The Binding of Isaac ▶ Trailer
The Binding of Isaac screenshot 1The Binding of Isaac screenshot 2
ActionAdventureIndieRPGAction RoguelikeRoguelikeReplay ValueDifficultProcedural Generation

154 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 241

Peak in the last 7 days: 247

The Binding of Isaac Steam store

Game description

Now 20% More Evil with the Free Halloween update!

Basic info

DeveloperEdmund McMillen, Florian Himsl
PublisherEdmund McMillen
PlatformsWindows · macOS
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateSep 28, 2011
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows XP, Vista, 7
Processor2.5 GHz
Memory1 GB
GraphicsDirect X9.0c Compatible Card
Storage50 MB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 410 reviews from the past 1 year

80.5/ 100
Top 50%

Steam rating: Very Positive (95%)

Metacritic: 84 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

Each trip into the basement is a gamble in this original roguelike shooter, which players rate 80.5 across 63,045 Steam reviews.

👍 Strengths

176 reviews find it addictive and fun, and some joke that they keep playing even while it drives them mad. 57 praise its replayability, saying hundreds of items and synergies make every run feel different. Content Volume ranks 144th of 1351. 23 love the soundtrack, music that sets a dark and melancholy mood, and a few single out the menu theme. Visuals & Sound ranks 787th of 1249, and Story & World ranks 462nd of 1096.

👎 Where it falls short

79 reviews say the difficulty feels unfair, with unavoidable damage, poor hitboxes and spikes where a run depends on luck. 28 report poor performance, with slowdown, low frame rates and lag on modern monitors and in busy rooms. Several others feel this original release is outdated now that an expanded remake exists, and recommend that version instead. Gameplay ranks 1003rd of 1396, and Tech & Support ranks 966th of 1399.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“addictive game with 500+ hours of engaging gameplay” · 176 reviews
“every run feels different, hundreds of items and synergies” · 57 reviews
“Danny Baranowsky's music nails the horror atmosphere perfectly” · 23 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 56% of reviews · Bottom 30% of the games we've analyzed

Strategy +1.76 · Depth of builds, tactics, and meaningful choices
Positive “item synergies are absolutely unhinged and amazing” · 9 reviews
Negative “less complex item interactions than the remake” · 4 reviews

Progression 10% · Difficulty 40% · Onboarding 9% · Freedom 0% · Controls & feel 11%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 17% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.24 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “epochal game with historical significance in roguelike genre” · 18 reviews
Negative “juvenile humor with poop and pee jokes” · 1 review

Story 6% · Characters 1%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 35% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Replayability +3.62 · Reasons to play again — runs, randomness, New Game+
Positive “every run feels different, hundreds of items and synergies” · 57 reviews
Negative “lost a perfect run to a fly, frustrating” · 4 reviews

Volume 15% · Variety 10%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 23% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Audio +3.90 · Music, sound effects, and voice acting
Positive “Danny Baranowsky's music nails the horror atmosphere perfectly” · 23 reviews

Visuals 17%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 1% of reviews mention this.

Playing together +3.75 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals

Community 0% · Servers & Connection 0%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 19% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.29 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “Eternal difficulty is overpowered and unbalanced” · 14 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Pricing 9% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 18% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Performance -0.26 · Frame rate, optimization, and loading times
Negative “Flash version is extremely laggy, plays in slow motion” · 28 reviews
Positive “runs on any low-end PC and fits in any pocket” · 1 review

Stability 6% · Developer support 2%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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