The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Character Unlock Guide

Unlocking every character in The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a multi-hour journey spanning hidden secrets, donation grinding, and mastery challenges. While Isaac, Magdalene, Cain, and Judas are available immediately, the remaining 30 characters require specific in-game achievements — from beating the game 10 times for ??? to donating 500 coins for Keeper to completing Hard mode with every character for The Lost. This guide walks through every unlock condition in the recommended order for efficient progression toward Dead God.

Early Unlocks (First 10 Hours)

Mid-Game Unlocks

The Lost is the most infamous unlock — complete Hard mode with every character except The Lost itself (9 characters in Rebirth, expanding with each DLC). In Afterbirth+, The Lost also starts with Holy Mantle after you die as The Lost in a sacrifice room while holding Missing Poster. Lilith unlocks by beating Greed mode with Cain — a straightforward Greed mode clear. Keeper requires donating 500 coins total to the donation machine in shops across all runs. The donation machine breaks after 1-7 coins per run, so this unlock takes many runs of coin collection.

Afterbirth and Repentance Unlocks

• Apollyon — Beat Mega Satan for the first time. Requires reaching the Dark Room or Chest and defeating Mega Satan.
• The Forgotten — Beat the Bone Heart boss in a specific skull room in the Ashpit (alt path). Requires Repentance and alt path access.
• Bethany — Beat the game without taking devil deals (angel room path). Hold faith through the entire run.
• Jacob & Esau — Beat the game with every character except The Lost and Tainted Lost. The longest unlock in the game.
• Tainted characters — See the full Tainted characters guide for Home path unlock details.

The Lost Unlock Path (Detailed)

The Lost unlock requires beating Hard mode with Isaac, Magdalene, Cain, Judas, ???, Eve, Samson, Azazel, and Lazarus — every Rebirth character except The Lost and Eden (Eden was added later but is not required for the original unlock). Afterbirth expanded this requirement. Once unlocked, The Lost dies in one hit with no health bar but can fly and shoot spectral piercing tears. Afterbirth+ added Holy Mantle as a starting item after completing a specific sacrifice room sequence with Missing Poster. For The Lost unlock strategies, Azazel and Tainted Azazel excel at Hard mode clears. See our secrets guide for related hidden unlocks.

Recommended Unlock Order

Follow this sequence for the smoothest progression: Eden first (any win) → Azazel (devil deals) → ??? (10 wins, happens naturally) → Eve and Samson (easy challenges) → Lazarus (soul hearts) → Lilith (Greed with Cain) → Apollyon (Mega Satan) → The Lost (Hard with all characters) → Keeper (500 coins) → Bethany (no devil deals win) → Forgotten (Ashpit boss) → Jacob & Esau (beat game with everyone) → Tainted characters (Home path). This order unlocks powerful characters early while saving the hardest unlocks for when your skill and item pool are strongest. Cross-reference the optimal unlock order guide for item and secret unlock sequencing alongside character unlocks.