The Binding of Isaac: Repentance brought a ton of new content to the game, including new characters and over a hundred new items. These features were accompanied by a slew of balance changes that altered the way the game is played. One of the most controversial changes in Repentance was the increased difficulty of Hard Mode, which was caused in part by a nerf to shops.
The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen took to Twitter last week to defend the changes, assuring fans that they would adjust to the playstyle once they learned the new rhythm of the game. But now that more players are unlocking hidden characters and discovering new item synergies, it's becoming increasingly clear why these changes were made in the first place.
Down to the Shop
When The Binding of Isaac: Repentance originally released, shops in Hard Mode had a high probability to spawn without upgrades, offering fewer items than they normally would. Restock Machines were also made far less common, rendering shops virtually useless on a Hard Mode run. Shops were once a vital way for players to buy items that could have a dramatic impact on their character builds, so the nerf ruined many tried and true strategies. Though the fan reaction to Repentance was mostly positive, these nerfs were a common complaint.
Thankfully, the developers responded quickly. Within a few days, some of these changes had been partially reverted. Shops in Hard Mode became less likely to receive a random downgrade and more likely to receive a Restock Machine. Tinted rocks containing soul hearts were also made more common, making players less reliant on shops to find extra health.
While it's great that the developer behind Repentance is so responsive to fans, it's also worth considering why the nerfs were made in the first place. Shops also received a buff in Repentance, making them free to enter on the first floor of a run. This could seem inconsequential, but keys are a very valuable resource in the early game. In previous iterations of The Binding of Isaac, using a key to enter the shop on the first floor often meant that players couldn't unlock the Treasure Room on the second floor. Restock Machines might have been made less common in shops in order to keep them from becoming too powerful in the first few minutes of the game.
You Gotta Pay For That!
Some of the balance changes in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance seem to be the result of a shift in design philosophy. Events that used to be possible in any run now require specific items. For example, batteries used to appear as a reward for clearing rooms, but now only spawn if the player is holding a specific trinket. Similarly, many Devil Room items have had their prices increased, making the Judas' Tongue trinket far more valuable.
Another reason that shops might have been changed could be the new Membership Card item, which adds a whole second floor to the shop. This extra shop offers incredibly powerful items for a slightly higher cost, including items from Angel and Devil Rooms. Restock Machines could have been made less common because they effectively serve a similar function for free. This would reinforce the philosophy of keeping powerful effects in The Binding of Isaac, albeit at a higher cost.
'I think it's broken...'
One goal while developing Repentance was to remove item combinations that were capable of breaking the game. The Blank Card item was a powerful enabler of such combinations, often used to duplicate the effect of the Jera rune. The infamous combo was well-known among TBOI fans for its ability to endlessly double the number of items in a room, allowing players to obtain ludicrous amounts of money. The exploit is no longer in the game, as Blank Card no longer duplicates runes.
In interviews leading up to the DLC's release, McMillen said that he didn't mind powerful combinations existing in the game, but that he wanted them to hinge on obtaining three or four specific items instead of just two. Risk vs. reward is a major theme of The Binding of Isaac: Repentance, as players are constantly asked to choose between playing it safe and going for broke. Making game-breaking combos less of a certainty underlines that approach.
Though some powerful items received nerfs, others received buffs. A handful of marquee items are still way better than the rest, but there are far fewer items in the game that are outright terrible. The item nerfs might have been implemented to encourage players to give buffed items another try. There are more ways to win the game than ever before, but TBOI players might never discover them if they're still focusing on their standbys.
So. Much. Content.
The patch notes for The Binding of Isaac: Repentance only mention two new characters, but it didn't take long for players to discover that the DLC adds way more than that. It's possible to unlock alternate versions of each character in the game, raising the total number of playable characters from 15 to 34. These "tainted" characters deviate wildly from their counterparts, requiring players to master a new set of skills if they want to beat the game's most difficult bosses. They also come with their own sets of unlockable items, meaning that there are still effects in the game that Isaac players know very little about.
Released a week ago, there's still a hefty number of Steam achievements in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance that have yet to be earned by anyone. Even the game's most dedicated content creators have just begun to scratch the surface of what the DLC has to offer. It's entirely possible that more items will be unlocked in a month or two that make new exploits possible. But if players have to invest hundreds of hours into the game in order to discover them, it's probably fair to say that they've earned it.
The Binding of Isaac is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.