14 DAY TRIAL // The Binding of Isaac might just be the first game that can earn the description of third person tear powered top down shooter and it actually manages to marry some pretty solid gameplay with some interesting narrative elements, even though it seems to lack a bit of coherence here and there.
As the introduction to the game makes it pretty clear Isaac has problems with his overly Christian and God talking mother and can only escape by diving down to the basement, where he uses tears to fight off a variety of enemies, and navigates, looking for items, coins and hearts, an environment dominated by feces, blood and flies.
The way Isaac battles enemies with tears and the imagery included in the game suggest that the kid is actually exploring his subconscious, with his mom not a real world threat but a virtual one, threatening to destroy his life.
It's pretty easy to control Isaac, move around and shoot and players will also find that most combat situations are easy but the mix between weirdness and new situations, with each space generated on the fly, means that death is always close at hand.
And in The Binding of Isaac death means starting from the beginning, which can be pretty hard on a gamer, especially when you get the main character upgraded and maybe nab a companion battle fly.
The boss battles might just be the weakest part of the experience because, although very well designed, the creatures Isaac fights tend to be too powerful and it takes too much time to kill them.
After one is defeated Isaac can drop down one level and explore some more, meeting such sights as treasure chests that lack keys and a very particular take on an in-game merchant.
Most players will probably only play The Binding of Isaac for a couple of times until the mechanics get repetitive but even so it remains a weird and compelling experience.
Here's a look at The Binding of Isaac in action: