The Binding of Isaac (video game)
Encyclopedia
The Binding of Isaac is an independent video game
designed by Edmund McMillen
and Florian Himsl. It was released on Steam on September 28, 2011. Players control a crying naked child named Isaac or one of five other unlockable characters. After his mother receives a message from God demanding the life of her son as proof of her faith, Isaac flees into the monster-filled basement in order to escape with his life. The gameplay and interface both closely resemble the NES
title The Legend of Zelda, while its randomized dungeons and items, as well as permadeath, bring it more in line with Rogue-likes.
On November 1st, it was added to the Humble Indie Bundle
as part of the Humble Voxatron Debut.
The game's title and plot are references to the Biblical story known as the Binding of Isaac
.
in which the player controls Isaac or one of five other unlockable characters as they explore the dungeons located in his mother's basement. The player must explore the trap- and monster-filled rooms and defeat the boss on each floor in order to delve deeper. Powerups can be found along the way, granting the player various abilities and boosts to help him survive. Monsters and items never respawn as soon as a room is cleared, so the player has a limited pool of resources to work with and careless mistakes can be costly. The rooms and the powers made available to the player are randomized each game, allowing for considerable replay value.
Indie game
Independent video game development is the process of creating video games without the financial support of a video game publisher. While large firms can create independent games, they are usually designed by an individual or a small team of as many as ten people, depending on the complexity of the...
designed by Edmund McMillen
Edmund McMillen
Edmund McMillen is an American video game designer who is known for his unique visual style and innovative gameplay design, as well as his emphasis on the importance of careful level design and rewarding difficulty curves.-Early life:...
and Florian Himsl. It was released on Steam on September 28, 2011. Players control a crying naked child named Isaac or one of five other unlockable characters. After his mother receives a message from God demanding the life of her son as proof of her faith, Isaac flees into the monster-filled basement in order to escape with his life. The gameplay and interface both closely resemble the NES
Nes
-Localities:In Norway:* Nes, Akershus, a municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway* Nes, Buskerud, a municipality in the county of Buskerud in Norway* Nes, Hedmark, a former municipality in the county of Hedmark in Norway...
title The Legend of Zelda, while its randomized dungeons and items, as well as permadeath, bring it more in line with Rogue-likes.
On November 1st, it was added to the Humble Indie Bundle
Humble Indie Bundle
The Humble Indie Bundles or Humble Bundles are a series of game bundles, that are sold and distributed online at a price determined by the purchaser. The games are multi-platform, DRM-free, and independently developed, and buyers can set the revenue split between the developers, charities and...
as part of the Humble Voxatron Debut.
The game's title and plot are references to the Biblical story known as the Binding of Isaac
Binding of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac Akedah or Akeidat Yitzchak in Hebrew and Dhabih in Arabic, is a story from the Hebrew Bible in which God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah...
.
Gameplay
The Binding of Isaac is a 2D action role-playing gameAction role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
in which the player controls Isaac or one of five other unlockable characters as they explore the dungeons located in his mother's basement. The player must explore the trap- and monster-filled rooms and defeat the boss on each floor in order to delve deeper. Powerups can be found along the way, granting the player various abilities and boosts to help him survive. Monsters and items never respawn as soon as a room is cleared, so the player has a limited pool of resources to work with and careless mistakes can be costly. The rooms and the powers made available to the player are randomized each game, allowing for considerable replay value.
Reception
The Binding of Isaac received generally favorable reviews from game critics. On the review aggregator GameRankings, the game has an average score of 85.00%, based on 13 reviews. On Metacritic, the game has an average of 84 out of 100 based on 19 reviews.External links
- The Binding of Isaac on MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- The Binding of Isaac on SteamSteamSteam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
- The Binding of Isaac Demo on NewgroundsNewgroundsNewgrounds is an American entertainment and social media website. Founded on July 6, 1995 by Tom Fulp, the site primarily hosts Adobe Flash animations and games, but also features a music-oriented page, along with an art portal...