The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a remake of the original roguelike, dungeon-crawling game, preserving the original game mechanics while adding in tons of new content. Like in the original game The Binding of Isaac, you control Isaac, a young boy exploring the depths of his basement and beyond. As you navigate the randomly-generated rooms of each floor progressing further down, you'll acquire new weapons and power-ups while growing in power. Unique and grotesque bosses challenge you every step of the way, with only the most skilled gamers able to reach the end. Much like its predecessor, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is an immensely addictive and enjoyable game that provides just the right combination of challenge and reward.

Main Game Features

• Hundreds of dungeon rooms to explore
• Over 50 challenging bosses
• Improved graphics and gameplay

Story

The story in The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is just like the original, but with the added benefit of visually enhanced cutscenes and gameplay. The story is pretty straightforward, putting you directly in the action and focusing on it throughout the experience. At the beginning of the game, you play as Isaac (although you can also unlock additional characters), a young boy living with his fiercely religious mother. One day while playing in his room, his mother attacks him with a knife, claiming that he has been corrupted by sin. Isaac escapes into the basement, and with nowhere left to go, he dives deeper into the world of pain below.

Gameplay

The Binding of Isaac is all about challenging gameplay, which is reflected in its roguelike structure. You start off the game completely powerless, firing tears as your only attack. Enemies are easy enough to avoid at first, but get subsequently harder with each passing floor. As you find keys, gold, and other currency, you'll gain access to unique rooms that hold special power-ups. There are hundreds of power-ups to find and unlock in The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, and finding the most effective combinations is tons of fun.

Once you've completely explored a floor (or are simply done gathering items), you can attempt to battle against the boss. In order to reach the next level you'll have to topple these tough foes, and if you don't have good enough power-ups, death is sure to come quick. You only have three hearts at the start, so it's best to be cautious while weaving through boss attacks. If you die you lose everything you've gained and must completely start over, although new items you discover will continue to appear. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth offers dozens of new bosses, hundreds of new rooms, and a countless number of power-up combinations. It's a truly addictive gameplay experience that tests your ability and strategy, but it's loads of fun.

Conclusion

While the original game has its own charm, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is superior in almost every way. The gameplay feels more balanced and fair, there are tons of new power-ups, and the bosses are as interesting as they are challenging. The new pixelated graphics work well with the retro-inspired gameplay, offering a twisted adventure that feels like an exceptionally violent Legend of Zelda game.

Pros

• Gameplay feels fun and addictive
• New items are powerful and inventive
• Excellent pixel-art

Cons

• Some frustrating bosses
• Confusing item descriptions

The original game was great, but Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is where it is at. This is such an awesome game and one of the best rogue like games I have ever played. It is the kind of game that I like so much I actually own this across all four major platforms! You can fire this up any time, play a few rooms, and just have a fun time. On other occasions, you can do this, get hooked and end up playing the game for hours on end. Today I am telling you why I love this game and why you need to play it.

The Power Of A Child’s Tears!

The story that is being told in Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is fantastic stuff. It is far better than people realize and while it is not this hugely cinematic game, the story that is being told here really sticks with you. Isaac is a little boy whose mother is a religious nut! She starts off by stripping him of all his possessions and locking him in his room. He then finds out that she is planning to offer him as a sacrifice so he breaks out of his room and heads into the dangerous basement down below. This is a story that is really heartbreaking stuff and it certainly makes you think.

Tighter And Tighter

In case you did not know Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, is actually a remake of the original game. What they have done here is kept the game as that same top down style rogue like shooter style gameplay, but with this new engine, it just plays so much better. This is a very challenging game and you need quick reflexes to make it through each room. You go through room after room, killing enemies, collecting loot, and then taking on a boss. It is a game that does have permadeath so you have to be really confident before you take on each room.

Beauty In The Randomness

As is the case with most other games in the rogue like genre, Binding of Isaac: Rebirth offers you a random experience each time you play the game. You never know what creatures or loot will be in each room and this makes the game just so exciting to play. Sometimes you get lucky and get awesome loot and gear so you can create a pretty badass and powerful build, other times it feels like you have to just dig in and pray that the next room has something useful. You do also have other characters to play as and for this remake, they added a multiplayer mode (which would be bettered in a later release) which is fun.

Scribbles In A Notepad

I watched the movie, Indie Game The Movie and it showcased just how talented the creator of Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Edmund McMillan is. This game is just gorgeous, well gorgeous in a dark and disturbing way, but you know what I mean. It is all done with this incredible pixel art, but what I love about it is that it looks like something that was scribbled in a notebook, and then it came to life. It is truly awesome stuff and this Rebirth edition looks much better than the original, just more detailed and clearer in every way.

Pros:

• The story being told here is pretty dark and heartbreaking
• I love the pixel style of the graphics
• The gameplay is challenging, but you always want to have just one more go!
• This is just an awesome game all around!

Cons:

• You want to make sure you have the Repentance version of this game
• I legit cannot think of anything negative to say about this!

Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a grim, pixel-perfect RPG action game where a little kid escapes to the basement from his crazy mother. There are toothy tadpoles barking at the character, and skeletons staring sullenly. The spiders are even worse: poisonous and leaping.

The life of the main character is tragic. Isaac's mother has turned religious and wants to sacrifice her son - run away.

Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a remake of the popular game. New features:

• Maximum frame rate possible
• New soundtrack
• Redrawn map and characters

Calling back to classic games from the 1980s but adding in a morbid and dark twist, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth takes an aged web browser game and turns it into a masterpiece. Playing as one of the many unlockable characters, you must fight your way through floor after floor of a sprawling and randomized dungeon, killing gross creatures and defeating dangerous bosses. New items make your adventure easier, but it's just as likely that you'll die quickly. Thanks to its challenging gameplay but rewarding unlockable items system, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is one of the best roguelike games of all time!

Main Game Features

• Exciting top-down shooting action
• Endless replayability
• 17 different endings

Story

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth tells the story of Isaac, a sheltered boy who lives with his mother in an unnamed suburb. One day, Isaac's mother, deranged from too much time spent in front of evangelical television, attempts to kill Isaac for his sins. Just in the nick of time, Isaac escapes into the basement, where even more horrifying and deadly obstacles await him.

Using just his tears and dexterity, Isaac must clear each floor of the basement, each time traveling deeper into the unfolding dungeon. If he dies before can reach the final boss, the corrupted heart of his mother, he must restart the entire adventure. Offering a lot of replayability, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has 17 different endings, which change depending on the path the player takes during their adventure. There aren't many cutscenes and the story is basic, but it's an ominous narrative that sets the stage for a darkly fantastical adventure.

Gameplay

On the surface, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth looks a lot like the classic Nintendo game, The Legend Of Zelda. Playing from a top-down perspective, you guide Isaac or one of the many other unlockable characters from room to room, where enemies and secret passages await. Once you've cleared a room of enemies, the doors will unlock, allowing you to further explore. At the end of each floor there is a tough boss to defeat, offering an upgrade item as a reward. You can also find other items by searching extra rooms, drastically changing Isaac's attacks, speed, and health.

However, much like Rogue Legacy and other modern games like Hades, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is all about infinite replayability. There are over 50 different bosses to battle, over 100 items to find, and countless secrets and bonus paths to discover. Every trip into the basement is randomized, but the more time you spend exploring, the more powerful the items you find will be. As you start to unlock characters and learn what specific items do, you'll craft a strategy that appeals to your play style. If you have the skill and patience, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is incredibly rewarding and one of the most satisfying roguelikes available.

Conclusion

There's a lot to love about The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, from its sleek graphics, disturbing enemy designs, and a massive arsenal of cool power-ups and items. Whether you win or lose, each playthrough of the game is quick enough to keep you playing for hours, and the long list of unlockables guarantees you'll come back for another play session soon.

Pros

• Becoming overpowered is awesome
• Epic and bloody boss fights
• Tons of items to discover

Cons

• No item descriptions
• Very difficult at times
• Cryptic progression