10 Hopeless Video Game Protagonists

The Binding of Isaac is an indie roguelike from the twisted mind of Edmund McMillen. The breakout hit originally released in 2011 and told the story of a young boy and his devout Christian mother.

One day, while Isaac is playing in his room, his mother hears the voice of God, informing her that her son has been corrupted by sin and eventually ordering her to murder him.

Escaping through a trapdoor beneath a rug in his bedroom, Isaac is then forced to contend with all manner of horrific creatures using only his tears as a weapon as he delves deeper into the unknown. Frequent cutscenes between floors depicted Isaac lying in a puddle of his own tears, remembering back to traumatic experiences in his life, such as his mother stomping on a toy as he plays with it.

Despite his lack of conventional weapons, any form of armour and constant trauma, Isaac doesn’t give up and instead is able to overcome every demonic beast and trap that comes his way through sheer determination. That positivity exists in the minutiae, at least.

In reality, the true ending implies that he locked himself inside his toy chest to hide and ended up suffocating. Oh dear.