One of the most successful indie games of the past few years is without a doubt The Binding of Isaac. This top-down roguelike, designed by Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl, tells the story of a young boy who travels through his basement and fights grotesque monsters while escaping from his religious zealot mother. Not only does this game tell a harrowing story of child abuse and critique of extremism, but it also manages to be…fun. It is a perfectly balanced game in how it is very easy to pick up and play, but was extremely challenging and replayable due to the range of enemies encountered and items you could collect.
If you’re a fan of this series, it looks like you’re in luck because there appears to be more coming soon. On his Binding of Isaac Tumblr page, Edmund McMillen posted a brief announcement/teaser yesterday for his latest project, which he is working on with collaborator James Id. This project, titled The Legend of Bum-bo, is “a turn based puzzle RPG type thingy thats randomly generated” and its titular character is one from the Isaac series.
A Brief History of The Binding of Isaac
McMillen is certainly no stranger to revisiting the Binding of Isaac universe. Since releasing the base game in 2011, he followed it up by putting out an expansion in 2012 called Wrath of the Lamb. In 2014 made an updated version of the original game, entitled The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth and then updated it again the following year, giving it the subtitle Afterbirth.
It is in this final update where the character of Bum-bo first appeared; it is a floating head who collects coins and drops items. Despite all the updates, game modes, and collectible items, this series has always remained a top-down action game at its core, so the promise of an entirely new genre within this fiction is definitely an exciting prospect.
At this time, nothing is known about The Legend of Bum-bo’s release date or what platforms it’s coming to. McMillen did however invite those interested to follow him, James Id, and Ridiculon on Twitter for updates.
