| The Binding of Isaac | |
|---|---|
| Distributor(s) | Valve Corporation |
| Designer(s) | Edmund McMillen Florian Himsl |
| Composer(s) | Danny Baranowsky |
| Platform(s) | Mac OS X Microsoft Windows Linux |
| Release date(s) | September 28, 2011 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Binding of Isaac is an independent video game designed by Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl. It was released on Steam on September 28, 2011. Players control a crying naked child named Isaac or one of five other unlockable characters. After his mother receives a message from God demanding the life of her son as proof of her faith, Isaac flees into the monster-filled basement in order to escape with his life. The gameplay and interface both closely resemble the NES title The Legend of Zelda, while its randomized dungeons and items, as well as permadeath, bring it more in line with Rogue-likes.[1]
On November 1st, it was added to the Humble Indie Bundle as part of the Humble Voxatron Debut[2].
The game's title and plot are references to the Biblical story known as the Binding of Isaac.
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The Binding of Isaac is a 2D action-adventure game in which the player controls Isaac or one of five other unlockable characters as they explore the dungeons located in his mother's basement. The player must explore the trap- and monster-filled rooms and defeat the boss on each floor in order to delve deeper. Powerups can be found along the way, granting the player various abilities and boosts to help him survive. Monsters and items never respawn as soon as a room is cleared, so the player has a limited pool of resources to work with and careless mistakes can be costly. The rooms and the powers made available to the player are randomized each game, allowing for considerable replay value.
The Binding of Isaac's plot is a spinoff of the bible story with the same name.[3] Isaac, a child, and his Mother live in a small house on a hill, both happily keeping to themselves, with Isaac drawing pictures and playing with his toys, and his mother watching Christian Broadcasts on the Television. Isaac's mother then hears "a voice from above", stating her son is corrupted with sin, and needs to be saved. It asks her to remove all that was evil from Isaac, in an attempt to save him. His mother obliges, taking away his toys, pictures, game console and even his clothes.
The voice once again speaks to Isaac's mother, stating he must be cut off from all that is evil in the world. Once again, his mother obliges, and locks Isaac inside his room.
Once more, the voice speaks to Isaac's mother. It states she has done well, but it still questions her devotion, and requests she sacrifice her son. She obliges, grabbing a kitchen knife, and walking to Isaac's room. Isaac, watching through a sizeable crack in his door, starts to panic. He finds and enters a trapdoor, just before his mother opens his bedroom door. Isaac then puts the paper he was drawing on onto his wall, which becomes the title screen.
Throughout the game at loading points, Isaac reminisces about his childhood while curled up in a ball crying. These show parts of his life, indicating Issac had a troubled childhood, ranging from rejection from his mother, to humiliation from his peers.
The game has multiple endings, making the story distorted and multi-directional as the game progresses. The most notable endings are the first, 10th and last.
The first ending shows God stopping Isaac's mother while she's poised to stab Isaac,[4] by throwing a Bible off of a shelf and onto her head. Isaac then stands on his mother, victorious. Isaac puts down the paper he was drawing this scene on, when his mother breaks through his door behind him, holding a kitchen knife.
The 10th ending shows Isaac opening a treasure chest, which contains a dead blue baby[5] referencing an older game the creator made. The blue baby can then be played as a character.
The final ending, achieved after beating Satan in Sheol, shows Isaac opening the chest once again, his mouth stuck in mild horror. This time, the environment and character then change in unison, flickering through all persona's Isaac has had throughout the game, until reaching Isaac once more. Now in his bedroom, Isaac climbs into the chest, closing it behind him[6], perhaps referencing to Ending 10 or a childhood flashback of him breathing heavily in a chest.
No further details has been revealed about the ending of the game, leaving its meaning open.
| The Binding of Isaac | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 84.53%[7] |
| Metacritic | 83/100[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Eurogamer | 9/10[9] |
| Game Informer | 8/10[10] |
| GameSpy | [11] |
| IGN | 7.5/10[12] |
The Binding of Isaac received generally favorable reviews from game critics. On the review aggregator GameRankings, the game has an average score of 84.53%, based on 15 reviews.[7] On Metacritic, the game has an average of 83 out of 100 based on 25 reviews.[8]
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