The Binding Of Isaac - PC
Ratings
Ign: 7.5/10
Metacritic: 84%
Eurogamer: 9/10
Binding of Isaac is a Indie developed 2D Action Rpg Developed by Team Meat. The game was originally released in the Humble Indie Bundle on 1 November 2011. The main goal of the game is to get the final basement level and beat your Mom along with other bosses along the way. It takes inspiration from The Legend of Zelda in its mostly Dungeon Crawling Gameplay and Boss fights. There are just over 60 different boss fights which you can fight. It is praised for its Simple and fun gameplay and its incredibly high replay ability and addiction level.
The world of Isaac is a very hellish world and feels like it is based around the insides of the body. The visual style is a Cartoon Style but it is still a very hellish. Most of the character designs for the bosses are quite vile in design and some people consider very disgusting in its character design. Some levels have Poo in them which you are allowed to shoot to try get items. I feel that the visual style of this game helps it to immerse the player in the game. The developers chose this visual style to help the game stand out from other games and because it is the developers usually visual style and game world in which they have a lot of visceral looking game worlds which can be seen in there other games such as Super Meat Boy.
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| This image shows some level design and its Grotesque Design |
Characters
There are 7 playable characters which each have unique stats and abilities. Most Characters are based of the bible and all have a reference to the bible.
Isaac
Isaac is the main playable character in the game and he has the best all round stats and he also starts with a Bomb. His Bible reference is that he is the son of Abraham who god asked to sacrifice in Binding of Isaac.
Magdalene
Magdalene is one of the unlock able characters who starts with more health but less attack which most players enjoy the trade off because they can survive longer. She also starts off with Yum Heart which allows the player to fill one empty heart container which would also benefit the player. One bad point about Magdalene is that her base speed is only 85% compared to Isaac's 100%. Her Bible reference is that she is one of the Jesus's friends and is also known as Mary.
Cain
Cain is also a Unlockable character in the game who has high speed and attack base stats but he has the lowest range out of all Characters. He also starts with a lucky key which will unlock chests which helps the player chests in the game which can help you heal or get more keys so you can upgrade your stats. Cain also has the highest base speed out of any character at 135%. His bible reference is that his the son of adam and eve and the brother of Abel.
Judas is the fourth unlockable character in Isaac. He has the lowest health which is his main disadvantage but he does have the highest attack which makes up for his short comings. Hes starts off with 3 Coins and a item called The Book Of Belial which doubles your damage and the range of your tears. His bible reference is that he is the man who betrayed Jesus.
Eve
Eve is the fifth unlockable character in Isaac. She Has probably the worst base stats out of every character with only One attack and 3 speed being her highest stat. She starts with the item the dead bird which attacks any enemy which attacks you. She also has the item Whore Of Babylon which increases the players damage and speed. Her Bible reference is that she is the first human god created.
???
The final unlockable character is ??? Who has no actual health but starts with soul hearts which cannot be recovered. Many people feel that he is the hardest to complete the game with because you cannot recover health. His item is The Poop which can be used to block enemy attacks. Players will usually use this character to have a big challenge.
Samson
Samson is a DLC character ins Isaac. This Character has Low health but well rounded other stats. He has one soul heart and has the item BloodLust which increases damage with damage with every kill that the player gets. He has 110% health and his tear speed is 131%.
Conclusion
I feel that the developers chose to have all of these unique characters so they could extend the gameplay further than it originally would of been. They did this to give more game for the consumers money by adding DLC characters as well they extend the game which would help with the games popularity sales and general playtime.
Other Non-Playable Characters
Most Non-playable characters include Vendors and other random character who may give you items if you give them something in return. One of the best vendors in the game is the devil who gives you a variety of strong items in return for your health. A lot of players usually risk this so they can kill bosses and other creatures quicker. Vendors are usually a room by them self with no enemies to attack you.
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| The devils room |
Enemies and Bosses
There are 100's of different enemies in the Binding of Isaac and a couple of dozen for each different level you go on E.G. The Depths, The Basement ETC. There are also over 60 different bosses which you may encounter in the game and also some unique bosses which may spawn in a room all by them self, examples of these bosses are the Sins and the Harbingers.
The Bosses in the game are always by the doorway to the next level when you beat them they also drop a random item which may increase your health or increase your stats. Most bosses may only spawn on certain levels like the enemy's in the game. Some people will usually hope for certain bosses over the others because they may find them easier than the other certain bosses. Just like with the characters the developers of the game added many different bosses to the game so that they could extend gameplay and throw off any players who might think that there is always a certain boss in a room so they could easily make the game more fun by adding in a random factor such as different bosses on random floors and a possibility of spawning in any other mini-boss in a room.
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| Isaac's many bosses |
Isaac's Many bosses.
Interface
Isaac's interface is very basic and easy to use because it tells you every thing you need to know without taking you out of the game in any way. It Displays you health items and map in one very easy to use and simple bar this helps the players to become more immersed into the game because they don't have to pause the game in any way to find out what items they have or where they are or how much health they have. Even the death screen gives the player a good overview of what happened in that run which they just had. The developers made the interface basic and simple so anyone could easily understand what was going on in the game at any point which is good for newcomers to the game because they can almost immediately pick up on what was and is going on in the game.
The first room you spawn in. The Death screen explaining how you died.
Perspective
The perspective you get in Isaac is a top down 2D view. This allows the players to see the area they are in freely without any annoyances such as a wonky camera, the top down view helps players to see all the enemy's which are in one room. This also helps when fighting bosses and dodging obstacles which are in your way. The best thing in which the perspective helps out is the combat because you can only aim 4 different ways you can easily see where you need to shoot in order to defeat you enemy's. The developers chose to have a top down perspective so they could fit whole rooms of a dungeon on the screen and so the players could keep track of all the enemies/bosses in the room, this was a good idea because it helps the player see what they have to do in the room which will help new players to the game.
Boss Fight showing combat.
Interaction Model and Modes
The Binding of Isaac is a primarily a single player game which benefits the game more than it hinders it, personally i feel that game would be to hectic and there would be to much going on the screen if you had more than one player, also due to its interaction model you may sometimes loose where your character may be on the screen which may cause you to die. You can see an example of how over crowded the screen may get above. The developers chose to only have single player because they would have mainly not have the budget to develop multiplayer for such a game especially because they are a indie developer and because the interaction model of the game would not work well with multiplayer because all players would have to be in the same room which would damage the framerate of the game.
Narrative and Setting
The main premise behind The Binding of Isaac is that you are Isaac you are living with your mom and one day your mom is given a message by god to sacrifice Isaac as a show of her faith you are forced to flee to the basement in order to survive which is also where the majority of the game takes place. A better explanation is in the video below.
The game is also loosely based around the bible which may put some people of but overall the story is not what keeps people coming back to play the game. The setting is a good one because it is unique and hasn't really been done before so it brings people in.
Challenges/Rewards
The main challenge of the game is to complete the game with all the characters and also to try and collect all of the items which are in the game. There are also achievements which you may get which are on steam. Also there are higher level of difficulties which you may complete the game on. The challenges have kept people coming back to this game for many hours which proves that challenges and rewards obviously feel gratifying when you receive them. The decision for the developers to add in achievements was made to add more playtime to the game as well as encourage multiple playthorughs of the game in which the players would have to try and get all of the items which they would want to collect adding to the length of the game for certain people.
1st Page of the item list and some Achievements.
Player Actions
When playing Isaac the player cannot really change the game world very much though they may be able to blow up some walls which may reveal secret rooms which either have special items there or a boss depending on what the game decides to spawn. The player also destroy certain items in a room such as poop or fire. There also rooms which have slot machines which the player may destroy in order to gain some money.
A Secret room.
Player interaction may be low with the environment but there many NPC's which the player may interact with such as the beggar who asks for money and if you give him enough he may give a item in return. The player can also interact with vending machines and a fortune telling machine. These all help to immerse the player in the game world a little bit more which is good for developers because they get more play time on their game. The developers decided to add in some these shops for the player to interact with to make the game easier on the players so they could possibly heal get a item to help with enemies or to find a key to unlock a door or a chest this is good because the game would be harder if these shops weren't in the game so adding them made it easier for the players.
Game Mechanics/Structure
The games mechanics are very easy to use and learn which may seem like the game is to simple and does not keep players playing but there are many different mechanics to the game which only expert players know about such as some of the items in the game never really explain what they do but for expert players they know what they do and the right time to use them. Also certain bosses have patterns which you need to learn in order to kill him efficiently. Also some of the secret hidden rooms may not be found by a beginner to the game but may be easily found by a veteran. The basic structure of the games controls also look simple but if they are used effectively then they can used to great effect against some of the harder bosses and enemy's allowing for fast speed runs of the game. Overall the games structure may be simple but it does not hinder the game in anyway but it benefits it. The developers made the game mechanics and structure so simple so that any player of any skill level could buy there game and enjoy it which is always good to see from developers because it shows that they care more about the consumers.
Final Boss Speed Run.
Addiction Level
The Binding of Isaac usually only costs £3.99 but for this price you get probably one the most addictive games in a very long time you may start playing Isaac and after a while realise that you have wasted 8-10 hours of your life just playing this game. When you do finally feel like you have completed this game there is also a dlc which only costs £1.99 this Dlc called "Wrath of the Lamb" adds even more play time to your hours or days of which you have already had on the game. The main reason for Isaac's high addiction level is that it is simple and it never feels like the game is overwhelming you with information or telling you what to do you always feel like your in control of the game which is nice in the age of the corridor shooter. Overall The Binding of Isaac is an absolute bargain when your looking for hours of fun at a low price.
Conclusion
Overall The Binding of Isaac is a incredibly addictive and well made game which any gamer should check out namely because i can run on almost any PC. The game shows that you do need multi-million dollar funding in order to make a game and is a true showing of how to make a excellent game. All the decisions that the developer made for the game were made so that game could be a good game and well made and so that any type of player could pick up the game and enjoy it.
relly good
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