The Binding of Isaac Review by: darthyoda - 9.5/10
Isaac is bound!Have you ever thought about Isaac? This is his story, a delusional mother, a basement with untold evils, and having to mutate himself, just to get away from his abusive mother! That's horrible, although the game tackles a heavy topic like abuse, it still brings an odd charm, if you'll be so lenient to have me use that term. It's a fun indie game, and it's one of the few indie games I own, that I REALLY enjoy, though to be honest, I haven't played all of the indie games I own, this has become one of my favorite games from Steam! Top-Down view, "shooter" if you will. (If you consider using your tears to dispatch your enemies. Now, on to the categories!
Graphics: 10/10
Now, this may be shocking, and I do see your shock in this rating... But, they have focused on making it a smooth and great environment. It's simplicity makes it work, and other indie games, make the visuals worse, as part of the game, games like Minecraft, and other pixel based games. This game, doesn't do that. It has great detail, and often, you have to notice some slight things in the environment, for clues about stuff like the hidden rooms. (Which hold money, upgrades, or other random items.) The fires are scattered everywhere, and they are really well-designed. The bricks, the explosion animations... Oh! I could go on, and on, and on... But do I need to? I think you guys can figure out that I really enjoy these graphics, even if they aren't as flashy as the brand new games, with exotic backdrops...
Sound: 7/10
This is one area I'm not a huge fan of. The sounds are alright... and as with many other games, I don't particularly enjoy the soundtrack. I have an odd taste with music... and this game, has an okay soundtrack, but I'd rather stream some spotify while playing it. The other sounds are more or less just buzzing, growls, the occasional "ISAAC!" from your mother. Splashes, other simple sounds, nothing special here... No cool, :Foos Roh Dahs" here. No dragons, no environment, rich with NPC's just going about their life. It's simple, and that good, but they could have done better, if you ask me.
Addictiveness: 10/10
This game, is SO addictive! You "beat" the game, and you get something, either a random item, a new hardship, new character, or something else. It's cool! Not to mention that you have to start the game over every time you die, no checkpoints, no start at the beginning of the level, you start over from the first level! I know you guys have been looking for your next Dark Souls experience... and if you don't want to dive into that, here's a quick and easy game, I've easily put 30-40 hours into. That's a high number, I know, and it's all true! No exaggeration here! I've beat this about 10 times, and I think there's more. (Other than the items... Maybe the next hardship level...) Hard telling how much there is to this... either way, I keep playing this game... I can't drag myself away from Isaac and Co. Oh! That's right. He has roughly 5 "friends" you can choose. That makes it more interesting too. What can I say? It's just an addictive game! Download it and you'll never stop playing!
Story: 9/10
I touched on this in the intro... There's no huge journey. You are no chosen one, no mafia crime boss, no hitman... You are just a kid who is trying to escape his abusive mother's grasp. This makes it a kind of "hero" story, though you could go with a theory, like it's a dream, and how he copes with his mother's over-delusional religious beliefs. Really, even though the story isn't about some grand journey, it's still tackling a VERY sensitive subject. Parental Abuse. And, to me, it doesn't cross a line, it makes her, not the main focus. (The way I see it at least.) But, to me, as long as what you write as your story, it's fine. Now, I do have to caution here. The story is scattered around. A cut-scene in between levels, although really, it's a nightmare. The biggest cut-scene is before you get to the menu. That's the majority of the story. It helps the focus stay on the game itself. The gameplay, rather. That's about all I can say.
Depth: 8/10
This could be seen as a little lacking. You play the game, with the same bosses, although at random. It doesn't help that you can beat one playthrough in roughly a half an hour to forty-five minutes. But, as I said. You do have secret rooms, upgrades and other abilities. That helps, but really the depth is artificial. You are just playing from the beginning when you die. No added levels, except for the first few times you beat it, it gets a little longer. Not much to say here. It's fine, could be better. Gets my average rating, just cause it doesn't take long to beat the game, a single time.
Difficulty: 9/10
Remember earlier when I said, "Looking for your next Dark Souls fix?" Well, I meant that! This game is unforgiving! You have no glaring weak spots on bosses, screaming, "HIT ME!" No health regen. You are waiting for a heart to be randomly dropped! You also get a max of three hearts to start with. That's only about 3-6 hits. Not to mention, that the bosses are random, until you figure out a pattern, after you've faced them multiple times. It's really just slapping you, over and over again... But! Everytime you beat the game, it's REALLY rewarding! Just play it, and you'll see what I mean!
Now... Giving a rough average of all the scores. I grant a 9.5 on this! It's a great game, hard as it may be, lacking in depth and all! It's an indie gem! You should all buy it either on the next sale or indie bundle that includes it! Just play the game already! Why are you still reading this review when you should be playing it right now!
But, seriously. Love the game... still playing it, after I've beat it 10+ times!
Graphics
10 Sound
7 Addictive
10 Depth
8 Story
9 Difficulty
9
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