SPM: Binding of Isaac
Edmund McMillen's latest creation is as beautiful as it is ugly
The Binding of Isaac.
Based on the biblical story, The Binding of Isaac is a randomly generated, twin-stick shooter/dungeon crawler with obvious influences to the original Legend of Zelda. But this game is anything but a homage to the classics, as The Binding of Issac follows up Edmund McMillen's wonderful visual style seen in Super Meat Boy and adds several layers of depth and darkness.
The game tells the story of Isaac's mother, who is informed by God she must kill her son to rid him of the immense sin that lies within and to prove her faith to the lord above all else. Isaac manages to escape into the basement which is where the game kicks off. The game is hard to follow at first and you will spend the first few attempts trying to figure out what to do. But it works in the game's favour, allowing the player to flesh out their own discovery of the story and gameplay.
Visually Isaac is pretty mental, the character design on the bosses is wildly imaginative but also rather gruesome. Trying to describe some of the enemies throughout the game is pointless, they need to be seen to be believed. Special mention must go to Darren Baronowsky for his work on the composition. His work on SMB was tremendous but he outdid himself with Isaac, every note has a touch of sadness and horror but with a childlike simplicity which makes it cut through even further.
They key to the game's longevity is the random generation. They layout of the levels, item placement, items received, enemies, bosses and everything else are all entirely different on every playthrough of the game, and with news of an update in the works with a further 20 items to be picked up, this should see the game have a long shelf life. PlusIsaac is hard as hell... whereas Super Meat Boy relentlessly punished you for being rubbish (I enjoyed that personally but I know it drove a lot of people insane), Isaac is just a very challenging experience that rewards you as you get better, and get closer to the end of the game. There are also multiple ending and characters to unlock, so there is plenty to do.
The Binding of Isaac is priced at £3.99 on steam and there is no reason you should not purchase it. A brilliant, horrific but beautiful game.