When it comes to video games of late, one has held my attention more than all the rest: The Binding of Isaac. I have something of a history with it. I first tried it ten years back, in the early days of the PS4 life cycle. It was my stepdad’s console, but he let me play kid’s games which didn’t have guns. He was a beer-drinking, Borderlands-loving, gun-shooting kinda guy, though. As much as I look back in disdain, it's true that he put me onto some good games.
It was The Binding of Isaac’s cover which drew me in at first. I liked the look of the monsters and figured it would be okay if I gave it a shot. Young Jude was surprised to find all the blood and poop and pee and stuff! The simple controls and funny poo graphics kept me engaged, but I didn’t get very far. Who knew that ten years later I’d fall so deeply in love with it…
One thing I’ve never heard anyone talk about in this game is its insects. As someone who fears both scuttling bugs and flying bugs above just about anything, take it from me: Isaac’s bugs are scary! The way they amble around, then suddenly run at you never fails to make me jump.
I’ve spent a lot of time looking at bugs, watching how they move, to “learn from my enemy” so to speak. What scares me most about them is how unpredictable they are. A spider on the wall could cower and hide-- Or it could jump directly towards me, and there’s no telling which it’ll do. Over time I have come up with a few rules they follow (But every bug is different):
1. If a bug can fly, always assume it’ll fly. Probably at you.
2. Bugs are too stupid to be afraid of you.
3. Light is a powerful force to bugs.
4. If left alone, bugs will usually go away on their own. But not always.
These axioms have led me to get more comfortable dealing with insects in my house. Know thy enemy, etc. etc. All that to say, the bugs in Isaac are realistically unpredictable. Sometimes they run at you, sometimes they just scurry in place, and all of the time they’re evil. Avoiding them is hard but I’m getting better at it (Both in-game and IRL). It’s a hard game but I’d recommend it if you like rougelites and don’t mind creepies and/or crawlies.