 The Binding of Isaac is a top @-@ down dungeon crawler game , presented using two @-@ dimensional sprites , in which the player controls Isaac or another unlockable characters as they explore the dungeons located in Isaac 's basement . The characters differ in speed , amount of health , amount of damage they deal , and other attributes . The game 's mechanics and presentation is similar to the dungeons of The Legend of Zelda , while incorporating random , procedurally @-@ generated levels in the manner of a roguelike game . On each floor of the basement dungeon , the player must fight monsters in a room before continuing onto the next room . This is most commonly done by the character 's tears as bullets in the style of a twin @-@ stick shooter , but the player can also use a limited supply of bombs to damage enemies and clear out parts of the room . Other methods of defeating enemies become possible as the character gains power @-@ ups , items that are automatically worn by the player @-@ character when picked up that can alter the character 's core attributes , such as increasing health or the strength of each tear , or cause additional side effects , such as for allowing charged tear shots to be fired after holding down a controller button for a short while , or a means to fire tears behind the character . Power @-@ ups include passive items that improve the character 's attributes automatically , active power @-@ ups that can be used once before they are recharged by completing additional rooms in the dungeon , and single @-@ use power @-@ ups such as pills or Tarot cards that confer a one @-@ time benefit when used , such as regaining full health , or increasing or decreasing all attributes of the character . The effect of power @-@ ups stack , so that the player may come into highly @-@ beneficial power @-@ up combinations . 
