Nicalis, Inc. has announced that The Binding of Isaac: Repentance has been given a huge new update, bringing the DLC in line with the PC version of the game.
- Further Reading
- The Binding of Isaac: Repentance Review
Version 1.78 brings with it a plethora of gameplay changes, which we know you're itching to check out. With that in mind, we'll just let the list speak for itself:
– “Something spooky” has appeared in the Ashpit!
– Lazarus now reverts to his normal form when going to the next floor, gaining his extra life back if he lost it
– Lazarus now gains a permanent +.5 damage up each time he turns into his revived form
– Lazarus now only loses up to 1 heart container when turning into his revived form, this cannot bring him below 1 heart container
– Increased the damage multiplier of Lazarus’ revived form to 1.4 (from 1.2)
– Reduced the duration of the temporary damage bonus granted by Lazarus’ Birthright from 3 minutes to 1, however this bonus is granted every time Lazarus turns into his revived form
– ??? now gets devil deals at a reduced cost and starts with an innate Lil Larva effect (destroying poop spawns 1 blue fly)
– Bleed effects from Mom’s Razor and Backstabber now deal damage based on how quickly an enemy is moving (faster enemies take more damage). While an enemy bleeds, they leave behind creep that damages other enemies. The effects can now also be applied to bosses.
– Mom’s Razor now blocks projectiles and can damage bosses
– Camo Undies now grants +.5 speed while cloaked. When uncloaking, all nearby enemies take damage, and Isaac gains a brief tears + damage up
– Lost Fly now deals damage less frequently (7 damage every 7 frames) but forces nearby enemies to target it
– The D12 can now reroll most obstacles, including poop, spikes and fireplaces, and can generate more varied obstacles
– Pay to Play now works on double locked doors, key blocks and chests, and features new sprites for all types of locked doors
– We Need to Go Deeper/Mom’s Shovel/Ehwaz now feature a secret method to guarantee a crawlspace once per floor and no longer create them based on random chance
– Lil Dumpy is now a follower and automatically produces a Butter Bean fart when an enemy or projectile is about to hit Isaac
– Voodoo Head now improves curse room layouts/rewards
– Book of Sin no longer creates microbatteries (only normal and rarely golden/mega batteries)
– Adjusted the formula used to calculate damage for Libra and the pause menu stat tallies (this results in overall higher damage during Libra runs)
– Reduced the devil price of The Nail, Bloody Lust and Bloody Gust to 1 heart
– Added Little Horn to the devil room pool (it was previously only there in Greed mode)
– Added Guppy’s Eye to the curse room pool
– Replaced Razor Blade with Blood Rights in the devil room pool
– Replaced Mom’s Razor with Razor Blade in the curse room pool
– Increased the weight of Blank Card in the shop pool (was previously more rare)
– Bomber Boy now has normal weight/rarity in the bomb bum pool (was previously more rare)
– Toned down the amount of enemies spawned on the first floor of Greed/Greedier mode
– Beggars no longer give Treasure Map, Compass or Contract From Below in Greed mode
– Added thick Odd Mushroom to the treasure room pools in Greed mode
– Added Ball of Bandages to the silver treasure room pool in Greed mode
– Removed Cube of Meat from most Greed mode pools except silver treasure/shop
– Removed Dead Bird and Ouija Board from the devil room pool in Greed mode
– Reduced the appearance rate of the devil room layout with only runes in Greed mode
– Urn of Souls now deals 50% more damage when combined with the Book of Belial via Judas’ Birthright
– Significantly increased the durability of Book of Virtues wisps created from Ventricle Razor
– Significantly increased the range and damage of the Brimstone beams from Sulfur wisps
– Devil’s Crown no longer affects the mirrored treasure room in Downpour II
– Monster Manual can now grant Gemini and Psy Fly
– Rooms containing pits in the Corpse can no longer be bloody
– The D7 no longer teleports the player when used in certain special rooms (such as Devil rooms)
– Red champion Monstro II now has faster attacks, but also slightly reduced health
– Added unique champion sprites for bosses
– Added visual and audio feedback for Backstabber’s effect
– Updated Onan’s Streak to require Judas and It Lives be unlocked first
– Added more new room layouts
– Updated various item qualities
– Updated localization files
– Little Horn now takes reduced damage from his own bombs (this prevents him from killing himself too quickly)
– Little Horn’s orange champion variant now uses unique flaming troll bomb sprites and always spawns flaming troll bombs when teleporting around the room
– Updated several room layouts
Fixes
– Fixed some characters in the item description font (such as b and d) not displaying correctly since last update
– Fixed some missing shading in the Horny Boys’ boss portrait
– Fixed Bag of Crafting being able to craft locked items using fixed recipes
– Fixed Bag Lunch and Wish Bone causing strange behavior with pickups for the rest of the run after triggering (such as infinitely duplicating items from Damocles)
– Fixed Devil rooms not spawning in the Shop floor in Greed mode if the Womb wasn’t unlocked first
– Fixed co-op ghosts being able to take damage from certain sources
– Fixed a rare crash caused by floor generation in the Red Redemption challenge
– Fixed Astral Projection causing a crash when triggering in a room containing rain
– Fixed Clickety Clacks becoming white champions, which could result in a softlock
– Fixed a softlock when throwing Tainted Forgotten into the special minecart in Mines II right after entering the room
– Fixed Tainted Forgotten getting extra plays on devil beggars during damage iframes
– Fixed the sound of Tainted Forgotten hitting the ground playing when thrown into a trapdoor
– Fixed the Book of Belial not increasing devil deal chance when held by Judas with Birthright
– Fixed Satan sometimes becoming invulnerable during his second phase when under the effects of I’m Excited
– Fixed not being able to shoot during the Kidney Stone barrage effect with Chocolate Milk
– Fixed Neptunus and Chocolate Milk preventing the charge bar from completely filling up
– Fixed Head of Krampus dealing 19 ticks of damage instead of 20
– Fixed Brimstone+Anti Gravity+Soy Milk not working as intended
– Fixed Pyromaniac being more rare than intended
– Fixed various minor issues with certain room layouts
– Fixed Mother’s Shadow’s chase track not looping correctly
– Fixed the door to the minecart room in Mines II taking longer to open than intended after successfully escaping Mother’s Shadow
– Fixed Colostomia sometimes staying invulnerable for longer than intended during the transition to her second phase
– Fixed Reverse Justice card removing an item from the current pool for every chest spawned
– Fixed rocket bombs exploding on contact with perma-charmed enemies
– Fixed a softlock caused by falling into a pitfall while Mega Mush is active
– Fixed Sumptorium sometimes not being able to recall all clots when playing as Tainted Eve
– Fixed Black Hole not destroying Fool’s Gold rocks
– Fixed various issues caused by the D7 in Home
– Fixed a bug which prevented scores from being submitted upon winning a daily run
– Fixed missing champion sprites for Rag Man
– Fixed champion Mask of Infamy not using its unique champion sprites
– Fixed champion versions of Chub, Little Horn, Rag Man, Brownie, Peep and the Bloat not using the correct sprites for spawned enemies
– Fixed champion War and Death not using the correct sprites when transitioning to their second phase
– Fixed Lil Loki not counting towards the Conjoined transformation (for real this time!)
– Fixed Clutch’s Clickety Clacks not dealing contact damage after being revived
– Fixed reviving as Lazarus resetting his devil deal chance even if red heart damage was taken during the current floor
– Fixed Bethany’s unlock condition not working as intended due to Lazarus’ new revival mechanic
– Fixed several special room doors not working correctly in the Pay to Play challenge
– Fixed Pay to Play (the item) locking doors that would normally be unlocked (such as the silver treasure room in Greed
Phew! Quite the update, if we do say so ourselves.
Let us know if you're still playing The Binding of Isaac: Repentance and what you think of the experience now that it's received such a chunky update!
[source twitter.com, via nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 35
Was pleasantly surprised by how quick they were with the console port for this update after the previous one took months. A lot of nice changes, amazing game keeps getting better.
Never played Binding of Isaac despite its popularity as to me it always seemed kinda...blasphemous? I mean, the title is in reference to the biblical story of Abraham and his son Isaac, but the premise of the game is about like a crazy mom who believes God has instructed her to kill her baby or something, right? I dunno. There's plenty of religious nutjobs in the world for sure, but as a person of faith, I just kinda think stuff like this gives the rest of us a bad rep and contributes to harmful generalizations like the increasingly popular sentiment that "religion is the cause of every war." Not to judge anyone else who plays it, but the premise does kinda bother me. Maybe I have it all wrong and someone can better explain it to me. I dunno if this post is gonna get deleted or not, but we'll see, lol.
Wow... considering their previous form with regards to updates, I was wondering if we would see these updates at all. This is great news. I am currently around 980 hours, so I think that I will return to it and crack the 1,000! 😆
@Not_Soos It kinda bothers me, too. I don't think it's right to represent any culture or belief system by caricature that encourages stereotypes and is arguably malicious in its messaging. Luckily, this game sticks out so much because it is largely the exception to the rule; it seems to me that most developers choose to make their art about the things they love, rather than those that they don't. At any rate, it's definitely worth playing if you can get past the culture issues, the gameplay here is among some of the best of the genre.
@Not_Soos
I can certainly see what you mean. I'm an agnostic myself, so I guess that the story has a different impact on me. Religious mania certainly does seem to be a thing in real life, though the game does lean into it very hard! One thing I would say, though, is that the game has a surprisingly deep story... there is a lot to uncover and unravel, and there is much more behind the behaviour of Isaac's mother than just religious mania. Also, the game is presented from Isaac's point of view, so we're viewing the situation how a child might. I can definitely understand how you may view some of it as blasphemous, though, although I think that it needs to be viewed through a prism, considering the other events in the family's history which have led to this point. But it is a very challenging game, conceptually and morally. Even though on the surface the game may appear childish and gross and somewhat offensive, it does actually have layers... but they can be hard to perceive, maybe, due to the "in your face" nature of some of the elements. It is a hard one, actually!!!
EDIT: In response to other comments, I should also mention that, yes, the topic of abortion does feature heavily in the game, as a part of the family history. However, in the game, it isn't always clear what has actually happened, and how much of it is imagining / elaboration on Isaac's part... particularly when the new ending is taken into account. Isaac may not be the most reliable of narrators, which just seems to make the whole thing even more fascinating. And, again, it needs to be remembered that Isaac is just a small child trying to understand and interpret what is happening to him, whilst confronted with issues that most adults may find bewildering.
@Not_Soos
If making fun of religion bothers you, then you shouldn't play this game indeed. Many dark themes are depicted such as abortion, child abuse and religious fanatism. Of course it's free speech and their right to convey any message they feel, but the game is not for everyone, for sure.
@Ooyah @SwitchVogel @Not_Soos also worth keeping in mind is (as far as i know, at least) there's an element of venting/pushback in it for edmund mcmillen, whose family was extremely die-hard born again christians (as well as some catholics judging by his wiki page), which pushed him into a lot of trauma as a kid--a lot of isaac is butt and poop and fart jokes, but a lot of it is also darkly poking at abusive/absentee parents, super fundamentalists and televangelists, and what it's like growing up through a divorce, all through the lens of a kid who is having these mixed messages pushed on them (hence why a lot of it hinges on isaac viewing himself as a devil/has sinned/etc.), like what ooyah said but with the added context of mcmillen having lived through certain aspects of it
religious guilt is one of the worst kinds to work through, if mcmillen and nifflas are anything to go off of
I appreciate you guys on this site for being cool and respectful in replying to my comment. There may used to have been a lot of toxicity on this site like most other places on the internet, but at least nowadays, I think this is a pretty swell place with a lot of good folks. I'll respond to the other comments after I wake up.
@Tibob Yeah, the whole thing does kinda seem like a metaphor for abortion in a lot of ways, which just...really confuses me? Like, I'd say the vast majority of followers of the Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) are pro-life. So, by depicting a mentally disturbed religious fanatic who believes God is telling her to get an abortion...I really don't understand what kind of social commentary they're trying to make there.
Still waiting for the physical edition to ship from Nicalis' website. They went from the physical edition being available at all retailers to a website exclusive with a September 2021 release to no idea when it will ship.
@Not_Soos i stand with you on this friend. I am also a man of faith.
@somebread I definitely see that element and this is where I find it difficult to have a firm opinion. On one hand, I don't want to invalidate or dismiss his real feelings toward a culture that was indirectly responsible for trauma earlier in his life. On the other hand, is this the right way to criticize that culture? Making something that's so pointedly offensive to its participants may feel good, but does it lead to anything productive happening in the ongoing conversation?
Still hasn't been on sale enough to entice me since I played it quite a bit when it came out over 10 years ago.
@Not_Soos
I don’t think the game operates as a metaphor for abortion at all. It contains themes that reference abortion (sometimes in a darkly comedic way), but the initial premise very closely reflects the biblical story of the binding of Isaac. Like @Ooyah commented, the video game Isaac is struggling to understand why his mother would abuse him. Because he has been raised with religion (specifically Christianity), he applies what he understands from the Bible to explain his circumstances. As a result, he imagines God has instructed his mother to kill him. He sees himself as evil, which contributes to his belief he should be dead/punished.
McMillen’s games frequently flirt with imagery and themes which would be considered offensive. Whether he is doing this to outright offend people, make a joke, or challenge us to think differently (or all of the above), his artistic decisions will certainly turn off some potential players. To respond to @SwitchVogel, I don’t think he is trying to create an ongoing conversation. He is showing how religion can be twisted to cause harm. To create a conversation assumes that all parties involved want to listen to one another and learn from each other. Based on what I know of McMillen, I don’t think he particularly cares or needs to learn from those who wish to discuss the virtues of religion. Those looking to have a conversation may need to look elsewhere.
As a final side note for @Not_Soos, the majority of Islamic and Jewish people are actually pro-choice, at least in the United States (don’t know for the rest of the world). Christianity is predominantly pro-life.
As for the update, itself, I’ve been enjoying it over this last weekend. The changes to Greed mode are especially welcome.
Completely agree @Not_Soos! This has been an excellent thread to read with respectful comments shared.
I'm a massive fan of this game and have poured hundreds of hours in. The subject matter has always interested me, and I came across an excellent video which explores it in more detail. Worth a look for those interested:
https://youtu.be/xNWUvX6CLl8
@Not_Soos having played Isaac for thousands of hours I don't think it has anything to do with abortion. It's about battling inner demons, grief, abuse and neglect. I hope people don't mind me spoiling the story but essentially the father leaves the mother and Isaac reminds her of him so she neglects him. And then he battles with himself because he feels responsible.
Isaac does push things to the limits and deal with a lot of serious issues but in the end it's just a piece of art and a story. It's fictional.
There are religious elements but it doesn't contradict good vs evil. The bible is seen as a good item, the bosses are satan. God is nowhere in the game beyond a brief mention in the intro.
I'd take bigger issue with games like Bayonetta or Assassin's Creed than I would Binding of Isaac
Sooo they didn’t nerf Psy Fly? Or did I read over it somehow?? I really hope they didn’t…
And to everyone else, just play the game.. the story is only one portion of it and you can skip all cutscenes immediately.. I have well over 2k hours in Isaac altogether and I can tell you, after a while - the story just blends in to all the fun ways you can play..
Or just Play, Repent, Repeat right?
No harm no foul 😎
@DogDetective
Same here. This is one of my favourite games ever and I'm really looking forward to owning a physical copy of the "complete" version.
Been a long wait with no end in sight
Also, this thread has been an interesting delight to read through.
Great to see such heavy topics discussed so respectfully
I'm not smart enough to add anything but really nice to see!
I was literally looking for patch notes for the previous update 1.7? Last week (I have played it for a month or so and hadnt update)
I gave up looking for them as I didn't know if the wiki for the PC patches matched.
This makes my life easier knowing that its in line with the PC version.
@BenAV Came here just to see if you got this information, lol
@JustMonika The update was actually a few days ago so kinda old news, haha.
@steizgr8 I don't suppose you know if the repentance physical edition from nicalis will be complete on cart? I own Afterbirth Plus physical but I want the complete package if it isn't going to need any patches afterwards.
@Not_Soos As a man of faith, yes, it kind of irks me but I'm also a believer in freedom of expression so I just choose not to play/promote games like this.
I want to buy this game but I find it very expensive, is it worth that price? I have to buy the base game Afterbirth+ (40 euros) and then the Repentance DLC (another 20 euros). Are there any discounts?
Best Game Ever!!!
This game is 3000 hours+ Replay Value!
My Wife has almost 600 hours and she is 34%. But she needed to play 130 hours to get the last 4%. We have a blast with this game. 2 years playing almost everyday.
This game is not for intolerant religious people lol. There was a funny review from a certain religious YouTuber game reviewer
@Arawn93 hahhhahahaa actually the more they hate the game the more interested I am into it 😂
Nicalis recently emailed me asking if I wanted to upgrade my order for the Repentance cartridge to the deluxe edition for $10 (would've been $20 otherwise), so they may be announcing a ship date soon.
Also wanted to express my appreciation for the thoughtful exchange here on a serious topic. Far too few of those on the internet.
@Not_Soos
I hear ya. The games themes are certainly one that could cause pause in those of faith. I've played hundreds of hours of Isaac, and personally, playing the game I rarely think of the religious themes. The game is by far one of the greatest ever of the genera, and maybe one of the greatest period. I urge you to try it out for a few hours. You may be pleasantly surprised. Or, you can't get past it and put it down. Either way, the game is so good, so profound, that it is worth the risk of $40. Worst case, you donated the money to Nicalis, one of the best to do it right now.
Really happy with the comments here. One of the few comments sections on the internet that is respectful and understanding.
@AndyC_MK111 you need to play about 500 hours to access Repentance DLC.
The objective is huge in this game. Mother is the first "last boss". But.....it´s not true.... So.....many sucess runs after (10 times beating "Mother" Boss)....a new floor appears...and a new boss (Mother´s Heart). You beat this boss 10 times.....and....new Boss ("It Lives")...Begin another 10 runs...beat "it lives" 10 times...and.......2 new floors appear on your next runs....you can go left (sheol) or right (cathedral). And 2 new "last bosses" appear. You beat these "last bosses" 10 times each. Annnd.......2 new floors appear after Cathedral or Sheoul.... with 4 new "last bosses"...and 8 new paths. Annnd.......you beat all of it and more 16 paths appear after that. Your run gets longer and longer and longer as you play more....and you can acess more content.
During this huge journey ...you open more 900 itens with different synergies, 20.000 different rooms, 120 bosses, and infinite powers possible to get stronger and face new challenges.
And you unlock more 70 challenges (complete runs with f*** crazy rules and powers, new itens...).
And you have "Greed Mode", another Binding of Isaac game structure, with new secrets. Secret paths....."Greedier Mode" and its important to unlock more characters and itens...You need to unlock 34 different characters...(with their own powers...)
Here i have 300 hours, my wife 600 hours +, and she just started accessing repentance content. I'm in the afterbirth content. I've never seen repentance content in my game yet, because I don't have the prerequisites yet.
My wife didn't even close everything that exists in afterbirth and afterbirth +, and the content of repentance is showing up little by little, as she unlocks.
As the game is very difficult. You have to be very successful to be able to unlock a new item or a new path.
And the hours are accumulating in the attempts.
This game has 21 possible endings. And the true ending is DIFFICULT.
You are at the beginning of your journey. But believe me, if you insist, your character will become more powerful than Goku! It gets really crazy!
@SteamEngenius
Afterbirth+ has been 20$, which is VERY cheap regarding the amazing content. The Repentance DLC is too new for a sale, maybe this summer...
will nicalis ever fix the PRICE ? 60 bucks for this is really too much... and also never go on sale😡
@Zanzox 60 bones for a game multiple people in this comment section have put 300+ hours in (myself included) seems worth it to me
@somebread I can put in 300h in any game if I like it, this is not the point.
it's an indie, an OLD indie, with simple graphics and sound... it's a fantastic game, I played it to death on 3ds, but 60 bucks is still too much for me.
My Switch runs ver. 1.7.1 and claims this is the latest. And it's July already.
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