California-based developer Nicalis are drumming up interest for their upcoming remake of the wildly popular The Binding of Isaac, subtitled Rebirth, by releasing a surreal trailer that advertises its November 4 release date.
The trailer itself is probably best described as gameplay footage from Rebirth spliced in with footage of a nightmarish, drug-fueled frat party gone horribly, horribly wrong:
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is essentially a larger-budgeted remake of the original, which was exclusive to Windows, OS X and Linux systems. While the original was developed by a two man team, Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl, Rebirth, which will also be available on the PS4 and Vita, is being handled by Nicalis, whose credits include numerous mobile and 3DS games such as Dance Dance Revolution: Mobius, Nightsky, and Ikachan.
Rebirth will include a graphical overhaul, with 16 bit graphics instead of the original’s Flash engine, which proved to be very limiting and buggy. Content that was previously cut because of engine limitations will be reintroduced in the remake, along with content from the Wrath of the Lamb expansion as well as brand new content and just more of everything in general, such as rooms, enemies, bosses, items, characters and endings. Finally, two player local co op will also be introduced. The press release from Nicalis includes a litany of other features that mostly involve excessive abuse of the word “poop,” so those will be left out here.
The Binding of Isaac, for those who are unaware, is a top-down roguelike game in which players take on the role of Isaac, a naked, terrified child who is tormented by his psychotic mother. Isaac must plumb the depths of his house’s basement in a surreal journey reminiscent of the Silent Hill series, but with way more poop. The game has an anti-religious vibe, earning it the ire of more easily offended gamers, but those who are more open minded and interested can keep up with details on Rebirth via the official site. The game is also available for pre-order on Steam for $15.