In 2011 when The Binding of Isaac was released, it's creator Edmund McMillen was mostly unknown and had no idea that the indie title he'd released on Steam would explode in popularity and assist in a way of thinking that made Indie Gaming more mainstream. The game was a wide success with it's procedurally generated rooms, difficult gameplay and dark, adult themes. As of April 2013, since it's original release The Binding of Isaac sold 2 million copies and has given gamers hundreds of hours of gameplay as players attempted to unlock all the items, achievements and secrets that the game had to offer.
To catch people who aren't aware of the game up on the story, it is based on the biblical story called "Binding of Isaac" and goes as follows "When Isaac’s mother starts hearing the voice of God demanding a sacrifice be made to prove her faith, Isaac escapes into the basement facing droves of deranged enemies, lost brothers and sisters, his fears, and eventually his mother."
This indie phenomena even spawned a racing league called the The Binding of Isaac Racing League (abreviated as BOILeR) where two players race to get to the end of the game as fast as possible; This is streamed live on Twitch TV and has developed somewhat of a cult following. With all of the accolades and awards that The Binding of Isaac has recieved it is no wonder that gamers all over are excited for Edmund McMillen's newest project; The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, a remake (and then some) of the original game, will release on November 4th 2014.
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a remake of The Binding of Isaac with a twist; Rebirth was built with a brand new engine, and new content has been added including (but not limited to):
- 160+ New Items (including things cut from the original due to limitations with the Flash Engine)
- 3 new characters
- New bosses and enemies
- New rooms and levels
- Local 2 player Co-op
- A console release as well as controller support for PC
- Revamped 16-bit graphics to give the game more polish
- New Achievements and mechanics (Including something called Mystic Runes that has yet to be revealed)
- Upgrade-able shops
- New challenge runs
- And brand new animated endings as well as an entirely new soundtrack.
- Cross-platform play for PS4 and PS Vita