The Binding of Isaac is a rouge dungeon crawling crier; sort of like a dungeon crawling shooter, just a bit sadder. In a game full of sadness like this, odd challenges are to be created throughout time.
So, when the remake comes out titled The Binding of Isaac Rebirth with built in challenges to help unlock certain items in game− with all downloadable content creating 35 total− many jump to it with new systems and some of the most unique challenges possible come from the game and its many item combinations.
These are the top 10 most unique challenges found in The Binding of Isaac Rebirth. This does include spoilers for one or more ending bosses and scenes in the game Binding of Isaac Rebirth.
10. Cat Got Your Tongue
In the normal game, there is a transformation that you can turn into the cat of the namesake character, Guppy. The main gimmick with his transformation is that you spawn friendly flies to do damage for you.
In this challenge, Isaac is blindfolded and cannot fire any tears, which forces him to use an item attached to him known as Guppy’s Hairball.
The only ways you can deal damage are with the hairball flail on your tail and the flies spawned from hitting enemies with your hairball along with an item that spawns a few per room.
9. Suicide King
One of the few challenges that could be obtained in a normal run, this challenge is based on two items named Ipecac and My Reflection.
These both respectively make you throw giant explosive lobs around the room and make your own shots move away, then back towards you in a vicious arc of death.
The whole challenge involves you dodging your own live grenades for way too many floors, and a constant hope that sooner or later, you’ll find something to make you immune to explosives.
8. Onan’s Streak
In a game that often encourages throwing as many tears at the enemy as you can at enemies and hoping that one of them ends up killing it, Onan’s Streak comes out of nowhere to turn around the way that many people play the game.
The game makes it very apparent that every shot counts now, because every time that a tear misses an enemy, fire, or something else in the environment, you take damage.
It is helped by a charge shot that helps you do more damage, but other than that, you need to be careful and aim well.
7. Backasswards
In most games, Binding of Isaac included, the game is usually supposed to become harder the further it goes, right? This challenge flips that over onto its head.
In Backasswards, you spawn at one of the final bosses in the game with ten random items and a random amount of heart containers and must fight your way backwards from the final boss to the first-floor spawn room.
It sounds like a walk in the park besides one rule, you lose one item and one heart container every floor you ascend, and if you lose the item you were relying on, it may be the end of your run.
6. BRAINS!
Brains is often considered to be one of the fairest unfair challenges in this game. The whole point of this challenge is that you cannot fire tears and only can use three items known as Bob’s Brain.
These large brains follow you and when you attempt firing one of the tears, you launch one of the brains forward at enemies, exploding on contact.
The two most hated things about this challenge are simple to talk about, but dastardly to play against; the brain explosions can hurt you, and after one explodes, it takes around 15-30 seconds for a new one to appear near you.
So, make sure you can avoid getting slapped by the bombs that surround you all the way until a final boss.
5. Blue Bomber
Unlike a few other challenges, this one finally makes you immune to explosions! Unfortunately, it’s also your only way to attack in this challenge.
In Blue Bomber, you can only use the Kamikaze item to attack, which creates an explosion wherever Isaac is at the moment, often near as many enemies as possible.
While this does make for an interesting challenge, it is incredibly easy in comparison to some of the other challenges in the list that can be chosen.
4. Beans!
In a game full of jokes about farting, and way too many topics to consider, an entire challenge based on the effect of beans on the body really takes the cake for being a gimmick challenge.
In this challenge you must defeat all floors to the first main boss using nothing but a Bean that makes you toot, to 99 bombs and an item called Butt Bombs which cause all enemies to become stunned and hurt slightly.
The only advice for this challenge is to make sure you can get a good laugh from hearing fart noises over and over because you’ll spend around 15-20 minutes hearing them.
3. The Guardian
This challenge takes the form of almost every gamer’s worst nightmare, escort missions. In this challenge you take the role of an invincible guardian angel for a friendly item named Punching Bag.
Sounds nice, except that there is a little heart that follows Punching Bag known as Isaac’s Heart.
This heart makes you invincible, but if the heart is hit by an enemy or an enemy’s tear, then you take damage.
You, being an angel, are not crying at what is happening around you, so instead of tears to fire, all you can use is a sword placed in front of you.
This challenge not only tries forcing you to save the life of this small friendly character, but at the same time, trying to save your own.
2. Pay to Play
A very useful consumable in The Binding of Isaac is money in the form of pennies, nickels, and dimes. This challenge forces you to spend money for every door you walk through, with every penny you save directly making you stronger against enemies.
This is made slightly easier because after clearing any rooms with enemies, you have a chance of spawning coins. However, there are 2 scary mechanics in this run that are what makes it extra unique.
Every enemy that hurts you causes you to drop about 3 coins, stealing one that you can’t get back, and as soon as you run out of money, Isaac dies immediately, restarting the whole run over again.
This is one run you absolutely need to become a penny pincher.
1. April’s Fool
April’s Fool is in an entirely different ball park when it comes to challenge. There are multiple things in this challenge that change the game to be one of the hardest and most unique challenges to face.
In this challenge, the first thing that will be noticed quickly, is that all items do not show up as they should on the item pedestals.
The item in the picture is called Shade, although using the mod I have to check items before I pick them up, I can see the item is the tractor beam, even if the Shade icon disagrees.
The second part of this challenge that makes it so difficult comes to the boss. The Bloat is known to be one of the most difficult bosses to be in the game, using varieties of explosions, tears, and lasers to hurt you every chance.
This is alright when you usually fight him as a boss on the fifth or so floor. The problem with this challenge is that the Bloat is the boss of every floor.
The only bosses that are excluded are ones that must be the boss of a floor, but the hardest part of this challenge is trying to beat the first floor with only one item and being destroyed by the boss.
Other than that, the challenge becomes slightly easier as time goes on and becomes a fun and infuriating challenge to attempt.