I have long compared The Binding of Isaac to a slot machine, which maybe isn't quite fair. Unlike a slot machine, there is a decent amount of skill involved - understanding the mechanics, learning how to get deals with the devil, figuring out what synergizes with what. But at the end of the day, those flashy synergies are really the only draw of the game, and the only reason why I have a little over 150 hours in it. There's only so many times I can completely annihilate everything with screen-spanning laser beams before it starts becoming a chore. Isaac fails at what I'd consider the most important part of a roguelike - being challenging but fair. In Isaac, there is rarely a moment in which you feel like you are having a fun challenge. You are either insanely overpowered and nuking all of the bosses in less than 10 seconds, or you are the weakest baby alive, spending each encounter strafing around the arena for several minutes while doing a piddling amount of damage. It doesn't feel satisfying to attack and kill enemies until you've gotten enough items that the game starts to play itself. And on top of it all, most of the soundtrack is made up of boring atmospheric tracks, which is not what I want to be listening to when playing an action roguelike. At least some of the boss themes like "Infanticide" are good.