If you have the no damage ones, the rest is pretty easy. You just have to get every item at least once and fill in a few other odds and ends.
Hmmm yeah but its purely random, and my biggest issue in life is my lack of time for all the things I really want to do ! : ) I wanna meet the santa monster though. I wonder if there's christmas content for a lot of other Steam games ? Yesterday I got Revenge of the Titans which currently has a Christmas battle versus Yetis.
I still play BoI semi-frequently after 120 hours, I still need to beat the game with ??? and Eve, as well as get Dark Boy and Mama's Boy. Fantastic game, especially for its' price - I'm dying to get my hands on Wrath of the Lamb. His idea of replay value and what makes a game worth playing over and over is pretty interesting, I wish more games would adopt the idea of making every run unique. I don't intend to drag this topic back over to certain elements that we've been politely and appropriately asked to stay away from, but as a general statement, it's actually quite interesting and enlightening to listen to interviews given by Mcmillen on his inspirations and influences for BoI. It's not meant to be satirical (or as I've even heard it called, misogynistic, which I didn't get from it at all), according to him. Even if you aren't just looking for moral validation in supporting the game, his interviews are fascinating, like him or hate him. DISCLAIMER EDIT: But if you do go looking for interviews he gives, if you couldn't tell by the game he's created, he has absolutely no filter. Look at his formspring if you don't believe me.
Wrote this up on a whim, necroing this thread as it seemed the most appropriate place to put it. Incoming wall of text. =P *** The Binding of Isaac - a quick analysis. Introduction What is… …The Binding of Isaac (henceforth referred to as BoI)? The game, in short, is a shooter with rogue-like elements such as perm death, randomisation, and resource management. Players control a character (including, but not restricted to Isaac) and fight their way through a level to reach a boss, and upon defeating it they may explore the remainder of the level or proceed to the next. Replayability is near-infinite due to the wide array of items Isaac can pick up along with their combinations, and the randomly generated nature of the game which encompasses item drops, enemies, room and level layouts, and even bosses, ensuring a different experience each time. Released by developer Edmund McMillen (art and game design) and Florian Himsel (coding) in 2011, the first incarnation of the game is in flash and was sold on Steam at the low price of US$5. Since then, two DLCs have been released, and it has recently been announced that a remake is in the works, bringing the game away from the limiting flash platform and allowing it to grow further. All of the game’s artwork has been drawn by McMillen, who continues in his signature style of the disturbing and visceral. Tempered by the game’s personal thick-lined, cutesy art direction, the juxtaposition of gruesome and what would in other cases be seen as an endearing animation style produces a profoundly disturbing effect that McMillen puts to good use bringing out the atmosphere of the game. In this brief analysis, all of the content up to and including the “Wrath of the Lamb” expansion will be considered for the purposes of this paper. Elements that are references to McMillen’s other games such as Super Meat Boy and Time Fcuk will not be considered for the purposes of this analysis. The Story The story of BoI, according to McMillen, has intentionally been left rather vague. While there are portions that are concrete and even narrated, most of the storyline has to be pieced together from bits and clues: the introdution as told by Isaac’s childish scribbles, the symbolism of certain power-up items, the thirteen endings to be found, various inter-level vignettes played as loading screens, and so forth. As such, there are as many interpretations to be had as to the game’s storyline as there are players; which is one of the strengths of this form of storytelling. However, for the purposes of this paper, I have had to impose my own interpretation of the story - but let it be assured I am aware of the existence of others. The events presented in the introduction are at a first glance simple: one day, Isaac’s mother hears a voice she believes to be from God, telling her that Isaac is sinful and needs to be saved from the threat of sin. Following the voice’s instructions over a period of time, Mom takes more and more drastic steps to “save” him - first stripping of his worldly possessions, his toys and even his clothes, locking in his room, and finally, obeying the voice when it tells her to sacrifice Isaac as a test of her faith to him, leading to him running to the basement to hide and beginning the game. This mirrors the biblical story that gives the game its title, and ends in much the same way: upon completing the game for the first time, Isaac’s drawings depict him cornered in the basement by his knife-wielding mother, gripped by her fervour in serving her god. However, God intervenes at the last moment, causing a bible to fall from a high shelf and crack Mom’s skull open, leaving Isaac triumphant. Unfortunately, the conclusion of this ending reveals that this series of events in the drawings is only how Isaac imagines his story should end - his mother bursts through the door, knife in hand before the camera cuts to black. As the player progresses through the game more times, further endings are unlocked and more of the story unfolds. Without spoiling things too much, here is my interpretation of the story as a whole: *Isaac once had a happy family, consisting of Dad, Mom and himself. (Ending 13) *Isaac also had a sister, who was particularly close to her mother. (Ending 13) While it has been proposes that this might have been Isaac playing dress-up to please his mother, I’m not sure this is the case. In one of the inter-level vignettes, Mom is shown handing Isaac a wig that is clearly later Maggy’s wig, and this scene clearly takes place after his “happy” period (as evidenced by how he views Mom, which will be discussed later). *Something terrible happens to the family. (Ending 13, the photo with Isaac and the demon) Since Isaac’s sister is not seen again, she may be assumed to be dead, or Dad took custody of her when he left the family. *Isaac’s father leaves the family, and may or may not have custody of his sister. (Ending 13) *Unable to cope with the loss of Maggy, Mom lapses into psychosis. She steadily begins to abuse Isaac, revealing that Isaac was an unwanted child and forcing him to dress up like his sister. (“Maggy’s wig” vignette, feminine “Mom’s X” items being worn by Isaac without hesitation, his fractured identities, especially the feminine ones) *Isaac is unable to understand his mother’s abusive behaviour towards him and turns to religion as his escape, resulting in the heavy religious referencing throughout the game. He attaches to the biblical story that gives him his name, hoping that God will step in and save him from his current situation. (Ending 1) *As Isaac becomes more religious, he becomes more convinced that his mother is treating him as such because he is sinful and deserves it, rationalising Mom’s actions towards him. (Ending 12) *Isaac’s mother bursts into his room, wielding a butcher’s knife. Isaac climbs into his toy chest to hide from his mother, but inadvertently locks himself inside. (Ending 1, 11) *The events of the game occur as Isaac’s dying nightmares. *Isaac suffocates to death in his toy chest, and escapes his mother’s abuse through death, tearfully ascending to heaven in a beam of light. (Ending 10, the “chest” level, blue baby, the true final boss being Isaac’s corpse, suffocating vignette) It may be a depressing story indeed, but a happy ending was never quite possible in the first place.
The themes of The Binding of Isaac The game’s themes may be separated along two major lines: religion, primarily catholic Christianity, and child abuse. We’ll examine these in turn. Religion In given interviews, McMillen admits that he was raised in a devoutly Christian family and while he’s left the religion, he nevertheless has stated he’s interested in exploring it. Christianity features heavily as the backdrop against which the game is set, with items (such as communion wafers and the crown of thorns) as well as enemies (seven deadly sins, the horsemen of the apocalypse, and the devil himself) as well as game mechanics being biblical references. Even the names of Isaac’s alternate personas are biblical figures, and it’s hard to turn your head without seeing some sort of reference to the Christian religion. The setting aside, though, the introduction has been taken by some reviewers of the game as a warning against blind religious faith and a caution against religious fundamentalism in general, leading to the proposition that the game has a general anti-religious stance. While this might appear true at face value, it must be remembered that the events in the introduction take place only in Isaac’s imagination and are hence only his interpretation of his mother’s motives. While I have put forward my theory, any concrete explanation for Mom’s psychosis and her abuse of Isaac is never concretely spelled out in the game. Child Abuse Which neatly segways into the main theme of BoI, namely child abuse, its effects on children, and the forms it can take. While some aspects of this abuse are readily visible to the player (such as the introduction, Isaac’s nakedness and the fact that his weapon is his tears and the symbolism of such), it is only with slightly deeper introspection that the true depths of his abuse surfaces. In the game, Isaac’s abuse can be broadly divided into two categories: physical and psychological, each of which will be examined in turn. Physical Abuse Food One of the first things players will notice about the nature of health-up items is that they mostly take the form of food. Rotting, spoiled food, to be exact - breakfast being spoiled milk, lunch a mouldy chicken thigh in a dog dish, and dinner and dessert being rotting dog food. Other items in this vein include rotting meat and buckets of lard, with the most powerful health up item being raw liver. Food is one of the most basic of human needs, and similarly one of the basic things even an animal will give its young. Neglecting to feed your child is one of the hallmarks of the worst kind of parent, one can agree. Going in hand with this is the neglect of Isaac’s other basic needs. His explanation for this, of course, is because they were “sinful” and hence had to be removed - clothes, toys, and all. Isaac’s room, when we see it, is completely bare and windowless save for his (empty) toy chest and drawings. Punishment Another hint as to the forms of abuse Isaac suffers at the hands of his mother include various punishment items, all of which result in Isaac bearing some for of injury when he collects them (and also being speed up items of some sort). While items such as the brass knuckles and cat-o-nine-tails might be a little excessive and tread into the realm of being unbelievable, items such as the belt and wooden spoon (which leaves red scars all over Isaac’s body) are very well within the realm of believability when it comes to beating children. Substance abuse Another recurring theme throughout the game is Isaac’s substance abuse, primarily in the form of pills (the equivalent of random potions so common to the roguelike genre) but also various substances in hypodermic needles such as steroids, growth hormones, AIDS-infected needles and mood-altering drugs. Mushrooms resembling certain psychedelic mushrooms may also be found as items in the game. This ties back to the fact that it’s not unknown for abused children to resort to substance abuse, often without their parent’s knowledge. They may reach for the medicine cabinet, or if their parents are abusers themselves, the so-called secret stash - all just to make the pain go away for a little while. Psychological abuse While Isaac’s physical abuse gives us reason to pause, the psychological abuse he goes through - and the reflection of his dying memories as a horror-filled nightmare - turn to truly disturbing. The imagery of Mom During the course of the game, the player never gets to see Mom in full, only parts of her in the appropriate boss fight and in the between-level vignettes. In each of these appearances, as seen through the lens of Isaac’s mind, Mom always appears as a horrific monstrosity - a thick veined, pustule-ridden hand here, a lumpy foot there, an bloodshot eyeball peering through the door, seeking him and calling his name - and yet when we finally see her face in the final, thirteenth ending of the game in a series of photos, she doesn’t seem that grotesque as Isaac sees her as. For what ought to be a nurturing and care-giving figure to be twisted into the beast in Isaac’s mind, for him to seriously consider matricide (as in the first ending and in the Mom and Mom’s heart boss battles), one can only imagine the series of events that led to this horrific image of his own mother to be imprinted onto Isaac’s mind. The nature of the Mom battle is even more telling - instead of being in the room like all other bosses, Mom is the room, reaching and peering through the doors, crushing him from above, symbolic of how Isaac cannot escape his abuser and of the power a parent can wield over a child without any of the responsibilities given. Even after the boss is defeated, there is no exiting Mom’s boss room by normal means, which drives the point home even further. Isaac’s fractured personality “Who am I?” That’s what the character selection screen reads, and that simple question opens a world of doubt. The alternative characters that you can play in BoI as are clearly Isaac wearing some sort of accessory. Again, like the previous mention of substance abuse, it’s not unheard of for abused children to develop multiple personalities, either as imaginary friends (see loneliness below) or otherwise. The fact that Mom actively encouraged this, perhaps in a quest to recreate Isaac’s sister, only led to greater confusion of Isaac’s identity neatly dovetails with the interpretation of the story that has been put forth so far. Isaac as an unwanted child, and his self-loathing. From the get-go, it is clear that Isaac is an unwanted child, which clearly has contributed towards Mom’s abuse of him (and the theory of his sister being the favoured child). The abortion imagery that is plentiful in the game all points towards this, from the wire coat hanger item (that Isaac drives through his head, a procedure once often used by back-alley practitioners who used said implement to ensure the fetus was dead), all the familiar items being horrific abortions and stillbirths, and even some enemies being such (their shrieks being quite possibly the greatest nightmare fuel ever). This imagery cumulates in Isaac descending into his mother’s womb in his nightmare and destroying It Lives, which McMillen has stated is Isaac himself as a fetus. The implication is clear: Isaac hates himself and his life so much that he wishes he’d never been born. This self-loathing isn’t restricted to the gameplay proper, either. The biblical names of all of Isaac’s personas follow a trend: Cain, a murderer, Eve, the first sinner, Judas, a traitor and Magdalene, a whore. It’s only with the second DLC that a character was added which broke this trend: Samson, and quite coincidentally, it was the expansion which resolved the game’s story and what might approach a happy ending. Even the after-action screen which turns up when you get a game over often has him drawing a dead body, a pile of dung or a fat, bloated body - all with an arrow attached and “me” written next to it. But why this hate for himself? Like many abused individuals, Isaac rationalises away his mother’s abusive behaviour towards him. He sees himself as sinful, as evidenced by the demonic version of him he sees in the mirror in ending 12, and may hold himself responsible for the break-up of his family, hence believing himself deserving of Mom’s abuse. Isolation The final aspect of Isaac’s psychological abuse is his isolation from the world and his ensuing loneliness. From the moment Isaac is locked in his room, there are no other “people” around him - even the shopkeepers and corpses in the secret room are just that, dried-out corpses. From the start to the end, Isaac doesn’t see another friendly living soul, save himself at the very end. Certain items, such as the squeezy, or the “best friend” (which is just a stitched-together doll of Isaac) highlight just how long, or how much he’s been shut off from the world. Not that he seems to have had a healthy relationship with his peers in the first place. The inter-level vignettes often have Isaac’s peers taunting him, playing pranks on him and even physically attacking him - one of the vignettes has him being held helpless while his peers quite literally excrete onto him. Even in his “happy” period, Isaac appears to have been introverted by nature, highlighted by the introduction, which the poisoning of his imagination - the very place where he used to spend much of his time - all the more disturbing. Conclusion The Binding of Isaac is a work of McMillen’s storytelling at its finest. Nothing is obvious and has to be sought out, with their own interpretations, and with each new revelation often comes a deep unsettlement that the player feels of their own accord. It doesn’t browbeat, it isn’t ham-fisted, and most of all, it’s disturbing and chilling, much like the monsters that inhabit Isaac’s mind.
I have a special place in my heart for The Binding of Isaac. Playing through it from beginning to end, unlocking everything along the way, was a really cathartic experience for me. Especially since I have a ton of issues with my own mom. I think the game is ultimately a kind of love letter to people who survive great trauma and then struggle to find themselves. There are no easy answers in it, no platitudes or philosophical ramblings. It's just a child trying to understand, grasping at whatever passes his way. Really, that's what most survivors are doing. We don't know what the hell we are supposed to do next, we just keep moving because we have to, because to stop is to give up and let whatever it is catch up. As Isaac grows stronger, he becomes more and more grotesque. He becomes a monster to destroy other monsters. But in the end, he has to destroy himself, become a different person in order to keep going. We learn that there are many Isaacs, all different yet the same. A lot of survivors like myself struggle with this-- we try to rationalize our experiences, but because we've been trained to hate ourselves instead of those who hurt us, we start to see ourselves as monsters, as those at fault. It becomes difficult to believe in yourself as a person or even know who you are. Some people have a fractured sense of self that results from the need to dissociate and distance oneself from the trauma. Others hurt themselves or go on to hurt others. And there's people like me who try very very hard just to make it through the next day without destroying themself. Back when Super Columbine Massacre RPG came out, a ton of people were offended by it. But there were some people who survived that day who played it and felt strangely relieved, even healed or changed by the game. That's what this game is to me. It's a safe, nonviolent vehicle with which one can re-experience their darkness, but then reconstruct it in such a way that it is empowering. There are very few games like this out there-- partly because no one wants to talk about child abuse, but mostly because capturing such a heavy, multifaceted concept is extremely difficult. It takes a true artist to make this kind of game and not have it fall apart or seem shallow. It really is a masterpiece.
That's why I love this game, too. Everyone has their own interpretation of the story, and it's fascinating to hear other people's analyses and interpretations.
Binding of Isaac is wonderful in numerous ways. One of those is actually, yeah, for offending people. Not I'm not trying to resurrect that unfortunate miniature flame-war, but I'm of the mind that dominant religions eventually get a bit too comfortable with their place in society. This is true regardless of what the religion is , which is why I hope I'm not singling out anyone here. I just don't think it's healthy for anyone to hold beliefs that can't be openly discussed, dramatized, criticized or satirized. In this case I think Isaac's upbringing punctuated by religion-fueled abuse is pretty core to the game's experience. As SkyMuffin said, the game is a beautiful story-through-mechanics exploration of abuse. The RNG itself becomes your abusive parent. It seemingly alternates between being unpredictably cruel and inexplicably generous. The game itself sort of has a story wrapped up inside itself. In the 80's, religious parents were intimidated into destroying most of a child's entertainments. I bet Edmund McMillen was a victim of that. In anger and grief at the betrayal, I think Isaac begins making his own game with paper and pencil. That's what's going on in this game. Almost every monster in Isaac is an expression of rebellion, fueled by a religious upbringing that tells him that his body was evil. I think BoI is a lot of fun to play because you never really can predict how a run will go. There's nothing to prepare for, aside from your own skill in the game. Every Isaac you play unfolds into a different experience. That's really engaging and it keeps bringing me back.
