My name is Robert and I have a Binding of Isaac problem. Like some people might latch onto a Facebook game like Candy Crush Saga, I have become hooked on The Binding of Isaac. The roguelike adventure/horror game hits my tastes just right and refuses to let go.
Isaac is a six year old child trapped in a nightmare. His mother is a very religious woman who begins to hear the voice of God. His first message is to save her son from the corrupting influence of the world, resulting in all of Isaac's belongings being destroyed. His second message is to save her son from all outside influences, resulting in Isaac being locked in his room. His third message calls on Isaac's mother to prove her devotion to him above all else by sacrificing her son. Before God can pardon Isaac's mom from the task as he did with the Abraham and his son Isaac in the Old Testament, the test is stopped by Isaac jumping in a trap door leading to a monster filled basement.
The game randomly generates a new map with each level of the basement. Three rooms--a boss battle, a golden room with a guaranteed upgrade, and a shop with ever-changing prices for a small pool of items--appear on every level. Otherwise, it's a free for all. I've had it happen where I've fought the same combination of monsters and room layout four, five, even six times in a row before reaching a boss battle. Other times, rooms will never repeat for several playthroughs in a row.
The horror comes from the terrible circumstances of Isaac's life. There are monsters all over the place, but they're nothing compared to what Isaac has suffered. Each new level of the basement is introduced with an animation of Isaac's past. You see him get bullied by his peers and his mother and, in one occasion, even die. This is a child who has never known happiness beyond the goldfish he leaves all of his belongings to if he dies. The monsters are just another painful experience for a tormented child, fought off with nothing more than his own tears.
The Binding of Isaac is filled with shocking and unexpected religious iconography. Rosary beads, habits, holy water, and stigmata offer powerups to health, speed, and damage to Isaac's attacks. A randomly generated hidden cathedral offers a moment of serenity and an additional heart to Isaac's all too weak health bar.
At the same time, many of the villains are pulled from religion. The seven deadly sins and the four horseman of the Apocalypse are all mini bosses in the game. Lust chases close at your heels while Gluttony shoots out flesh-hungry maggots who chase Isaac down, jaws unhinged. A devil offers a deal for super powerful upgrades in exchange for your hearts. Demons like Krampus offer powerful bonuses if you can defeat them.
The Binding of Isaac is the only Christianity-fueled religious horror game I know of. Other religious horror games focus on alternate cult religions--think Lovecraft and the Old Ones--rather than risk addressing Christianity head on. It's an added layer of shock value to a very startling game.
The Binding of Isaac is easy enough that anyone mature enough to handle the subject matter can play the game. However, it is not an easy game. Game designers Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl have created one of the most addictive and challenging adventure games in recent memory. It's all too easy to hit the space bar and start all over again when you fail before the final boss battle. Then you hit start again when the boss you struggle with the most pops up on the first floor and you fail miserably. The game moves so fast between rooms and offers so much variety that you might not even realize you've played for hours by the time you've stopped.
This post is part of 31 Days of Horror 2013. Click through to find more great horror content.
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