The Binding of Isaac is a popular roguelike video game developed by Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl. Gamers love this game because of its challenging gameplay, unique art style, and compelling storyline.
However, it is often overwhelming for new gamers to understand the controls and mechanics of the game. Thus, this article will explore all the keyboard and mouse controls and how to set up the joypad for playing the Binding of Isaac game.
Binding of Isaac Controls
Here are all the keyboard controls of the Binding of Isaac game:
Keyboard Controls
w – to move up
a – to move to the left side
s – to move downward side
d – to move to the right side
↑ – to shoot up
← – to shoot to the left side
↓ – to shoot downward side
→ – to shoot to the right side
space key – use current activated items (such as Lemon Mishap, Teleport, etc)
shift, or e key – used to place the bomb
q – used for using sing use item, either a tarot card or a pill
p, or esc – this key pauses the game. When paused, use the p key to resume the game. Esc key allows you to quit the game.
m – turn off or mute the game music
f – Toggle fullscreen (works only while paused in the main menu)
tab key – holding the tab key will expand the mini-map. Tapping will toggle its corner size
r – hold the r key to restart the run
Left CTRL key – pressing the Left CTRL key will drop the equipped trinket
Mouse Controls
You can also use the mouse and keyboard together, but you must enable the mouse settings and use the mouse clicks to aim and shoot at the mysterious enemies chasing your tail.
These are the steps to enable the mouse:
- Open C:\Users\Username\Documents\MyGame\BindingofIsaac
- Open file options.ini
- Change MouseControl = 0 to MouseControl=1
- Save the changes
Mouse clicks – to Shoot up, left, down, or right.
X box Controls
R1 – to use your consumable items (such as pills, tarot cards, runes)
R2 – swaps between consumables if you have items like a starter deck or little baggy, which lets you carry multiple pills or cards.
L1 – used to use bombs
L2 – used to use your active item
You can also hold the R2 button to drop items on the floor and press the touchpad to increase the size of your map, showing you what floor you are on and how long the current has been.
Apart from the keyboard and mouse, you can also set up the joypad for playing the Binding of Isaac game.
How to Set up the Joypad for Binding of Isaac?
The game specifically tells you to use one of the many gamepad to keyboard solutions available, specifically JoyToKey.
You can download JoyToKey to enable PC game controllers to emulate keyboard and mouse input to control windows games and applications with your favorite joysticks.
JoyToKey converts the buttons and sticks into keyboard strokes or movements so the target application (joystick) can work like a real keyboard and mouse.
You may also get Xpadder, a free tool that lets you map keys and other inputs (such as the mouse) to buttons and thumbsticks. With Xpadder, you can configure the X-box controller however you want. You can use it for any PC game, even if it does not have native support for gamepads.
If you are a Linux user, you can use QJoyPad to take input from a gamepad or joystick and translates it into keystrokes or mouse actions, allowing you to control any XWindows program with your game controller. It lets you play all those games that do not have joystick support with your joystick.
Is the Binding of Isaac Well-Playable With a Keyboard?
You can play Binding of Isaac with a keyboard using the above-stated keyboard controls. Moreover, this game has a limited controller support tag on the Stream store page.
So, there is less advantage in playing the Binding of Isaac with the controller. Additionally, one of the perks of PC gaming is that it provides the freedom to choose your controller.
However, it depends on your preference. A controller is a good option if you aim for precision because it allows analog movements, whereas the keyboard allows you to alternate between the keys swiftly.
Using a mouse and keyboard together helps you to tackle and dodge your enemies better because it can provide more precision.
