The Binding of Isaac is getting a card game

This week saw the launch of a Kickstarter project to fund The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls. Using characters, enemies and items from the long-running action rogue-like, Four Souls is hoping to make the franchise more of a social experience as a multiplayer card game.

The campaign launched Wednesday with a goal of $50,000 and as of this moment it’s already reached $175,676, with over 2,000 backers, which means it cruised past its desired mark almost instantly.

Franchise creator Edmund McMillen has long been a game designer, but for Four Souls he wanted to try something new. Speaking with Polygon, he mentioned that he “always wanted to design something physical.” He had experimented with some card game design in the past, but this is his first public release of one.

Using basic mechanics pulled from the core of The Binding of Isaac, McMillen describes the game as being playable with two-to-four players who must work together to defeat bosses, collect loot and maximize the power of their characters through the use of card combos and powers.

For example, the eponymous Isaac is able to change a die roll (all of the combat relies on dice), which could save him from a nasty death. Players can also use these powers when other players roll their dice, offering up plenty of chances to act as savior or troll.

The game will feature three hundred cards, spread across loot, monsters and items, all of which should be familiar to fans. It’ll also include dice and small physical coins for use in the game’s store. McMillen is also considering a playmat, inspired by Isaac’s bedroom, where all of the game’s combat would take place.

Despite sounding somewhat overwhelming, McMillen has designed the game to be approachable. “I would say Hearthstone-level,” he says of the accessibility.

McMillen is hoping to release The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls to backers by “the end of this year or early next.” He’s enlisted the help of four artists, including members of The Binding of Isaac community and his wife, Danielle McMillen, who is producing the campaign and designing many of the backer rewards.

Four Souls will join another in-progress work from McMillen, set in The Binding of Isaac universe. The Legend of Bum-bo, a match-three puzzle game with RPG mechanics, is also scheduled for release later this year. And while none of these projects could be seen as a true sequel to Isaac, they’re certainly giving fans plenty of ways to experience a franchise they’ve sunk so many hours into.