker MV.

Q: But RPG Maker can’t do procedural generation. How is this a roguelite?

The game takes inspiration from other roguelite games like Binding of Isaac and Hades to provide a shuffled roguelite experience without straight-up procedurally-generating a map. It’s all about clever uses of RPG Maker’s basic functions, but it’s a bit too boring to get into here. Just play the game and you’ll see how it works. It’s 100% a genuine roguelite experience, just like some of my favorite games.

Q: What is this game going to have in it?

-120 Equipment pieces with unique abilities, making for tons of build combinations!

-6 Weapons, each with very different playstyles and unique upgrade trees for even more wildly specialized builds!

-A nonspecific number of mysterious "Curious," strange objects that further change your game by giving you new passive and active effects!

-42 Weird, meaty enemies drawn by the very talented Christopher Null!

-9 Tricky bosses, plus a very menacing final boss!  Not everyone will make it all the way to her...

-Secret rooms! An all new mechanic…but what does it do? You’ll have to find out.

-12 Endings!  This game tracks your progress closely and judges you carefully.  There are many ways your first week on the job can play out.  In some of the endings, you even survive!

Q: What’s coming next?

Once the game launches, I have post-launch updated plan. New modes, new weapons, new bosses and even new areas will be added over time. This game is specifically designed to be a modular framework onto which new elements can be added easily.

Q: Need any help?

I’m currently working with a number of artists to bring this project to life, and am recruiting more as I meet them.

But as for what YOU can do, watch this space. Prior to launch, I plan to bring on playtesters for feedback and bugtesting purposes. It’ll be paid work, too! (I can pay very little, but still.) More details will appear here as the project develops!