The Binding of Isaac

Okay, time to review my all-time favourite game, The Binding of Isaac. I love this game. I've played it for over a thousand hours and I'm seriously considering getting a tattoo at some point. So I'm not even going to pretend to be unbiased (not that I ever really do).

Enough gushing though, what is it? Well, it's another twin-stick shooter, (so that's one hand for shooting, one hand for walking) and a rogue-like (So it's randomly generated and includes permadeath). You play as a young boy, Isaac, whose mother has heard the voice of God telling her to sacrifice her son, so you run into the basement to hide. Once down there you find a sprawling catacomb of rooms filled with all sorts of strange mutated creatures that eerily look a little bit like you. You're a lost naked child and the only weapon you have against these horrors is your own tears, which you shoot at them. But as you play you'll discover new items that power you up, (there's literally hundreds of different items to find) and each play-through is a new experience in what combination of items you'll get. By the end of the game you'll often find yourself horribly corrupted and mutated by all the items you've found.

But the game doesn't end once you've finished it. In some ways, it's just getting started. There are

around 20 different endings to discover, all up. As well as so many secrets and unlockable content to find, it's really a game that you can play over and over again and still be surprised by.

Mostly you'll play this game for the gameplay itself. Dodging bullets, destroying enemies, collecting items, it's all good fun. But I love how much effort has gone into crafting the world of Binding of Isaac as well. It's a twisted combination of cute and ugly that permeates the whole thing. There's strong religious themes, as well as drug references and child abuse, but all told through the lens of childhood imagination and video games.

Gosh, I feel like I'm doing this game a disservice by not explaining just how incredible it is. I think it's probably a perfect example of what rogue-like games can be, and I'm so glad it's the game that introduced me to the genre. I just love the way the game keeps unfolding, keeps revealing new things.

Anyway, if you've never played it, I hope you give it a try one day. You can pick up the original version for only 5 bucks, and if you like that, there's the remake and expansions to keep you entertained. I give it 4.5/5 stars.