How to play PokéIsaac

PokéIsaac is a free browser roguelike by SrBatai that crosses Pokémon with The Binding of Isaac: you pick a Pokémon, clear rooms of wild Pokémon with four-way shots, collect items and go down floor after floor. Released October 20, 2026. Here is everything the game expects you to figure out.

Ask the Coach Tell it your Pokémon, your items and your floor: it says what to take, which deal to make and how to beat the boss.

Controls

Gamepads work (shoot with A B X Y or the right stick) and phones get touch sticks. Keys can be rebound in Options.

A run, room by room

Combat room

The floor's enemies. Clear it to open the doors and sometimes get a reward. Almost every room on the map.

Starting room

Where you start each floor. Never has enemies. Your first room on each floor.

Treasure room

A free item on a pedestal (one per player in co-op). Its door is locked. One per floor: you need a key.

Shop

Six slots: items (some only sold here), actives, hearts, bombs, keys and chests for PokéDollars. The first one of the run is free. Locked door (except the free shop).

Healing room

A Chansey heals you: free hearts and sometimes a soul heart. Doesn't always appear.

Secret room

It may be Kecleon's black market, an altar with a treasure, a chest vault, fainted Meowth, slot machines or loose loot. Its treasures are only found here. Revealed by an explosion next to a cracked wall.

Boss room

The floor's boss. Beat it for a boss item, the trapdoor to the next floor and sometimes a rift. At the end of each floor.

Celestial Room

Jirachi grants a wish: free holy items (one per player) and sometimes a soul heart. Replaces the Distortion Room. After a boss (golden rift), only if nobody made a deal with Darkrai this run.

Distortion Room

Darkrai offers very strong items paid with health: heart containers or three soul hearts. Sometimes it's a trap. Appears after a boss, more likely if you take no damage (violet rift).

Team of 3

Bring up to 3 Pokémon to each run and switch between them based on each floor's types. Health, items and upgrades are shared by the whole team; each Pokémon has its own type, stats and evolution.

Choosing it

Menu > Edit team (the leader starts the run)

Change

Keys 1, 2 and 3, or click its portrait under the minimap

Out of combat

Free switching

In combat

The one leaving rests 8 s before returning

On reaching a new floor

A card shows the floor's types and how well each member does

Item tiers and stacking

The strongest items don't appear until a certain floor, so the run doesn't break right away. Luck brings them sooner: each luck point, two floors earlier (and negative luck delays them). Distortion, Celestial and secret rooms have no limit.

Tier 1

From floor 1

Tier 2

From floor 4

Tier 3

From floor 9

Tier 4

From floor 15 (TM Double Team, TM Tri Attack...)

Item damage

The first +3 in full; from +3 to +8, at half; after that, at a quarter

Damage multipliers

Up to ×2 in total

Fire rate

The first upgrade in full; after that, less and less

Max health

12 hearts (soul hearts separate)

Darkrai or Jirachi?

After a boss a rift can open next to the trapdoor. Violet leads to Darkrai's deals (strong items for heart containers), golden to Jirachi's Celestial Room (free holy items). One deal with Darkrai closes the Celestial Room for the rest of the run. Clean boss fights are what bring the rift: take no damage on the boss for +35 %, none on the whole floor and it is almost certain.

Health

Red hearts

Up to 12 heart containers

Soul hearts

Extra (blue) health lost before red health; it can't be healed. Also used to pay for deals. Up to 6.

Healing room

A Chansey heals you: free hearts and sometimes a soul heart.

Donation machine

Touch it to donate half a heart (a full one from floor 7) and it drops coins. After several donations it may burst and leave a bag. It never leaves you without health.

Achievements unlock items

As in Isaac, many items are earned by playing: each achievement unlocks a few for good. Also, each run some items start locked away and every boss you beat unlocks 4 (a mega boss, 8).

Breakables and loot

Crate

Coin 18 %, key 5 %, heart 5 %, bomb 4 %

Barrel

Coin 20 %, bomb 6 %, heart 5 %, key 3 %

Bush

Coin 15 %, heart 7 %, key 2 %

Vase

Coin 22 %, key 7 %, heart 4 %

Tokens, Gacha and the Pokédex

At the end of each run (with an account) you earn Tokens for the Gacha: each region banner gives new Pokémon, and duplicates refund Tokens.

Pull

30 Tokens (×1) or 270 (×10)

Per run

15 per floor, 0.3 per kill, 300 if you win and 150 per mega boss

Infinite mode

They keep adding up floor by floor

Daily cap

12.000 tokens

Reward for completing the Pokédex: all 971 Pokémon, not counting shinies or Mega Pokémon. It's permanent and doubles your chance of getting a shiny in the Gacha. Exclusive Gacha banner with Mega Pokémon. It opens when you defeat Armored Mewtwo on floor 30 of Classic mode, and you pull with Mega Tickets.

Weapons

Some items change how you shoot: bolts that jump from enemy to enemy (FulgoROM), an ice blizzard (CrioROM), bites that lower defense (Colmillo Agudo), chained slashes (Puerro), an earthquake (Esfera Verde), a snowball that grows (Bola de Nieve), rolling Voltorbs (Acromáquina) and an avalanche of rocks (Roca Lluvia). If you carry several weapons, one rules and each of the others adds its touch (its page says it: "If it does not rule"). Three are modules and work with ANY weapon: Prisma Rojo (a Hyper Beam when you fill its meter with your hits), Memorín (links between the enemies you mark) and Porcehelado (a Shadow Ball that breaks into fragments). The other effects (extra shots, homing, bounces, crits, burning, poisoning, slowing and those of your items) add to any weapon.

After floor 30

After beating Armored Mewtwo you can keep descending. When you want to stop, “End run” in the pause menu gives you your earnings. Difficulty multiplies: ×5 up to floor 40 and +×5 every 10 floors (×10, ×15...), with more enemy health and damage. Every floor keeps giving tokens and every mega boss, tokens and ever more Mega Tickets; even if you fall, it counts as a win.