History ShoutOut / TheBindingOfIsaac

* In ''Repentance'', Delirum's Steven form was redesigned to heavily resemble Ash from ''VideoGame/TheEndIsNigh''.

* The "Endless Nameless" trinket is named after the HiddenTrack from Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind}}''. The description is [[VideoGame/TimeFcuk "I'm stuck in a loop..."]]

* One of the messages you can get from the Fortune Teller is "Look to La Luna." This was the clue on how to find Reptile in the original ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1992'' game. Two others, "MARRY AND REPRODUCE" and "STAY ASLEEP", reference ''Film/TheyLive''. It's also possible to get "[[Franchise/MetalGear I feel asleep!!]]"

* The Dople (a skinless Isaac's doppelganger in The Womb) is a reference to ''VideoGame/TombRaider'', where a skinless enemy who mirrored Lara's movements had to be killed by being lured into a lava trap, similar to how Doples can be lured into spikes.

** ''Repentance'' adds the Spirit Sword, which gives Isaac a sword he can swing in front of himself. By holding down fire and then releasing, it unleashes a spin attack, and when Isaac is at full health, it throws out a SwordBeam, much like how the Master Sword typically does. To drive the point further, you unlock it by completing the Isaac's Awakening challenge, which starts you off with the Spirit Sword, the Trinity Shield, and Mom's Bracelet, which functions similarly to the Power Bracelet.

* Names of the twin Gemini bosses - Suture and Contusion - seem to be a reference to a recurring lyric from the song "Cicatriz ESP" by Music/{{The Mars Volta}}.

* ''Repentance'' adds a spinning top item called [[VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends Spin to Win]]. Its pickup quote is "[[Franchise/{{Beyblade}} Let it rip!]]".

* A new item added in the second booster pack for ''Afterbirth+'' is Leprosy. Its tagline? "''[[Film/TheRoom You're tearing me apart!]]''"

* One of the messages you can get from the Fortune Teller is "Look to La Luna." This was the clue on how to find Reptile in the original ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' game. Two others, "MARRY AND REPRODUCE" and "STAY ASLEEP", reference ''Film/TheyLive''. It's also possible to get "[[Franchise/MetalGear I feel asleep!!]]"

** [[https://bindingofisaacrebirth.fandom.com/wiki/Plum_Flute Plum Flute]] looks suspiciously similar to the [[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9_Flute Poké Flute]], with even Baby Plum's white wings and red body matching the Pokéball colour scheme.

* Decap Attack, both in name and function, is a a shout-out to the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis game of [[VideoGame/DecapAttack the same name]], which revolves around a character who throws his head to attack.

* ''Repentance'' added Birthright, an item with a different effect and pickup quote for each character. With Tainted Jacob, said quote reads "[[VideoGame/{{Hades}} There is no escape]]".

%%** One of the projectile upgrades is Haemolacria - in other words, Bloody Tears.

** The Larry Jr. boss is presumably related in some way to Larries' Lament from the second-to-last world of Super Meat Boy - possibly meant to be the miniature versions of them that pop out of their head in the ending.

** Afterbirth+ also adds [[VideoGame/PokemonGo Poke Go]], which sometimes spawns a friendly enemy in a room with the message "A charmed [enemy name] has appeared!"

** Completing the Boss Rush as Lazarus unlocks Missing No., a glitch-themed item named after a famous GlitchEntity from ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''. ''Repentence'' would continue the trend with the item TMTRAINER and the trinket 'M, both of which are also named after ''Red and Blue'' glitches.

* [[http://bindingofisaacrebirth.gamepedia.com/Spider_Mod Spider Mod]] is a reference to ''Spidermod'', an extensive GameMod for the original ''The Binding of Isaac''. Its creator, [=Spider853=], [[PromotedFanboy was a lead-developer]] for ''Rebirth''.
* The description for one of the new items in ''Afterbirth'', the Lil' Chest, reads ''[[Film/{{Se7en}} What's in the box?]]''

* A new item added in the second booster pack for ''Afterbirth+'' is Leprosy. Its tagline? ''[[Film/TheRoom You're tearing me apart!]]''

* Booster Pack #5 locks certain bosses behind two achievements that require [[spoiler: defeating ??? with 3 and 6 characters.]] The achievements for completing this are called [[{{Theatre/Macbeth}} "Something wicked this way comes!"]] and "Something wicked this way comes+!", after the famous line from the Witches.

* ''Afterbirth'' added an item called Black Powder which lets you draw circles of the eponymous substance to form pentagrams that deal damage to enemies standing in the area, with the description [[Music/PearlJam "Spin the black circle."]] (The song itself being about the singer's [[NewMediaAreEvil preference for vinyl records]]).

* There are 3 very hard to unlock items called The Body, The Mind and The Soul. Their descriptions are respectively "I feel all", "I know all", and "I am all". They are a reference to the movie Film/{{Highlander}}, as the three are said almost verbatim when [=MacLeod=] wins The Prize.

** Many enemies are also reminiscent of Zelda enemies. The most noticeable are the Chargers (which behave like Ropes), Knights (which behave like Darknuts) and Pokys (which behave like Traps).

** Additionally, the Sisters Vis, the bosses of the third area in Gish, can appear as a boss in the Depths.

* The null effect for pills is "I found pills!", with the fake effect "And ate them". This is likely a throwback to an early WebOriginal/{{LOLCat|s}} macro. The Horse Pill version makes Isaac's face resemble the "HURRR I'M A HOERS" meme

* One of the new items in ''Binding of Isaac: Rebirth'', is the [[Film/AClockworkOrange Ludovico Technique]], which leaves Isaac's eyelids pulled back, as in the classic scene of Alex's reprogramming.

%%* Samson's Chains in Rebirth attaches a ball-and-chain to character, like in VideoGame/{{NetHack}} or VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}.
* In Rebirth, picking up the Transcendence item gives the message "[[Literature/{{IT}} We all float down here...]]"
* One of the fortunes you can get is "[[Music/LouisArmstrong Nobody knows the troubles you have seen]]"

*** Both Book of Virtues and the Judas Birthright Book of Belial grant Notched Pickaxe ''Minecraft''-themed improvements. Virtues causes it mine coal, iron, gold, redstone, and diamond-themed wisps from rocks, which have effects based on their ''Minecraft'' equilivents. Belial gives Notched Axe a variety of bonus effects based on enhancements (increased durability (Unbreaking), faster attack speed (Efficiency), increased knockback (Knockback), burn damage (Fire Aspect), and more pickups from destroyed objects (Fortune)), including the purple glow overlay graphic that ''Minecraft'' uses.
** There's an ''Afterbirth'' item called [[http://bindingofisaacrebirth.gamepedia.com/Mine_Crafter Mine Crafter]], which should be [[VideoGame/{{Minecraft}} pretty obvious]]. It was even updated in ''Repentance'' to look more like a TNT barrel from ''Minecraft'' and summons a special square TNT.

* One of the new items in ''Wrath of the Lamb'' is the Notched Axe, a pickaxe that can be used to break rocks. This is a reference to ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' and its creator, Notch. In ''Repentance'', the item was reworked to work on a durability system that functions exactly like a pickaxe, and the Book of Virtues effect causes it mine coal, iron, gold, redstone, and diamond wisps from rocks. The later Birthright effect for Judas makes the Book of Belial give the Notched Axe a variety of enhancements.

* There's an ''Afterbirth'' item called [[http://bindingofisaacrebirth.gamepedia.com/Mine_Crafter Mine Crafter]], which should be [[VideoGame/{{Minecraft}} pretty obvious]]. It was even updated in ''Repentance'' to look more like a TNT barrel in ''Minecraft'' and summons a special square TNT.

* One of the new items in ''Wrath of the Lamb'' is the Notched Axe, a pickaxe that can be used to break rocks. This is a reference to ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' and its creator, Notch. In ''Repentance'', the item was reworked to work on a durability system that functions exactly like a pickaxe, and the Book of Virtues effect causes it mine coal, iron, gold, redstone, and diamond wisps from rocks.

* In ''Repentance'', Delirum's Steven form was redesigned to heavily resemble [[VideoGame/TheEndIsNigh Ash]].