The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

Lore & Background

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a top-down 2D game where the player controls Isaac, a young boy whose mother, believing she is doing God's work, strips him of everything and locks him in his room. When she attempts to kill him, he escapes to the basement and fights through procedurally generated roguelike dungeons. The player defeats monsters using Isaac's tears as projectiles and collects items that modify his appearance, attributes, and abilities, potentially creating powerful combinations. The game features permadeath, but allows saving at any point and sharing map seeds, though seeded runs do not earn achievements.

Reader's Guide

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is significant as a landmark roguelike that expanded upon the original Flash game's concept with a more advanced engine, enabling a vast increase in content and gameplay features. Its critical acclaim and commercial success, with over five million copies sold combined with the original by July 2015, helped solidify the roguelike genre's popularity.

The game's four expansions—Afterbirth, Afterbirth+, Repentance, and Repentance+—added substantial content, including user-created content support and full local and online co-op. Rebirth is often regarded as one of the best roguelike games of all time, influencing subsequent indie game development. Its legacy includes its dark, religious-themed narrative and its impact on the roguelike genre's evolution.

Did You Know?

• The Nintendo Switch 2 version is scheduled for release in November 2026.