| The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Nicalis |
| Publisher(s) | Nicalis |
| Designer(s) | Edmund McMillen |
| Artist(s) | Edmund McMillen |
| Composer(s) | Ridiculon |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | November 4, 2014
October 30, 2015
January 3, 2017
|
| Genre(s) | Roguelike |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a roguelike indie game designed by Edmund McMillen and developed and published by Nicalis. Rebirth was released for Linux, Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in November 2014, for Xbox One, New Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in July 2015, for iOS in January 2017 and for Nintendo Switch in March 2017. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions were released in November 2021.
Rebirth is a remake of The Binding of Isaac, which was developed by McMillen and Florian Himsl and released in 2011 as an Adobe Flash application. This platform had limitations and led McMillen to work with Nicalis to produce Rebirth with a more advanced game engine, which in turn enabled the substantial addition of content and gameplay features. Since release, Rebirth has had four expansions: Afterbirth (2015), Afterbirth+ (2017), Repentance (2021) and Repentance+ (2024) with more game content and gameplay modes. Afterbirth+ also added support for user-created content.
Similar to the original The Binding of Isaac, the plot is based on the biblical story of the same name and was inspired by McMillen's religious upbringing. The player controls Isaac, a young boy whose mother, convinced that she is doing God's work, strips him of everything and locks him in his room. When Isaac's mother is about to kill him, he escapes to the basement and fights through random, roguelike dungeons. The player defeats monsters, using Isaac's tears as projectiles, and collects items which modify his appearance, attributes, and abilities, potentially creating powerful combinations. Unlike the game's predecessor, Rebirth has a limited multiplayer mode, allowing an additional player in Rebirth, later increased to three additional players in Afterbirth and Afterbirth+. Full local co-op support was added to Repentance, where up to four players are able to play as any of the playable characters. Online co-op support was added in November 2024 with Repentance+.
Rebirth released to critical acclaim. Reviewers praised its gameplay and improvements compared to the original The Binding of Isaac, but criticized its graphic imagery. Afterbirth, Afterbirth+ and Repentance also had a generally favorable reception, with reviewers criticizing their difficulty but praising their added content. By July 2015, Rebirth and The Binding of Isaac had sold over five million copies combined. The game is regarded as one of the best roguelike games of all time.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
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