Mewgenics fans got incredibly cringe in public to celebrate the game’s release

In order to celebrate the release of Mewgenics, developer Edmund McMillen encouraged fans to take cringe to a whole new level. He held a contest that tasked fans to act like a cat in public or in front of their family with video proof, with McMillen stating that, “The more we cringe the better you do,” and fans absolutely delivered.

Part turn-based tactics game, part cat-breeding simulator, Mewgenics has already made a splash with critics ahead of its official release on Feb. 10. It’s a collaborative project from McMillen, known for games like Binding of Isaac, and The End is Nigh developer Tyler Glaiel. McMillen has held several online contests leading up to the release, like hanging up missing posters for mutant cats, but none have compared to the cringe of acting like a cat in public.

McMillen was very clear that the contest was all about the embarrassment of the submitters themselves, saying in his post, “Dont fuck with anyone! You are the only one we are laughing at here!” Entries for the humiliation ritual poured in from all around the world, from a man meowing in the center of Groningen in the Netherlands to a woman on all fours in front of the famous Chicago Cloud Gate sculpture (often called The Bean). McMillen announced four winners for the contest, saying, “Congrats guys, you made a lot of people very uncomfortable!”

User SimpleSushii, who produced the aforementioned Cloud Gate video, was the ultimate winner, but the runners-up were just as impressively cringe-inducing. User CainInsano traveled to several locales for their video, culminating with being a cat in front of their in-laws; shapesh1fter2 meowed and played with a toy in the middle of a crowded store (while also clad in a My Little Pony Shirt); IHateZuckSoMuch recorded their entry as their grandma lay behind them in a hospital bed, with the caption, “Grandma taking antibiotics, seem to be improving.” McMillen’s contest was a rousing success of secondhand embarrassment, and proved just how excited fans are for the new game.

Mewgenics will be released on Feb. 10.