The Binding of Isaac was developed by Edmund McMillen, part of the Team Meat duo who created fleshy classic, Super Meat Boy. It is characterised as a randomly generated action RPG shooter with heavy roguelike elements.
Roguelikes, are an intense genre characterised by their randomised top-down dungeon-crawler levels and permadeath. This means that there is no option to save and death has a very real and tangible drawback to it.
The story of Isaac unfolds to reveal that he and his mother live alone in a small house on a hill. Isaac kept to himself, drawing pictures and playing with his toys while his mom watched Christian broadcasts on the television.
Life was simple and they were both happy. That was until the day Isaac’s mom heard a voice from above, “Your son has become corrupted by sin, he needs to be saved.”
The requests grow bolder until eventually they culminate in God demanding, “To prove your love and devotion, I require a sacrifice. Your son, Isaac, will be this sacrifice. Go into his room and end his life to prove you love me above all else.”
The Binding of Isaac’s religious namesake is the Biblical story in which God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son. It doesn’t require much thought to spot the similarities between tales.
Portrayed as little more than a small bald, naked and terrified figure, Isaac’s tears, which also happen to be his primary weapons, constantly stream down his cheeks.
His world consists of the gory, visceral visuals and an art style McMillen has become synonymous with, often shocking players with uncomfortable scenes of Isaac’s nightmares – horrors with bloody sockets where their eyes should be, headless bodies, defecating worms and other imagery that would test the already frail sensibilities of Fox presenters’ anti-gaming propaganda.
Danny Baranowsky of Newgrounds fame composed the incredible soundtrack of this game. Beautiful, moody ambience enshrouds players’ delicate psyche on Isaac’s journey, immersing players further in this bizarre and unnatural world.
As of this review, the only concern might be on machines with weaker processors that can’t handle large explosions or too many monsters on screen at once. People still gaming with their grandparents’ hand-me-down hardware have loudly protested on forums and their respective communities while other folk with more updated hardware have noticed the occasional infrequent stutter, specifically during multiple on-screen explosions.
While it is possible to use the mouse to direct Isaac’s tears, The Binding of Isaac is a true roguelike, designed to be used entirely with the keyboard. The usual WASD keys are used for movement and the arrow-keys to direct tears. Dungeons have a similar design to the original Nintendo Legend of Zelda map while being randomly generated every play-through.
Quick thinking is necessary in this fast-paced game. Beginning with three hearts and no upgrades or superpowers, Isaac is frail. Monsters are able to deal a wide range of damage quickly, making it absolutely vital to stay out of their way as best as possible.
Bombs and keys are often found after clearing rooms of monsters. Keys are necessary for opening locked rooms such as the shop on every level.
Bombs, while also great against enemies, serve an alternate use for clearing the way to items nestled behind rocks or to push rocks into a chasm to allow Isaac to cross.
There are eight levels and four chapters in each play-through. Each level has its own boss that Isaac needs to defeat to move on to the next and eventually face off against Mom. Bosses as well as ordinary mobs have a chance to become a stronger, differently-coloured variant, with new bosses being unlockable at the end of every play-through.
Every level has a room behind a golden doorway, where vital upgrades that alter Isaac’s appearance and abilities are kept.
Some grant him a third eye and two extra tears, others a beating heart outside his chest which gives him a valuable bonus to health.
Others are truly macabre, like the wire clothes hanger driven through his head or where his eyes are removed, making him look monstrous.
However, not all upgrades are macabre, and sillier upgrades like the cyborg eye allow Isaac to fire lasers instead of tears. Finding mom’s red stiletto shoes increase his firing range.
Mom’s stilettos aren’t the only items of hers available as upgrades, her bra and even her… pad exist to be discovered and have valuable benefits if raising concerns about Isaac’s sexual identity.
Special and hidden rooms also exist that often house some of the strongest items in the game.
Pills and tarot cards also make an appearance. The former grant Isaac unknown effects which can turn out to be positive or negative while the latter have a once-off use that mimics proper upgrades but only last for the duration of Isaac’s stay in a particular room.
There are four possible playable characters, three of which need to be unlocked: Magdalene the cleric, Cain the thief and Judas the wizard.
Internet culture geeks will no doubt notice some memes incorporated into the game such as Shoop da Woop and references like My Little Unicorn and, a personal favourite, one called Steam Sale which grants Isaac a discount of 50% on all shop items.
While gory, violent, religiously inspired video gaming might not be for everyone, The Binding of Isaac manages to be full of unique monsters, a visceral art style and a sort of primitive, psychopathic appeal that just cannot be ignored and begs to be pandered to.
There’s a pleasant replayability to the Binding of Isaac, especially with the different unlockable characters, and to discover the large number of unique upgrades and see how Isaac’s appearance changes in the process.
Definitely a gem worth looking into, especially if you’re looking for something that just so happens to courageously deviate from the norm.
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