How to Play Co-op in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance

My friends and I loved to hang out in my basement when we were kids. It was a nice basement, had a big TV and an air hockey table. Of course, if my basement was crawling with horrific abominations, it probably would’ve been harder to get everyone down there, but I’m sure I could cajole at least 1-3 bodies down with me, and you can too! Here’s how to play co-op in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance.

Previous iterations of The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth did feature co-op play… sort of. In the older version, a local player could drop in as a floating baby, but all they could do was shoot and move. They couldn’t pick up items or interact with the world at all. With the addition of Repentance, this has been remedied, and now co-op players can drop in as a fully-fledged character capable of progressing their upgrades independently of the host. 

How to Play Co-op in The Binding of Isaac: Repentance

Playing co-op in Repentance is super easy. All you need to do is get a regular game started, and when you spawn into the Basement, just have the second player press Start on their controller. They’ll immediately spawn in as a proper character, and can interact with the world in all the same ways as the host player. 

There are a few catches to be aware of. Firstly, co-op is technically local only, but this can be circumvented using Steam Remote Play Together. Secondly, every player must have their own input; one controller or keyboard per person, no sharing. Finally, progression and unlockables will only be saved to the host player’s save file, so whoever’s looking to unlock stuff should be the one to host the game.

Currently, Repentance is only available on PC through Steam, which means console players can’t use the proper co-op just yet. The devs have promised, however, that they’re working on the console version, and will have it out as soon as possible.