The Tears

Isaac's tears are the bullets of The Binding of Isaac.

In The Binding of Isaac the player fights mostly with the character's tears, fired like bullets in the style of a twin-stick shooter. Rebirth describes the same controls as a multidirectional shooter: one set of controls moves the character while the other shoots tears, which defeat enemies.

Quick Facts

Game: The Binding of Isaac (2011), Rebirth (2014)
Changed by: Passive and active items (damage, range, speed, side effects)
Alternative: A limited supply of bombs

Lore & Background

The tears are what the game's items change. Power-ups are worn automatically when picked up and can alter the character's core attributes, such as the strength of each tear, or add side effects, like charged shots fired after holding a button, or tears fired behind the character. In Rebirth, many items affect the speed, damage and range of the character's tears; passive items stack with each other, so combinations can become very powerful, while only one active item can be carried at a time.

Reader's Guide

Tears are not the only weapon: the player also has a limited supply of bombs to damage enemies and clear parts of a room, and in Rebirth bombs also destroy obstacles. During the original game's cutscenes Isaac is shown curled up in a ball, crying.

What players say: Player verdict on The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth — Rotten Tweets