The Binding of Isaac

Only Available on: Steam (PC)
Played it for: 70 hours

RATING: 8/10

While many teenagers are all wrapped up with Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed III, or the new Call of Duty, there’s a little known game for the PC that is just as entertaining as these giant titles, and much, much more difficult.

The Binding of Isaac, a little indie game available for $5.00 on Steam, is a 2D shooter game that is far from ordinary. You use the WASD keys to move, and the arrow keys to shoot, but then it gets odd. The main character is a little boy named Isaac, who dreams he jumps into the basement to escape from his crazy mother. And in this basement, Isaac encounters all sorts of baddies, from spiders and flies to jumping pajamas and strange little balls that shoot lasers. And he fights them off by shooting giant tears at them. As he makes his way through the basement, he must contend with difficult bosses, limited health and power-ups, and no idea where he’s going. Yeah, it’s a strange game.

The mechanics are where this game really shines, though. The game begins in a rectangular room, with anywhere between one and four doors leading out. Each door the player goes through leads to another rectangular room, usually full of enemies, and once the room has been cleared, more doors open up. The game changes these rooms every time the player starts a new game, too, so no two games of The Binding of Isaac are ever the same. This adds massive amounts of difficulty to the game, as it’s impossible to plan ahead. If this wasn’t bad enough, the game limits the amount of silver keys and bombs that spawn during a game, so it can be very difficult to give Isaac the necessary boosts he needs to beat the bosses. Silver keys unlock upgrade rooms and stores, both of which are necessary for Isaac’s survival later on, and bombs can be used to open up secret doorways to rooms that contain a rare item, or even just lots of money. And of course, as Isaac moves deeper into the basement, the enemies become more unforgiving, making survival less and less likely. All of this culminates in a final boss fight with Isaac’s mother, who periodically stomps her foot at Isaac between waves of enemies. If Isaac is lucky enough to beat all the enemies until this fight, “Mother” will still give the player a run for his or her money.

But wait! When at last Isaac is lucky enough to win this final boss battle, the game isn’t over! Normally, the game sends Isaac through six floors of the basement before the final fight with his mother, but after beating the game, it expands to eight floors, and there’s a new final boss past defeating “Mother.” The new floors are impossibly difficult, and it provides one of the most challenging and frustrating experiences in modern gaming.

And for those who want to expand their gaming abilities even further, there’s a DLC for The Binding of Isaac called Wrath of the Lamb. This adds hundreds of new powers, trinkets, and items for Isaac to collect, new enemies, new bosses, and an even further addition to the game. After beating the game on the second round, it expands from eight floors to a final, massive, ninth floor. But thankfully, after this ninth boss is defeated, the game is finally, officially, over.

So, this indie game is extremely difficult and frustrating, but so very rewarding when finally beaten. Considering how much re-play value it has, how hard it is to beat in the first place, and how variable gameplay is, it’s well worth the $8.00 for the game and its DLC. And don’t forget, Christmas is around the corner, so Steam’s Winter Sale should easily bring it down in price. And if you’re looking for a game to tide you over ’till the 25th, this is certainly the game for you.