Friday 10 August 2012

The Binding of Isaac: This Game is Horrifying

Theresa gifted me many things from the Steam Summer Sale while I was away in China. Now my backlog of games grows even larger and I have no idea how I'm going to get through all of these. In the meantime, I seem to have a preference for games by independent developers so today let's talk about The Binding of Isaac.

And while it is an excellent game, it is also easily one of the most disturbing games out there as well. Created by the same man who made Super Meatboy, some readers may be offended by this game's religious content. Anyone who may be offended can just scroll to the bottom and talk about their pet cat or something.

Yep, nothing out of the ordinary here.

The game is about a young boy named Isaac who lives with his Mother. However, his Mother begins to hear the voice of "God" and is ordered to sacrifice Isaac to prove her devotion. Yes, this mimics the Biblical story of the same name.

Isaac attempts to flee from his Mother by escaping through a trapdoor found in his bedroom. From there he must try and survive mazes filled with monstrous creatures and eventually face his Mother. The game has 11 different possible endings (13 with the Wrath of the Lamb expansion pack) each shedding light on Isaac's fate.

You play the game as Isaac, a small boy who is depicted as constantly crying. And that's actually how he fights the monsters in the mazes, by firing his tears at enemies. It is also possible to unlock other characters sharing the names of other Biblical characters such as Samson and Magdalene who have their own attributes. For example, Judas starts the game with very low health but the highest attack, whereas Cain has a much greater chance of finding better items.

 Again, the Wrath of the Lamb expansion gives additional characters.

The game differentiates itself from other dungeon crawlers in two ways, the maze creations and the items. Each playthrough is completely different in terms of mazes explored, monsters encountered, and items obtained. There are no saves and each time you play, you're either going to die or beat it. Dying involves you starting all over. As you progress and beat the game, additional items, bosses and even levels unlock giving another layer of depth to the game.

There are over 100 items that can randomly appear in the game, with an additional hundred items with the Wrath of the Lamb expansion. You have items ranging from basic health upgrades, attack upgrades to items that grant you wings, change your tears into lazers or give Isaac bad gas.

Oh on top of that, most items will cause your character to change his appearance. A tub of lard makes you fat, coat hangers will go through your head, diseases make you appear infected and sick, chemicals will burn off half your face.

A guy on Deviantart has drawn depictions of his character after each game, and remember that each playthrough is going to give you different items resulting in completely unique experiences:

You can view the rest of his gallery here.

Despite its cartoony appearance, The Binding of Isaac is NOT a game I'd would recommend for younger children. The monsters range from bizarre to disturbing and there is an exceptional amount of blood and gore in the game. The game is also quite difficult and often unforgiving. You are not required to explore the entire map and in fact can just go and fight bosses as soon as you find them. 

HOWEVER, by doing so you risk missing items that will make the rest of your playthrough easier. Or maybe you won't find anything at all and you'll end up fighting a boss half crippled. That constant threat of risk vs. reward is another well done feature of the game. Any mistakes are done because you decided to do them and you have no one else to blame.

For only $5 and an additional $3 for the expansion pack on Steam, this game is well worth its cost. Lots of content, plenty of replay value, and a unique experience and different challenge each time you play, I highly recommend this game.


28 comments:

  1. I don't think I will ever enjoy that kind of game :)

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  2. Man this game sounds so sick and weird but I actually really, really, really want it haha, it seems awesome! I honestly didn't think I'd find a game that's this disturbing so cool but it is what it is :P

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  3. Oh wow, this game sounds really good! I love the art, and I like the fact that it's based on religion. I also really love that the main character is a little kid who cries all the time! :)

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  4. Wow that does sound a bit disturbing, but fun too, although I wouldn't want a nasty disease haha

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  5. Oh jeez. That game looks freaky... But in that same breath, it's so sweet Theresa bought it for you!

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  6. That does sound creepy! But in an addicting way, if I played video games..

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  7. This actually looks like a lot of fun.Do this more often, the whole game writing thing.

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  8. Unfortunately, I'm not a great a fan of horror movies/games. I might be seeing nightmares every night after each play :) But the graphic is cool.

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  9. Never been much of a gamer, but your review kind of makes me wanna check it out.

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  10. i like the binding of isaac VII on the gallery

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  11. While deliciously sick, I can think of many games way more disturbing than TBoI.

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  12. I want to give Isaac a great big hug! Awwwww! Take care
    x

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  13. I think you better take a break from your gaming and bake Theresa some brownies :)

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  14. I think that's the strangest concept for a game I've ever heard! Trailer looks pretty decent though

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  15. not sure it's for me in style and atmosphere

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  16. Even at my age I still cannot understand how a father could sacrifice his son - - - .

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  17. Sounds absolutely perfect for the young men in our family.

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  18. I never play game but I want to try it.

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  19. I'm a little irreverent by nature, so this concept actually seems pretty entertaining. Agree that it's probably not the best for kids, though!

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  20. Below is a link to a bunch of Bundt pans on Amazon. The cakes are usually denser and often without frosting...just a dusting of powdered sugar or a glaze. You can also use a pan that looks like an angel food cake pan to bake a Bundt cake.

    http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=bundt+pans&tag=googhydr-20&index=garden&hvadid=4230242799&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=671516816785589396&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_461x0lf0b3_b

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  21. Thanks for the heads-up about this. My son is a huge gamer, and I worry about the violence in Call of Duty as it is. Although I'm pretty liberal by nature, I'm also concerned about the effects some of these violent and sadisitic games have on our society.

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  22. Wow, that is really disturbing. I don't think I would ever let my kids play that game, even though they are older.

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  23. For some reason that first pic just cracks me up. I've been laughing at it for a good 5 minutes. haha

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  24. I agree this is prob not the best for kids...and I remember when Mortal Combat came out...haha

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  25. I really bond with this Issac. Especially the part about firing his tears at monsters. Sounds a lot like my childhood.

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  26. wow, when i first saw the art of this game, i thought it was a game for kids. Now I'm interested in it

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