Legendary roguelike The Binding of Isaac has undergone a major overhaul of its modding scene, culminating in mods that throw out the rulebook entirely.
In late 2023, Repentogon arrived on Steam, a script extender that promised the beginning of “a new era for Isaac modding.” Created by a team of modders “frustrated by the shortcomings” of the current game, Repentogon is a platform that allows for faster and more varied modifications.
Recently, that culminated in a mod simply called Passive Skill Trees. Originally released last month, its name leaves the project quite short. 'Passive Skill Trees' adds a tree that looks, at first glance, like it would put Path of Exile's famously massive leveling system to shame. The mod features a persistent global tree, as well as trees for each character, and although each small node only offers a very small bonus (a little extra damage or XP, for example), they add up over time. However, larger nodes offer bigger improvements, often enough to shape an entire playstyle.
There's now a Binding Of Isaac script extender that lets modders use WILD new things, like a huge Path Of Exile-inspired passive upgrade grid that persists between runs. https://t.co/DvwZgFOgie pic.twitter.com/V08s65nSzlSeptember 26, 2024
Perhaps purists won't feel too good about this: this sort of thing changes the relatively pure roguelike systems of The Binding of Isaac into a rogue-lite system more reminiscent of something like Hades. But personally, having found a lot of joy in Hades but having squeezed as much juice out of Isaac as my skills allow, a system that allows me to find some progression in one of my most played games is something I'm very interested in. in.
The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen is using his new project to right the wrongs of 11 years of the roguelike.