Developer: Edmund McMillen, James Interactive, Ridiculon
Publisher: Edmund McMillen
Release: Out now
On: Windows
From: Steam
For: 10/$13.50/ 11
Bum-bo has to deal with a lot of crap. Sometimes that crap is very literal, sentient, and coming straight for him. Sometimes, the crap is still literal, but it’s his tool and his shield. It fuels his nightmares, and his special abilities. It’s his deuce in the hole.
Crap jokes feel inevitable here, because The Legend Of Bum-Bo is a prequel to The Binding Of Issac. It’s set in the same universe, which is one governed by pee and sweat and poo. Despite this, however, it’s a very different kind of roguelike, which swaps out twitchy exploration for turn-based, match-four puzzle grids. I’ve grown to quite like it, even though at first it made me want to tear my hair out and throw clumps at Edmund McMillen’s disgusting menagerie, potentially adding to it in the process.