The Binding of Isaac

 PC
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1122 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 898 out of 1122
  2. Mixed: 148 out of 1122
  3. Negative: 76 out of 1122

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  1. upi
    Dec 19, 2012
    2
    If you are hoping to find a 21-century version of nethack, simply move on, there is nothing to see here. Nothing, that is, but ugly, uninspired graphics and badly designed mechanics. Some games are *good* because you are at the mercy of a Random Number God, but it takes good design and atmosphere to make that work.
  2. gabriot
    Jul 14, 2012
    2
    This game will make you rage, and for all the wrong reasons. Where do I begin... The idea of randomly generated dungeons is a good one... but it ends about right there. The level design in this game is ATROCIOUS! You wanna know the difference between a good game like Link to the Past and an awful one like Binding of Isaac? Everything has purpose in the dungeon. Not in BoS though, hereThis game will make you rage, and for all the wrong reasons. Where do I begin... The idea of randomly generated dungeons is a good one... but it ends about right there. The level design in this game is ATROCIOUS! You wanna know the difference between a good game like Link to the Past and an awful one like Binding of Isaac? Everything has purpose in the dungeon. Not in BoS though, here you'll have COUNTLESS play-throughs where there will be items and areas that are just completely in-accessible because of the way the dungeon is "designed". For instance, if you don't give even one key or bomb in the entire first dungeon, why oh WHY would you have a bunch of locked chests, boulders that block areas off, and locked doors? That's **** AWFUL design, and it's a complete cop-out to call this level of randomness a "feature". It's just lazy, sloppy programming at its finest. On top of that the powerups and items are so imbalanced that on some playthroughs I will go so far as to say that it is literally IMPOSSIBLE to beat it with what's given you. For instance, there are enemies in later dugeons that are so fast that if you didn't get enough speed upgrades (or got screwed by pills or items that permanently slow you) you will have NO CHANCE of outrunning them, and thus cannot beat them without taking TONS of damage. Moreover, if you didn't get proper firepower upgrades randomly generated for you, there will be rooms with hordes of beasts that can't actually be beaten. That is **** INEXCUSABLE. That doesn't scream "feature" to me, it screams "MAJOR DESIGN FLAW" to me. Most enemies can fire diagonally, but you can't. Your best bet is to slightly angle your shots by running in the direction. It's just plain awful, and there are SO many god damn things that can screw you over in this game. For instance if you beat a boss and happen to be standing on the place where the "stairs" open up, you immediately get thrust into the next level BEFORE you ever get a chance to collect your much needed powerup. This is also **** awful design, horrible horrible horrible horrible. Put a **** delay in at least for christ's sakes. Overall this game is just plain ass. There are not many redeeming qualities, it really should be a free game because I already regret the 1 dollar I spent on this piece of **** and the 20 bucks I'll have to pay to buy a new god damn keyboard from slamming it in frustration. **** this game and **** the developers for knowingly releasing such a piece of trash. Didn't the release Super Meat Boy? How did they go from THAT to THIS??!! Makes no sense, maybe they bumped their head somewhere along the way and got brain damage.

    Avoid this game at all costs, I am convinced the people who enjoy it don't actually enjoy it, but are rather buying into the hype because it's made by the SMB developers. If they took one god damned second to critically look at this game they'd realize how **** awfully designed it is.    … Expand
  3. GREW50ME
    Jul 15, 2012
    5
    I love the idea of the game. The story was wonderful. Unfortunately, the control and graphics options are anything but. When you first load the game, it goes into a windowed cinematic. That is where the problems begin. I don't know what size the windo is, but it looks as if it takes up less than 1/4 of my 32" screen. As another reviewer mentioned, the control scheme (think Smash TV)I love the idea of the game. The story was wonderful. Unfortunately, the control and graphics options are anything but. When you first load the game, it goes into a windowed cinematic. That is where the problems begin. I don't know what size the windo is, but it looks as if it takes up less than 1/4 of my 32" screen. As another reviewer mentioned, the control scheme (think Smash TV) really seems to fit a dual analog controller. So, what do they do about it? They tell you to Google it in the options. That's right. In order to control the game, you need to Google the settings. At least the program they suggest is designed for the game, right? WRONG! The program they suggested doesn't even have dual analog support. The very least they could have done was have a link in the options that links right to a program that actually has dual analog support. Total time played: 27 mins. Total time spent actually doing stuff in game: 5 mins. I am just too frustrated to spend any more time on this game. Too bad, because if the options worked, I would have given it a much higher score.… Expand
  4. drSpockwa
    May 4, 2013
    3
    The introductory movie was interesting and entertaining, but that is about all I can put in the pros column. The game play is something you'd see 15 years ago. I know, nostalgia is becoming all the rage, but it feels like a cop out that indie developers are using to put out poor production value. I'm not slamming all indie work, there is quite a bit of good stuff out there. Next, thisThe introductory movie was interesting and entertaining, but that is about all I can put in the pros column. The game play is something you'd see 15 years ago. I know, nostalgia is becoming all the rage, but it feels like a cop out that indie developers are using to put out poor production value. I'm not slamming all indie work, there is quite a bit of good stuff out there. Next, this is a rougelike. Again, I know rougelikes are becoming popular. But I just don't find it fun to loose all progress and start over from the beginning with a randomized map. It makes me feel like I wasted my time. I got a bit intrigued about the various items and collectibles, but you apparently have to use them to find out what they do, and even then I wasn't sure what happened. You can't jump on the Apple bandwagon of providing no user assistance, when your user interface is not intuitive. There may have been an interesting story here, but I'm not going to punish myself to unfold it.… Expand
  5. fhouse
    Oct 1, 2012
    1
    Very-very disappointed. Controls are bad. Shooting sucks with Joytokey either. The visuals are nice, but overall it's an unfair, almost completely luck based, cheap flash game. (Today I learned what "rouge like elements" mean.)
  6. Jfoxx64
    Aug 25, 2012
    6
    The game is a fun for a few runs if the gory interesting looking characters don't make you wonder why exactly you decided to get the game. The numerous upgrades and entirely random gathering of them with little explanation of what anything does makes it hard to find what exactly it is your looking for without researching elsewhere but what ultimately ruins this game is the low replayThe game is a fun for a few runs if the gory interesting looking characters don't make you wonder why exactly you decided to get the game. The numerous upgrades and entirely random gathering of them with little explanation of what anything does makes it hard to find what exactly it is your looking for without researching elsewhere but what ultimately ruins this game is the low replay value. Once you run through it once it really becomes a "collect the other objects" game and there are plenty of other games with better graphics and more interesting objects to collect.… Expand
  7. iseeall
    Apr 26, 2013
    7
    This game has a great story and absolutely terrific artwork. The sense of humor of whoever wrote the in-game texts is excellent. The music is great as well. Unfortunately, the gameplay is pretty much mediocre, I mean it's just a 2D top-down view arcade game, and the fact that you can only shoot in horiz/vert direction and not just at the clicked spot makes it's pretty difficult to play andThis game has a great story and absolutely terrific artwork. The sense of humor of whoever wrote the in-game texts is excellent. The music is great as well. Unfortunately, the gameplay is pretty much mediocre, I mean it's just a 2D top-down view arcade game, and the fact that you can only shoot in horiz/vert direction and not just at the clicked spot makes it's pretty difficult to play and the fights too chaotic. Overall, this game is good for having a look, enjoying it for one evening and then dropping it, because in the long run the thing which could hold you in front of the screen (the gameplay) is missing. Art: 10!, Music: 10, Sounds: 10! Design: 4… Expand
  8. KJFK
    Nov 5, 2012
    7
    The game is very fun and very addicting. You will likely find yourself playing over and over again just to see what wacky combinations of items you can beef up your character with. The game can be challenging at times, but for the wrong reasons. Dodging skill is required to really get anywhere in this game, but whether you win or lose is based almost entirely on randomly generated items.The game is very fun and very addicting. You will likely find yourself playing over and over again just to see what wacky combinations of items you can beef up your character with. The game can be challenging at times, but for the wrong reasons. Dodging skill is required to really get anywhere in this game, but whether you win or lose is based almost entirely on randomly generated items. Finding a few good item combos in the beginning almost ensures a win and getting a few bad ones means you are nearly hopeless regardless of skill. The story is also pretty weak, which gives it a very arcade-like feel. Overall the game's interesting gameplay and addictive nature is going to make it worth the price tag, but its over reliance on luck and story, or lack there of, is going to hurt its score.… Expand
  9. KonataGoTimotei
    Dec 15, 2012
    6
    This game is unique in the way that it brings a new, interesting art style, with many MANY different enemies, bosses, and power-ups to collect, and with its dark story. But what it accomplishes in some areas, it falls short in many others.
    The power-ups you collect don't change the game-play in any way, its always a boost to health, damage, or bullet type, there are almost no power-ups    This game is unique in the way that it brings a new, interesting art style, with many MANY different enemies, bosses, and power-ups to collect, and with its dark story. But what it accomplishes in some areas, it falls short in many others.
    The power-ups you collect don't change the game-play in any way, its always a boost to health, damage, or bullet type, there are almost no power-ups that actually dramatically change the way the game plays, its always the same "Walking around crying on turds". I can respect the attempt to create a different, dark, and gruesome art-style that this game tries to portray, but in terms of game-play it really isn't that enjoyable past your first couple play-throughs. Yes, there are many different items to collect, but even with the items, power-ups, and enemies, its still always the same boring, meme-filled garbage for every room and every floor.
    Really, all in all I can respect the premise and idea of the game, but the way it was executed was poor.    … Expand
  10. Faundleroy
    Jan 3, 2013
    2
    There is a trend emerging in the last years for loving games just for them being hard. Be it "Dark Souls" (which is a great game in itself without taking the difficulty into account) or McMillen's previous hit "Super Meat Boy" (which also is a great game DUE to its very rewarding level of difficulty), and apparently this is the reason why everyone hails "The Binding of Isaac" as much asThere is a trend emerging in the last years for loving games just for them being hard. Be it "Dark Souls" (which is a great game in itself without taking the difficulty into account) or McMillen's previous hit "Super Meat Boy" (which also is a great game DUE to its very rewarding level of difficulty), and apparently this is the reason why everyone hails "The Binding of Isaac" as much as they do. However, there is a major flaw that keeps the difficulty from beeing rewarding: It is the system of randomization. While beeing a great asset in theory because it may increase the replayability, it just doesn't work out with a rogue-like game of this difficulty and in these dimensions. Rogue-like is usually all about trying out different builds, improving your strategies and skill and thus doing better and better in every try. In "The Binding of Isaac" however the majority of your runs will end so early that you aren't able to become any better, and that is not necessarily your fault. If you just get bad items on the first levels (or close to none because no keys dropped) and pick some of the harder bosses for the first level then you are going to have a very bad time. Also there is no choice of character build which means you are even more reliant to good drops. Another major problems is that many of the items have disadvantages that you don't know of before picking them up, and there is no way I know of to unequip picked up gear. The trinkets introduced in the expansion "Wrath of the Lamb" are even more of a pain in the butt because their effects are passive and it is incredibly hard to find out some of them. Some other items render a majority of dropps useless because they change your form.
    The general tone of the game is very dark and straight out nasty. While that may appeal to some, for me it is mindlessly provocant. I don't get the point of crying on turds and using a used and rotten sanitary napkin as weapon.
    The enemy design is good mechanics-wise and all have different patterns to accustom to, but the bosses all look generic. They are all just huge hunks of meat and/or maggots with some blood splattered in. Some of the bosses also require specific gear or they are incredibly hard, which is unfair considering that its just pure luck if you have said gear or not.
    In summary, I guess the majority of people loving the game so much in their reviews never played the games which "The Binding of Isaac" considers itself a homage to, and think it makes them some kind of retro-god to have finished the game. I for my part will just stick to "Dungeons of Dredmor" when I want some modernized piece of rogue-like. Or I will just play one of those old games instead.
    2 points is all I can give.    … Expand
  11. ColGamers
    Jan 20, 2013
    0
    As ColombiaGames said this game should be for a cell phone, the story makes no sense.

    for me 0 because you need to pay to 10 dollars for this game.0
  12. grbolivar
    Jun 18, 2013
    2
    WARNING: this game is luck-based, meaning you can beat it ONLY if you are extremely lucky, like the lottery. Most of the time (99%) the game is uber-difficult and almost unbeatable. There are only 5-6 levels to beat but at level 4, if you weren't lucky enough to get "good drops", the game gets insanely difficult and if you die you have to start over AGAIN, making this a total frustrationWARNING: this game is luck-based, meaning you can beat it ONLY if you are extremely lucky, like the lottery. Most of the time (99%) the game is uber-difficult and almost unbeatable. There are only 5-6 levels to beat but at level 4, if you weren't lucky enough to get "good drops", the game gets insanely difficult and if you die you have to start over AGAIN, making this a total frustration to play.

    I'm 8 hours in and I still can't pass level 4 and I haven't beat the game yet, and it's not because I suck at it, this game has little to do with skills, it's because "I'm not lucky enough" to get the essential drops that will help me kill a boss that fires constantly in 8 directions while jumping around dropping flies and vomiting acid, all at the same time, and you only have 2-3 hearts meaning you can only endure 2-6 hits before you are death.

    Very good game ruined by insane difficulty and luck-based chances of winning. Don't waste your time with this, specially if you like, you know, beat and see the endings of your games. It gets 2 points because of the concept, gameplay and good music.    … Expand
  13. AWG
    Jun 26, 2013
    5
    Everything in this game is random, everything in this game is bad.
    Wasted potential everywhere, and way too much references to "funny" memes from the internet.
  14. SlyguyTheCritic
    Sep 30, 2013
    4
    The Binding of Isaac has a neat idea, but in the end it's not worthwhile and boring. Some people will like it, but I feel quite a few people will be bored to death with the simple combat, dumb story, dumb, pandering humour, and item drops which often feel unfair or stupid. Did I mention, the item drops often just result in the game taking a long time to beat, as opposed to making the gameThe Binding of Isaac has a neat idea, but in the end it's not worthwhile and boring. Some people will like it, but I feel quite a few people will be bored to death with the simple combat, dumb story, dumb, pandering humour, and item drops which often feel unfair or stupid. Did I mention, the item drops often just result in the game taking a long time to beat, as opposed to making the game harder? Yeah, it just gets boring for me. But, some people might get a kick out of it if they really really like rogue likes.… Expand
  15. Tulk
    Jul 30, 2013
    1
    I never understood the appeal of this game. The graphical theme is disgusting, to say the least. The atmosphere depressing. The gameplay is overly frantic. And nothing, nothing is explained to the user. Look, you found a thing. What does the thing do? We won't tell you! You have to play hundreds of hours to find out for yourself! On top of that, you get Steam achievements for findingI never understood the appeal of this game. The graphical theme is disgusting, to say the least. The atmosphere depressing. The gameplay is overly frantic. And nothing, nothing is explained to the user. Look, you found a thing. What does the thing do? We won't tell you! You have to play hundreds of hours to find out for yourself! On top of that, you get Steam achievements for finding random stuff. No skill involved, just luck. Look ma, I played this game for 200 hours until the random number generator gave me that elusive last achievement! Meh.… Expand
  16. debigman
    Aug 4, 2014
    0
    This game is so ridiculously difficult that it makes Dark Souls set on hard look like a kid's game. You can expect to live about 3 or 4 minutes on average. I don't know how people can think this is a good game when you can only play 3 minutes before dying. It is not even fair how poor the controls are. You have basically no chance to win. Look at the stats. On Steam, 37% of the playersThis game is so ridiculously difficult that it makes Dark Souls set on hard look like a kid's game. You can expect to live about 3 or 4 minutes on average. I don't know how people can think this is a good game when you can only play 3 minutes before dying. It is not even fair how poor the controls are. You have basically no chance to win. Look at the stats. On Steam, 37% of the players couldn't even get the EASIEST of the 84 achievements. How sad is that? Unless you are a masochist, please don't waste your money.… Expand
  17. Draculamarth
    Nov 5, 2013
    2
    To the person who says that people who hate this game "don't get the concept of a roguelike", please stop talking. I've played roguelikes. Hell, Nethack is one of my favorite games of all time and I consider it the best RPG ever made (Keep crying, Skyrim and FFVII fanboys). This is nowhere close to a roguelike. For one thing, Roguelikes don't constantly rely entirely on luck. Skill has noTo the person who says that people who hate this game "don't get the concept of a roguelike", please stop talking. I've played roguelikes. Hell, Nethack is one of my favorite games of all time and I consider it the best RPG ever made (Keep crying, Skyrim and FFVII fanboys). This is nowhere close to a roguelike. For one thing, Roguelikes don't constantly rely entirely on luck. Skill has no place in The Binding of Isaac. They had to leave it out for more references to poop and Newgrounds videos. If you get dealt a bad hand, you can't make the most of it. You will get killed to the point of frustration. At least in Nethack, you rarely can blame the game for your bad playing.

    The graphics? Do I even need to explain why they are bad? I don't mean in an artistic sense, even. If you like naked formaldehyde babies in a "cutesy" art style, then you might like this game. Also, I never want to meet you. I mean in a technical view. It is literally made in Flash. Flash is an AWFUL animation program, especially when you want to look professional. You mean to tell me that Edmund McMillen couldn't use any of his Super Meat Boy money to buy actual animation software? How lazy is he?

    Speaking of Flash, did you know that this game is also CODED in Flash? So when your game crashes or has inconsistent performance (Achievement sounds loudly blaring when you turn off sound and music), thank Flash for that.

    The "indie sense of humor" (toilet humor and "funney innernet joeks") is in full. References to meme faces, poop, and a bunch of Newgrounds games make up the humor. It's like Epic Movie except people who aren't entrenched in internet culture won't get the jokes and nerds like it because it "appeals to them". Give me a break. Binding of Isaac sucks. It's $5 and often goes down to a buck. Not even worth it at that price. You can get a real roguelike like Nethack for free.    … Expand
  18. Nintendont
    Jan 23, 2015
    1
    This "Game" made me seriously consider quitting video games from its very dark thems and its barbaric depictions of mutilated babies. I'll give it a one because uninstalling it made me feel better. Lets try out the sequel!
  19. G_Mackzy
    Dec 29, 2012
    5
    This game is comparable in depth of the gameplay to many flash games you'll find on the net, which is why I wouldn't pay anymore than the $1.25 I did during the most recent Steam sale. In saying this it is still a fun game that'll push you to keep playing til you beat it. The random elements of the game can make it unforgiving and incompletable on some runs however you will also haveThis game is comparable in depth of the gameplay to many flash games you'll find on the net, which is why I wouldn't pay anymore than the $1.25 I did during the most recent Steam sale. In saying this it is still a fun game that'll push you to keep playing til you beat it. The random elements of the game can make it unforgiving and incompletable on some runs however you will also have playthroughs that frequently reward you with good loot. This kind of variety means each time is different and you'll have to adjust your play style to suit your upgrades. Worth giving it a go if you're bored and have a few loose dollars to burn.… Expand
  20. DogFacedGod
    Mar 16, 2013
    9
    A cheap ,dark zelda styled dungeon crawler mixed with rogue elements with very disturbing themes. Challenging with lots to discover. It can feel a bit unfair in the beginning but you will learn to love it. Lots of replay value, especially with the addon "Wrath of the Lamb"

    For fans of very dark humor and who look for a challenge. Not recommended for pious religious people. :p
  21. Jaffacake
    May 7, 2012
    9
    A surprisingly deep game, once you battle the initial fear of its difficulty. Multiple plays reward you with improved skills and greater variability (including new challenges), and the procedurally designed levels give it randomness that will always make all attempts to succeed interesting. An expansion due May 2012 is expected to give greater depth still. Well worth picking up!
  22. Ravager
    Nov 8, 2011
    7
    Sleek and simple, yet deep and complex at the same time. A wonderful blend of both roguelike and the 2D Zelda games of old. Its not something you'll spend countless hours at a time with, rather you'll say "Oh, I've got half an hour on hand, I'll try my hand at this game again"

    My only complaints are that the FPS often drops when there are multiple projectiles on the screen at once, and    Sleek and simple, yet deep and complex at the same time. A wonderful blend of both roguelike and the 2D Zelda games of old. Its not something you'll spend countless hours at a time with, rather you'll say "Oh, I've got half an hour on hand, I'll try my hand at this game again"

    My only complaints are that the FPS often drops when there are multiple projectiles on the screen at once, and that (for me at least) it is an easy game once you take 5 minutes to figure out the basics. After dying twice, I was able to beat the game on my third try. Nevertheless, I still play it just to see the different combinations of items.    … Expand
  23. MrQaz
    Oct 23, 2012
    10
    Isaac is a roguelike-like, dolloped in the middle of a delicious Zelda/Smash TV sandwich. Zelda veterans will be met with a pleasantly familiar experience upon starting the game, as the game is predominantly based on it. The game has buckets of charm thanks to Ed McMillen's (Super Meat Boy, Gish) macabre/cutesy/gory art style and a haunting and epic soundtrack courtesy of Danny B (SuperIsaac is a roguelike-like, dolloped in the middle of a delicious Zelda/Smash TV sandwich. Zelda veterans will be met with a pleasantly familiar experience upon starting the game, as the game is predominantly based on it. The game has buckets of charm thanks to Ed McMillen's (Super Meat Boy, Gish) macabre/cutesy/gory art style and a haunting and epic soundtrack courtesy of Danny B (Super Meat Boy, Canabalt). A talented team of yay and most certainly woo. Projectile upgrades, useable powers and character stats (Power, Range, Speed, Luck) are all given through items which are given to you, selected at random. this forces you to play the game differently every time. The game rewards you on your accumulated knowledge, which is bestowed unto you after many upon many a death. You must experiment with items, make risks against stupidly unfair odds and die die die DIE DIE SO SO MUCH. Only after you start to recognize the usefulness or how to use a particular item or overall build, do you start to get better.
    ...and that's a great feeling!
    The beauty of it being a rogue-like-like, is that it's simultaneously a very accessible jump-in game and the biggest time-sink since that last RPG you developed insomnia over.
    I have clocked over 100 hours on Isaac, and i'm STILL finding new items I've never seen before and the game in general never stops popping up with little entertaining item combo surprises.
    It always feels fresh, there's loads to unlock and explore.
    Go buy it!
    It's also very cheap! :O
    You won't regret it c:    … Expand
  24. Matseb2611
    Nov 7, 2015
    9
    A pretty addictive rogue-like dungeon crawler. This game doesn't look like much at first, but you'd be wrong to judge it on first impressions.

    You play as Isaac, and your goal is to make way through numerous dungeons and slay nasty monsters dwelling in them by shooting tears at them. Each dungeon floor has a boss at the end, which is randomly chosen from a batch of half a dozen of    A pretty addictive rogue-like dungeon crawler. This game doesn't look like much at first, but you'd be wrong to judge it on first impressions.

    You play as Isaac, and your goal is to make way through numerous dungeons and slay nasty monsters dwelling in them by shooting tears at them. Each dungeon floor has a boss at the end, which is randomly chosen from a batch of half a dozen of possible bosses for that dungeon area. After every 2 floors, the dungeon area changes and you meet new enemies. And of course all along you come across a massive variety of items and upgrades, some have a passive effect, like increasing your damage, others require to be activated, and some can even act as pets. With so many items to find, every new dungeon run is guaranteed to feel different.

    Most of all I enjoyed the boss fights (from those I've faced so far). Each boss has a unique design, personality, and battle strategy, and I always get positively psyched every time I come across a boss room, wondering who is going to try and mash me into the floor this time.

    The game has many unlockables, such as playable characters for example. You can even unlock new bosses to spawn in the game by meeting certain criteria, like by beating the basement level 25 times, or completing the game, and so on.

    Unfortunately, just like most rogue-likes, this game is heavily dependent on luck - whether you find good stuff, what sort of enemies you come across, what is the design of the room you fight them in, and so on. You even find differently coloured pills as items frequently, and they always have a random effect, sometimes a harmful one. So that luck aspect of it can be a little annoying.

    But in general this is one of those fun, "just one more try and then I'm done" games that's easy to jump into. I'd easily recommend it for fans of rogue-like dungeon crawlers.    … Expand
  25. Zane
    Feb 23, 2012
    9
    I'm not entirely sure why, but I find myself wanting to play this game more often than any other in my Steam library. Perhaps it's its fairly short playtime that doesn't require a ton of free time, or maybe it's its cute design and layout, with a different setup each playthrough. It's a deceptively long game that never seems tedious, though it may cause you to "ragequit" occasionally.
  26. GolovA
    Aug 12, 2013
    6
    I will strongly disagree with some of the reviews that sell this as a game that will never become boring. It did become very boring very fast (after 3 hours) to me. Here's why: it is very hard and unforgiving when you die, you start all over again. The success of the passing of a certain level will depend on the random generator of the game if you get lucky and find a good improvementI will strongly disagree with some of the reviews that sell this as a game that will never become boring. It did become very boring very fast (after 3 hours) to me. Here's why: it is very hard and unforgiving when you die, you start all over again. The success of the passing of a certain level will depend on the random generator of the game if you get lucky and find a good improvement (let's say a gun that shoots through obstacles) you have a 300% better chance of passing. But if you find something else you will probably not pass the level. This is frustrating, and also pointless in replay value. The story is unique, the setting is weird and fascinating, the monsters are disturbing and imaginative, but the game play is repetitive and boring, though challenging and absurdly tough.… Expand
  27. brand_eins
    Sep 6, 2012
    10
    bought the game steam sale. The original "Binding" and the DLC "Wrath of the Lamb" for something about 3 bucks. Wow, what a game! I played more then 40 hours. There are still new sides to discover in that game. It's very highly re-playable. It's worth every penny, really.
  28. wallofjericho42
    Nov 14, 2013
    8
    Essentially a game that lasts forever. For $5 dollars, you get countless hours of fun. The game has you rely a lot on luck, which can be frustrating, but it works for the most part. A few slowdowns, even on powerful machines, due to flash. Still great worth the low, low price!
  29. keefbaker
    Oct 17, 2013
    8
    Nails, great little shooter that both infuriates and delights at an equal level, the dark psychology behind the setting is just superb and as old school 2D semi RPG shooters go, you're onto a winner.
  30. Orujimaru
    Nov 9, 2011
    8
    The Binding of Isaac is a great game with a lot of replay value for its price.
    Before picking this up you need to know that it's a hard game with permanent death, which means if you die you die, no respawning. This is not a problem most of the time since the levels are randomly generated, however sometimes you feel like it's a bit too random and it can get frustrating if you only get weak    The Binding of Isaac is a great game with a lot of replay value for its price.
    Before picking this up you need to know that it's a hard game with permanent death, which means if you die you die, no respawning. This is not a problem most of the time since the levels are randomly generated, however sometimes you feel like it's a bit too random and it can get frustrating if you only get weak items or can't reach items.

    This makes The Binding of Isaac a very unbalanced game, one playthrough you might have got all the powerful items and are plowing through the levels without taking any damage and the next time you'll barely hurt the bosses with your tears (projectiles).

    If you're brave enough to jump into a hard game with permanent death and can see beyond the balancing issues The Binding of Isaac is a great game, you won't find a game with more play value for the $/â    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

25
#25 Best PC Game of 2011
25
#25 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
21
#21 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. GamingXP
    Mar 19, 2012
    83
    The Binding of Isaac looks like an old school game like the original Zeldas, but with a dark scenario and dark humor. It has the typical difficulty of a McMillen game, which is not found anywhere else these days. This game will motivate you to try and try again in such a simple way – just brilliant. If you like the style and the old school gameplay of The Binding of Isaac, you'll have a lot of fun with it.
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  2. GameCritics
    Mar 10, 2012
    90
    One may play for an hour or two, but they're constantly tempted to go back in and uncover the scads of remaining secrets. It's a style of game that really intrigues me, and one I want to see more of
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  3. 4P.de
    Feb 28, 2012
    87
    Zelda meets Robotron: Isaac celebrates old school topdown action in randomly generated dungeons.
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