Unveiling the Enigma: Can You Get The Forgotten in Binding of Isaac: Rebirth?
The short answer is no, you cannot directly unlock The Forgotten in the base version of The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. This character was introduced in the Afterbirth DLC, meaning you’ll need the expansion to access and unlock The Forgotten. While Rebirth lays the foundation for the game, many characters, including The Forgotten, along with several game mechanics and content additions, are exclusive to the DLCs.
Understanding the Game’s Evolution
The Binding of Isaac has evolved significantly from its initial release. Rebirth, the remake of the original game, is a vast improvement, but the subsequent DLCs, Afterbirth and Afterbirth+, as well as the final massive expansion Repentance, all add more layers of complexity and content. It’s important to understand the distinction between the base game and its expansions to know what features are available. While Rebirth includes many secrets and unlockables, it does not contain everything.
The Forgotten, in particular, requires a specific process that integrates mechanics introduced in Afterbirth. This means you must own The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth to even begin the unlocking process for The Forgotten. Rebirth is essentially the first version of the remake, and much content was added later as DLC.
The Forgotten Unlocking Process (Afterbirth and Beyond)
Once you have Afterbirth installed, the process of unlocking The Forgotten is quite specific and requires certain milestones to be met beforehand. Here’s a breakdown:
Prerequisites
- Defeat The Lamb: Before you even think about The Forgotten, you must have defeated The Lamb at least once on any difficulty. The Lamb is the boss of the Dark Room, an alternative final floor you can access only after obtaining the Negative item.
- The Negative: To access the Dark Room and face The Lamb, you need to unlock the Negative item. This is achieved by defeating Satan at least five times.
Unlocking Steps
- Start a New Run: Begin a new run with any character on either Normal or Hard difficulty. The difficulty doesn’t affect the unlock process itself, so choose the one you’re most comfortable with.
- Defeat the First Boss Quickly: Defeat the boss of the first floor within one minute. This is crucial; failing to do so will nullify the attempt to unlock The Forgotten.
- Complete Boss Rush: After the first floor, immediately progress through the floors until you reach the Boss Rush room. You must defeat the waves of bosses that spawn in Boss Rush to obtain the first half of the Broken Shovel.
- Grave Room in Dark Room: After you beat the Boss Rush, the game will now have a chance to give you a Grave Room in the Dark Room. The Grave Room has a dirt patch in its center. The second half of the Broken Shovel will be in the center. When you step over it, the Broken Shovel is reunited into Mom’s Shovel.
- Use Mom’s Shovel: Use Mom’s Shovel while standing on the dirt patch. This will release the soul of The Forgotten. It is crucial to wait for the soul to reach the top of the screen. If you exit the Grave Room before that happens, The Forgotten will not unlock. You must do this process in order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions to help you further understand The Forgotten and the game:
1. Can you unlock The Forgotten on normal difficulty?
Yes, The Forgotten can be unlocked on both Normal and Hard difficulties. The difficulty you choose does not impact the unlocking process itself.
2. What is the difference between Rebirth and Afterbirth?
Rebirth is the remake of the original The Binding of Isaac game. Afterbirth is a DLC expansion that adds new items, enemies, bosses, and characters, including The Forgotten. Afterbirth essentially enhances and expands the base Rebirth game.
3. Can you unlock Lost with any character?
Yes, but note that having any mods installed that trigger the mod flag will make The Lost unobtainable. You also must not win the game as the characters required to unlock Lost in order to unlock him. It requires a series of specific deaths by Isaac.
4. How do you unlock Blue Baby?
Blue Baby is unlocked by completing the game 10 times. After doing this, Isaac will find him locked in a chest during the ending cutscene.
5. Is Afterbirth a DLC for Rebirth?
Yes, Afterbirth is a DLC expansion for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. It’s not a standalone game; it enhances Rebirth with additional content.
6. What does Afterbirth add to Rebirth?
Afterbirth adds a wealth of content to Rebirth, including new items, enemies, alternate floors, bosses, and endings. It also introduces Greed Mode, which offers a different gameplay experience.
7. How do you unlock Jacob & Esau?
Jacob and Esau are unlocked by defeating The Witness for the first time. They are notable for both of them automatically using pills, cards, and runes they pick up.
8. How do you unlock Apollyon?
Apollyon is unlocked after defeating Mega Satan for the first time. Apollyon is added in the Afterbirth † DLC.
9. How do you unlock the Corpse?
The Corpse is a new environment added in Antibirth. Once all three knife pieces have been acquired, upon completing Mausoleum II, a red fleshy door will appear.
10. Has Rebirth gone forever?
No, Rebirth has not gone forever. It’s still available, and the discussion about Rebirth refers to the map in the Call of Duty Warzone not the Binding of Isaac: Rebirth game.
11. How many secrets are there in Rebirth?
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has a total of 178 unlockable secrets.
12. Will Rebirth come back?
Yes, in relation to the Warzone map not the Binding of Isaac, the map will be returning in 2024.
13. Which Binding of Isaac has everything?
The Binding of Isaac: Repentance is the most complete version, containing all content from Rebirth, Afterbirth, and Afterbirth+, along with numerous new features.
14. Why didn’t I unlock The Forgotten?
The most common reason players fail to unlock The Forgotten is exiting the Grave Room before the soul reaches the top of the screen. Make sure you wait for it to ascend fully. And, if you did not kill the floor one boss in under a minute, you will also not get it. It is important to note you also cannot use seeds for the run.
15. How do you get The Forgotten easily?
The Forgotten’s unlock requirements are fixed, so there’s no ‘easy’ method other than practicing the first floor boss to defeat it within a minute and using a good character. Focus on completing Boss Rush efficiently.
Conclusion
While The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a fantastic game on its own, you cannot unlock The Forgotten without the Afterbirth DLC. This character and its unique unlocking requirements, along with the variety of other new characters, items, and game modes, are all part of the rich tapestry woven by the expansions. If you’re a dedicated Isaac player, expanding your experience with Afterbirth and other DLC is highly recommended to access all the content the game has to offer.