The Binding of Isaac: now with more vague non-endings!

TheySlashThem

Alright, fuck it, I'm finally making this thread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9au_e0im0aM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jruTNX0U3tM

The Binding of Isaac is an indie game from half of the creative team behind Super Meat Boy. It's been out for a couple of months, and is slowly building a following for its addictive, "just one more try" gameplay. It's one part Legend of Zelda, one part Rogue, and one part thirteen year old boy discovering Newgrounds dot com for the first time circa 2003.

Storywise, well, I'll let the game set the scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27Le3kOOFQk

You explore randomly generated rooms, find random items, fight horrible mosters, and basically try to make it to the end of the game in one life. Unlocks and acheivements increase your starting character choices and the pool of possible items, but for all intents and purposes, you are starting each playthrough from scratch.

This game is hard.

Balls hard.

Additionally, it features excellent music by the same guy who did Super Meat Boy's soundtrack.

It's only five bucks on steam, for PC and Mac, right here.

There's a demo you can play at Newgrounds.

There's a handy wiki here.

Give it a try.

EDIT:

Edmund McMillen's dev blog for insight into the game's production

and his twitter for discussion of possible future updates

EDIT AGAIN:

Giantbomb's quick look of BoI

EdM's formspring

BugBoy

I've spent a lot of time on YouTube watching let's plays of this

maybe I will get it

Magus`

BugBoy wrote:

I've spent a lot of time on YouTube watching let's plays of this

maybe I will get it

http://www.humblebundle.com/

It's part of the bundle (have to spend at least 5.25) and comes with a few other games. Also, it's for charity!

Sale is only going for one more day!

Butler For Life #1

try the demo bugboy

it's good!

Magus`

If we get the twin's support, we're so in!

BugBoy

this is some hilarious fun

"gee what's this tarot card do-OH MY GOD TELEPORT TO THE BOSS HELP"

although movement on the asdw and tears on the directional keys feels weird to me

Magus`

Joy2Key works really well, if you have a gamepad.

Watoo24

Magus` wrote:

BugBoy wrote:

I've spent a lot of time on YouTube watching let's plays of this

maybe I will get it

http://www.humblebundle.com/

It's part of the bundle (have to spend at least 5.25) and comes with a few other games. Also, it's for charity!

Sale is only going for one more day!

thanks for the heads up i picked it up there.

equally thanks for the thread wouldn't have realized this game existed.

Magus`

Glad to help! Enjoy~

Flay

I've played a fair bit of this game, although I've only beaten it once (and haven't even seen the 7th/8th levels yet).

Well worth $5 if anyone's on the fence.

BugBoy

I heard gurdy was really hard, but I beat him pretty easily on a run of the demo

having triple charge shots probably helped

Magus`

Gurdy tends to overwhelm people with the stuff going on around him. He's really not too bad, especially once you kill his 'friends'.

Hell, none of the bosses are THAT hard, it's more a combination of getting to them plus the random nature of items.

Rogue Lemon

This game is a pretty good time waster. Finished it once, finished it again with the secret levels.

The devil gives you all the cool toys. Having wings lets you make most of the game your bitch. Also lasers.

PiptheFair

this game is harddd

Marshmallow

Nothing on its own is particularly tough, but there seems to be rooms where things just all go wrong and you take more damage then you can easily bounce back from.

I love clawing my way up from setbacks like that, though.

Also, Smash TV seems to be in this game's genealogy somewhere. That was a good arcade game.

Magus`

Dr. Fetus makes everything easy, I will say.

BugBoy

somehow just managed to clear out a very crowded boss room with one half heart remaining

earned heels for my troubles

victory feels sweet

Magus`

KrunkMcGrunk

This game is a lot of fun, but it's so goddamn creepy, I can't play it for more than a hour.

TheySlashThem

it really does combine its cutesy look with the horrible things going on very well

and there are just a lot of delightfully dark things in the game

like when you first realize why the wooden spoon and the belt are considered speed up items

BugBoy

oh god

SenorTacos

After beating this game the first level is so boring. But this game is a delight. I got a lot more out of it than I thought I would.

TheySlashThem

I like how even in failure you're usually making progress

one of the game's most potent items, the shears, unlocks when you've died a hundred times

also the whole deals with the devil mechanic is pretty baller

Nerdgasmic

ThatDudeOverThere wrote:

it really does combine its cutesy look with the horrible things going on very well

and there are just a lot of delightfully dark things in the game

like when you first realize why the wooden spoon and the belt are considered speed up items

sometime it gets kind of tasteless, though

like the wire coat-hanger

Mr Fuzzbutt

There isn't really a "sometimes" for its tastelessness.

Which is a part of its charm, really.

Flay

After picking up The Pact I ran across a boss that I'd never seen before, and I think the two might be related. Anyone else had this happen to them?

Squall

oh good someone made this thread

the tasteless humor ends up coming off as creepy instead, which I find adds to the game some

I did a livestream with a few forum folks when I first got the game and had an extremely lucky run wherein I unlocked Maggie and Cain as well as beating it for the first time

Yesterday I finally hit my second bit of luck and beat the full game

technology+devil wings did the trick

Squall

also I make a habit of saving extra hearts/faith/machines for after the boss if I think I can beat them no problem

found out the hard way that when you beat mom in the depths II you don't get to go back

I had to leave a dollar and two blood banks behind

TheySlashThem

I think you can use a bomb to get back out of mom's boss room

TheySlashThem

finally beat mom's heart for a second time and unlocked the nail

woo!

Magus`

Soon you shall become a golden god, like me.

TheySlashThem

so far I've gotten through with maggie, judas, and cain

I don't know why I can't get anything done with isaac himself

though eve can fuck right off

Magus`

??? is the true test of your ability to dodge shit.

Getting a waifer with him helps a shitton, though.

Squall

ThatDudeOverThere wrote:

I think you can use a bomb to get back out of mom's boss room

I tried; no dice

been playing with joy2key and a ps3 controller, but I have to use the d pad

gonna play around with ??? next time I get a chance to play

Magus`

??? isn't really too bad, certain items help a lot (such as those that give soul hearts)

Nerdgasmic

what is ???

Magus`

An unlockable character. Has no red heart containers, only soul (IE, temporary) ones.

Unlocked by defeating the Womb 2 boss 10 times.

Squall

ten times? I just beat it once and he unlocked

Magus`

That's Judas.

The character is literally called ???. I'm not trying to mask it.

Magus`

http://bindingofisaac.wikia.com/wiki/???

Squall

Ah, my mistake