GAME REVIEW: 'The Binding of Isaac' old school in so many ways
"The Binding Of Isaac" borrows heavily from old-school adventure games to create a extremely unforgiving challenge.
Despite its extreme difficulty, the game is entertaining and rewarding to play.
"The Binding Of Isaac" is a modern retelling of the titular Biblical tale. Isaac and his Mom lived happily until the voice of God told his mother that Isaac had been corrupted. After striping Isaac of everything and banishing him to a small room, God then tells her to sacrifice him.
Isaac hears this and escapes to the basement in a desperate chance at surviving, but finds a never-ending supply of horrors meet him there.
"Isaac" plays like a retro adventure game, utilizing a layout almost identical to the original "Legend Of Zelda," and a two-stick movement and firing system like the one employed in "Geometry Wars."
You crawl through dungeon map after dungeon map defeating enemies and gaining new items.
Also much like "Legend Of Zelda," the game has basic items like coins, bombs and keys. For retro adventure gamers, the way the game plays will make them feel very much at home.
The art design is one of the more unique aspects of the game.
Everything is drawn cute, cuddly and very innocent-looking, but the actual content of the game is harrowing. This creates juxtaposition, as there are drawings of screaming bloody fetuses, headless bodies and blood-laser shooting vaginas.
After many battles, the entire room you were fighting could be covered in blood, feces and urine. The imagery is sometimes terrifying, as the game looks like the cutest trip through Silent Hill that ever happened. As scary the art design is, the true horror to this game is the difficulty.
This game in no way holds your hand as none of the items, pills and tarot cards are explained until used and sometimes yield negative effects. Also, since much of this game is based in the rules of Rougelikes, all deaths are permanent, no continues, no passwords, no saves.
Because you only have one chance there becomes a point where skill becomes irrelevant and luck is what helps you win. As the game gets harder and hearts get rarer every level you become more and more dependent on finding good items to help you survive.
When entering a tight room full of Leapers or Chargers without upgrades to help you deal with them correctly, you’ll find yourself kissing a lot of your extremely valuable health goodbye.
Regardless of how many times you will find yourself dead, the game is so rewarding to play. Especially when finding new items, that even after the most aggravating death, you’ll find yourself saying, “Oh, just one more try”.
At only $5 on Steam, the amount of replayability is more than worth every penny, just prepare to find yourself dead … a lot.
Platform: PC Genre: Rougelike Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
