The Binding of Isaac is one of the most infinitely replayable games ever made. Still, even with its multitude of items from DLC and the numerous new mechanics introduced with each major update, the game can start to feel stale after a certain point.
Related: Binding Of Isaac: Top New Trinkets In Repentance
The best way to refresh The Binding of Isaac for long-time players is to consider using mods. The Steam Workshop is the best place to download the best Isaac mods, but if players have the most recent DLC Repentance installed, they may need to wait for a patch or downgrade to Afterbirth to make many of these mods functional. For those who don't have Repentance, most mods should work completely fine.
Updated on April 5, 2023 by Ritwik Mitra: The Binding of Isaac is one of the first popular roguelike games that many people consider to be the title that popularized this genre. The game is inspired by The Legend of Zelda in many ways, although its dark and mysterious plot coupled with the tough-as-nails gameplay adds a unique flavor to the title that is hard to replicate. Losing is a part of the learning process in The Binding of Isaac, and players who decide to power through their failures will find themselves enjoying a great title indeed.
With the many content updates and DLCs this game has received over time, many people feel that replaying The Binding of Isaac feels like a fresh experience every single time. However, players who still want to change up the formula of this title significantly can try out one of the many unique mods for this game. From minor gameplay changes to full-on content overhauls — the sheer number of great mods for The Binding of Isaac are numerous, and the best of the bunch are mentioned below.
20 Car: The Automobile
There are a lot of ways to get through the infinitely generating dungeons of The Binding of Isaac, but driving a car around the hellish underground? That's always been out of the question - until now. With the mod aptly titled Car: The Automobile players can cruise around hotspots like the Burning Basement and the Scarred Womb in style.
The car can ram enemies, break rocks and doors, and goes much faster than the regular characters in the game. It's worth checking out for the Eurobeat soundtrack that comes with it.
19 Colored Stat HUD Icons
The stat icons in vanilla Binding of Isaac: Rebirth leave something to be desired. It's hard to quickly reference stats when using items that change them constantly, like several of the Mushroom-themed items. The Colored Stat HUD Icons mod recolors these all to be unique and easily differentiated from one another.
Each stat has a unique color, and stats that have similar coloration are separated by one that contrasts in between. It's one of the best Binding of Isaac mods for improving the HUD, though it does take a little getting used to the simplified shapes of these new icons.
18 POG For Good Items
POG For Good Items is a mod that nobody asked for but serves its purpose perfectly. The latest (and last) DLC for the game, Repentance, created a new behind-the-scenes item rarity system that ranks every item in the game on a 0 to 4 scale. Every item that has a rarity of 3 or higher will cause Isaac to make the infamous poggers face when he's near one.
There is another mod, called The POGGING of Isaac, which enables the over-the-top reaction for characters permanently. It kind of loses its charm after a while, though. It's especially funny if you forget the mod is installed, enter a room with a good item, and get surprised with Isaac's take on the most famous Twitch emotes of all time.
17 Animated Items...
If there's one thing that The Binding of Isaac isn't lacking, it's its art style. Whether playing with vectorized graphics or the original pixel-art style of the game, there's just something about the classic Flash animation aesthetic to the whole experience.
Related: Secrets in Binding of Isaac Repentance Most Players Haven't Found Yet
Animated Items takes this to another level, giving more than 80 items in the game custom animations. For example, the Magic Mushroom rotates, The Ludovico Technique eyeball looks around the room, and Spider items will blink. It's a small change, but something that adds another level of creepiness and life to the already beautiful game.
16 ...And Animated Costumes
Similar to the Animated Items mod, Animated Costumes changes how certain items appear in-game. Items like Polyphemus and The Mind change the way Isaac looks, the former giving him a gigantic single eye and the latter making his brain poke out of his skull.
Animated Costumes gives a variety of outfits throughout the game new flair. For example, X-Ray Vision glasses now shimmer, Polyphemus appears to glitter slightly, and The Mind makes Isaac's brain swell in size constantly.
15 Hanging Dream Catcher
One of the most surprisingly useful items in The Binding of Isaac is the Dream Catcher. This item changes the introductory cutscene for each level of the basement, showing both the item in the treasure rooms and the boss Isaac will face on the floor to come. More often than not, players accidentally skip this altered cutscene thanks to muscle memory.
The Hanging Dream Catcher mod is simple – when a boss is defeated and the entrance to the next level is revealed, the Dream Catcher appears above the entrance. It's a subtle reminder to players that they have the item, making it more useful than some other Binding of Isaac mods.
14 The Binding Of Isaac: Vectorized
The Binding of Isaac: Vectorized is a fan-made visual enhancement to the sprites, items, and general artwork of the game. The Binding of Isaac has received lots of praise for its pixel art style, but vectorized art still looks much cleaner.
This is a great mod for players who want something fresh to look at, not necessarily to play. It overhauls countless models in the game, essentially giving every model the filter effect. It's one of the best Binding of Isaac mods for aesthetics.
13 No More Breakfasting!
No More Breakfasting! is a simple mod that fixes one of the main gripes of the game's randomization. Too often players will beat a boss and hope for an item that works with their build or provides something useful, only to be rewarded with Breakfast – a boring, bland, 1 HP up item.
Related: Beginner Tips For The Binding of Isaac: Repentance
This mod removes Breakfast from the item pool, making it more likely that players will find something actually useful. Having more health isn't a bad thing, but it's just not exciting.
12 External Item Descriptions
There are many items that players can use to bolster their playthrough in The Binding of Isaac. However, it can be pretty hard for players to figure out what an item does without being totally familiar with it.
This changes with the advent of the External Item Descriptions mod, which sets out to do exactly what is stated in the title. Players get a clearer idea of what to expect from each power-up once they boot up this mod.
11 Charge-Up Bars For Brimstone & Co
Many moves in The Binding of Isaac need to be charged up before players can use them. While these attacks are pretty effective in their own right, there are times when players are kept in the dark about how much a particular item has charged up.
This worry becomes a thing of the past with . True to its name, it adds a charge-up bar over the player's head to show whether a certain move is charged up or not, which is pretty useful indeed.
10 Da Rules: A Sandbox Menu
Da Rules: A Sandbox Menu essentially turns The Binding of Isaac into a do-it-yourself dungeon designer. It allows the player to customize rules throughout the layers of the basement. These include how enemies function, which items and enemies will appear, and other niche rules that allow full customization of the game.
It's one of the most creative mods to come out for the game. This mod essentially turns The Binding of Isaac into a dungeon-designing game, not a roguelike.
9 Better Colored Stat Icons HUD
Better Colored Stat Icons HUD is another simple mod that makes the player HUD much more understandable. In the base game, each icon for the player's stats is the same color, making it difficult to discern which stat the player is referencing at a moment's notice.
Related: Binding of Isaac: Broken New Items In Repentance
This mod adds a unique color to each of the HUD icons. Over time, it becomes far easier to tell which icon is which based entirely on its color, not its symbol, making it one of the best Repentance mods.
8 Better Character Menu
Better Character Menu overhauls the most-seen screen in the game: the character select screen. In the base game, this screen features sprites that aren't exactly like the in-game sprites, and every character is in black and white.
With this mod, though, each available character is given its default in-game sprite. Each appears along with a colored name, to make it easier to quickly select a character for a new run.
7 Encyclopedia - An In-Game Wiki
The Encyclopedia mod for The Binding of Isaac adds an in-game library of information related to everything the player will come across. Explanations of enemies, levels, items, trinkets, chances, and everything in between can be found in this mod.
A major part of gameplay in The Binding of Isaac is constantly referencing fan wikis and item lists. This mod, though, reduces the number of clicks needed to access the same information – plus, players don't have to tab out.
6 Dice Room Descriptions
Dice Room Descriptions, as the title might imply, adds a description to each Dice Room the player enters. While there are only six types of Dice Rooms, it's difficult to remember exactly what each one does. When entering the room, text will appear on-screen describing exactly that.
It's a blessing for players who don't want to waste time alt-tabbing to check what each room does – or for those who don't want to risk everything on the wrong Dice Room. It's a handy mod to have installed for getting through the game quickly, making it one of the best Binding of Isaac: Repentance mods.
5 External Item Descriptions
External Item Descriptions is one of the most useful mods for The Binding of Isaac. This mod adds text to the screen that describes the effects of every item in the game – pedestal items, trinkets, pills, cards, and everything else.
Related: How The Binding of Isaac Has Remained Popular After All These Years
It won't identify pills the player hasn't already picked up. However, it will let them know what the pill is in the Shop if it has been picked up, which can help save some coin. Additionally, knowing what each item does greatly affects the chance that players will actually use those items. Usually, this mod tends to make a run much tighter in terms of time.
4 The Isaac Of Isaac: Re-Isaac
The Isaac of Isaac: Re-Isaac is a hilarious mod from the creator of the famous YouTube video of the same name. The introduction to the game is normally the "Isaac... and his mother... lived alone... in a house on a hill." cutscene. This mod, though, turns every character and referenced object in the default introductory cutscene to Isaac.
For example, the introductory line becomes, "Isaac... and Isaac... lived alone... in an Isaac on an Isaac." It's difficult to describe, but it's a must-watch for any Binding of Isaac fan.
3 The Binding Of Isaac: Godmode
The Binding of Isaac: Godmode is one of the more polished content overhaul mods for the game. It's a great DLC that fans should definitely check out for themselves if they get the time.
Currently, the mod doesn't work with the Repentance DLC, but the author has been hard at work for a full release that is apparently coming out soon. Given how great the contents of this mod already are, fans can't wait to see what the final version will have in store for them!
2 The Binding Of Undertale
Undertale is another indie gem that took over the gaming landscape by storm when it was released. So, it only makes sense that modders have made an unofficial crossover between these two games.
The Binding of Undertale is a pretty great mod that fans of both games will have a great time with. Seeing beloved characters like Sans, Toriel, and Papyrus in the game is pretty novel and something that could've only been accomplished with modding.
1 FPS Mode
The FPS Mode mod is one of the most unique mods ever to be released for The Binding of Isaac – or indeed, any 2D game. The mod turns the game into a first-person shooter, but it's not a permanent effect. The player can toggle it on or off while playing the game.
For gamers who've wanted to play The Binding of Isaac as a DOOM-like game, this mod lets them do exactly that. It's surprisingly free of bugs and completely overhauls how a gamer gets through a run.
The Binding of Isaac is available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, and Xbox One & Series X/S.
More: The Binding of Isaac: Repentance - How to Get Character Variants (34 Secret Solved)
FAQs
Are there mods for the binding of Isaac? ›
Mods found in the Steam Workshop can be installed by navigating to the mod's page and clicking Subscribe. The game must be started to install the mod into the game, and the installation will be signaled by a loading screen. Once installed, the mod will automatically be enabled ingame.
Do Isaac mods disable achievements? ›No. Mods prevent all unlocks until the Heart is killed once. Afterwards, they don't prevent anything, no matter what they do.
Is binding of Isaac kid friendly? ›A Child's Perspective: The game is rated M for a reason. I wouldn't recommend this for young children, but teenagers with a discerning eye and inner filter might find it interesting, but parents will have to make the call. Reviewers Thoughts: I've had a lot of conflicting thoughts on Binding of Isaac over the years.