The wait for Switch 2 ports of different titles is one that drives people to madness as  they wait to see what might come for their favorite games. Some will get amazing upgrade patches that make them beautiful and polished. Some will offer a massive gain for framerates and stability, but with the exchange that all of your hard work will come to nothing if you previously bought the game. And some are a one way door of mediocrity that can forever alter your perceptions, leaving you changed, not necessarily for the better. It’s the cost of moving forward, and, in the case of The Binding of Isaac – Repentance +, it’s a solution to a problem many didn’t know they had, and probably won’t even care about until after they’re “cured.”

Huh. I wonder if this kid needs to talk to someone.

When the Repentance DLC dropped a couple years back, I couldn’t have been happier with what it meant for The Binding of Isaac. As a longtime player of the game, the final DLC brought a slew of changes, alterations and new pathways and synergies, making an already massive roguelike a more formidable and exciting game. I’ve always been playing catch up with The Binding of Isaac because I never play it on PC. While I own the Steam version (and have for nearly a decade), I’ve been a mobile player, preferring to hash it out on my new 3DS, iPhone, Vita and Switch. If I had to choose the game that I’ve played the most on my Switch, it’s The Binding of Isaac by a country mile: the next closest game isn’t even half my playtime.

Initially, I couldn’t fathom needing the Switch 2 release of Repentance + because the upgraded version doesn’t bring a substantial amount to the table, which is the curse of buying incrementally over the years. If you’ve only played the vanilla versions of Rebirth or even up to Antibirth, then the main draw of the Switch 2 version – the inclusion of online co-op – is barely a curiosity. This further is compounded by the fact that there’s no cross platform support, at least not at launch. So if you’re wondering why all the reviews after the embargo are very sparse on details regarding co-op play, consider this. Do you know how hard it is to coordinate a time to play games with other adults who you actually know and like? Now multiply that difficulty by trying to find another reviewer who is playing Repentance + and is also remotely in the same time zone.

Just keep waiting. Someone will come. Someday.

What I can tell you about the online play is that there’s a bit of lag between rooms, which can make the game feel stuttery if you’re choosing to head into the mutual shooting space. In spite of hosting the room myself and playing solo, the act of being online means there’s constant calls back and forth to the different servers, creating downtime within the game. It’s minor, and it’s not like it crashed or completely failed like my other recent online attempts, but it’s noticeable and bothersome. Once things get live and more people get online, we should have a better scope of it all, but it’s still a tough sell. Only on Switch 2, only with other Switch 2 players, and only when you all can actually make time. If you’re like me and outside of the Americas, this becomes a serious imposition that can only be solved by insomnia.

As for the game itself…look. This was always going to go one way, and I really did my best to dig in my heels and look for flaws with Repentance +. That’s why the first paragraph serves as a warning to those who already own the Switch 1 version and are considering upgrading. Do you remember the first time you went from looking at a 480p screen to a 1080p? It was glorious, and it didn’t matter that you were watching Law and Order: SVU with shocking clarity. It was a shift in your brain, and now you had accepted a new standard for what videos at home could look like. Now your “flatscreen” television looks like crap and all you can think about is how crisp Ice-T looked when he realized that the murderer might also be a pedophile. You can never look at Fin Tutuola in standard definition again.

Plus, even when things are going completely wild on screen, no slowdown. Seriously.

That’s what it’s like for Repentance + on the Switch 2. The shift is subtle: unlike the actual Reptance + DLC, Nicalis and McMillen haven’t thrown out every sprite and started anew. Instead, there’s a sharpening to all the items, enemies and dungeon aesthetics you didn’t know were missing before. Isaac is more pronounced. Tears flow in a more liquid and aggressive manner. Bloat is more bloated while still being a massive pain in the ass. The curse of darkness is still unbelievably strong, but now the shadows are more inky and deep. It’s not switching from rubbing alcohol to bourbon, it’s upgrading from Skyy to Absolut. You wouldn’t know if you weren’t familiar with the drink, but your experience tells you this is better quality. Also, your friends and family are concerned about you, and that’s why we’re gathered here today.

Plus, some of the minor changes are massive for new and long-time players. While you might have all the base effects of the hundreds of items memorized, the new item description page refreshes your memory about duration, radius and other important elements for your build out. I often grab my phone to look up the more nuanced information when I’m in the Angel or Devil room, and the item descriptions won’t tell you facts ahead of time, but this is still great for assisting in mid run. “Crying makes me toot,” is a funny little tagline, but being told “this item increases in damage and time over ten seconds” is a more definitive bit of information, and helps a ton with additional selections. It’s unobtrusive, so the HUD isn’t overrun with factoids, but it’s easily accessible.

Anyone who doesn’t study the codex like a grad student will be grateful for these info boxes.

And, if you want to have the full overload of information, go ahead and click down on the left joystick to activate hovering information mode. If you’ve been reading Dungeon Crawler Carl and desperately hoped to always have info boxes around every single thing that comes into your purview, congratulations! A game that was already utterly awash in loadout statistics and a UI positively blinding with icons and percentages can now even further bombard players. Personally, I like that it’s a quick toggle with the joystick, because I would absolutely not leave this on for the duration of a run. It somehow takes the game from “twinstick shooter” to “Nethack infodump simulator,” and it’s just too much to have all at once. Again, it’s completely optional, but it’s one of the primary advantages to getting the Switch 2 upgrade, so players need to be aware.

My absolute favorite change is possibly the most minor. When bosses spawn in a room, you usually have a general idea of where they’ll be, even if you don’t know the exact space. But when you’re doing events that challenge multiple bosses (Boss Rush, Challenge Rooms), you just have to roll with it as soon as they come, whenever they come. This new Repentance + will show a glowing pentagram a second before the boss actually spawns, with a varying degree of size to precisely match how large or small the boss will be. This is monumental, as now I can guess as to what’s about to appear (Loki vs Chub will be quite different) and how to strategize against them. Plus, since I often play as The Lost, I significantly cut down on the chance of accidentally standing where the boss will spawn and losing the run because I’m incompetent.

Screw you, Reap Creep, credit for the kill goes to random, tiny spider.

What it comes down to is how invested you are in The Binding of Isaac as an institution. This game has now reached fifteen years of age, and it might, finally, be in its last incarnation. Isaac has been ported to every modern system and many that have gone by the wayside (thank you, WiiU version), it’s been a card game, and it’s been continually improved upon. The Switch 2 version is the best one to date because it’s all encompassing. We’re at the end of the road: there’s no reason to think more improvements will come anytime in the near future. It’s one of the greatest roguelike games of all time, and, even with unapologetically gross designs and characters, it’s impossibly addictive and enjoyable. I was going to get the Switch 2 version no matter what, and I’m pleased that it has enough additional upgrades to make it worthwhile. 

But if you’ve bought the Switch 1 version and all the accompanying DLC, there’s no strong reason to get this final package. The Binding of Isaac – Repentance + is fully formed on the Switch 2, and diehards should put it on their wishlist and get it when they’re ready. But only do so when you’re absolutely certain that you won’t pick up the Switch 1 version again. The shift and the upgrade puts the old version to shame, even if it didn’t do anything wrong. It’s a one way street that we travel, and, at the end, there is a hill. On that hill is a small house, where Isaac and his mother live…

The Binding of Isaac: Repentance+ is available now on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2.

A copy of The Binding of Isaac: Repentance+ was provided by the publisher.