@r_hjort
I'm trying to stay away from the FAQs. It really is more rewarding to figure stuff out. Particularly when it comes to secrets. I'm still not too sure about secret room tells. Or flying/jumping.

I had a run the other day where I was basically invulnerable. Who knows why. And I only recently learned that there was in item button, haha. I was like, how the hell do you activate these things?! (I still forget to actually use them.)

But the variety of items, enemies, and rooms really is engaging. It must've been a freaking nightmare to QA. It's always fun to throw yourself back into the fray. I also like that you're not allowed to restart your game, even if you shut down the software and restart (I think?). Deal with it or die!

@Anand
Are there even any actual secret room tells? Graphical ones, I mean? I tend to check the map to see where it seems likely to be a secret room, but beyond that I have no idea how to tell.

Have you tried Greed Mode? I've played it a few times, and it's fun, but it's brutal and it lacks the exciting exploration aspects, which is a shame.

@r_hjort
Not graphical ones. I mean getting used to the common locations. Sometimes, like in Zelda 1, you can use the map to locate the bombable walls, but A doesn't always lead directly to B.

Greed Mode? Not yet. Nor Hard Mode. I tried the first challenge, but it was driving me insane.

@Anand
There are some similar ways you can see the bombable walls in Isaac, like if you spot an empty space in between mapped rooms, but other than that I just tend to check the walls before the boss room. They seem to have secret rooms much of the time.

I've forgotten about the challenges! I played a few of the easier ones, but I seem to remember giving up on it later. Maybe I should get back to it, but to be honest i'm all about Death Road to Canada at the moment. It's even made me neglect Darkest Dungeon, which makes me feel a bit ashamed to be perfectly honest.

If you guys want to use a FAQ for anything (which I don't recommend unless you really want to know what something does) then there is either the Wiki or PlatinumGod which is my personal favourite, just because it is super easy to use and it has everything on one page with a search function and all.

@Anand
I think I know exactly the item that might have caused the constant invulnerability haha. Also on PC you can restart whenever, but not on console I don't think.

One thing I still love about the game is picking up one item with another one and then finding out they synergise in a super cool way that you didn't expect at all. Some really good combos out there that can just transform your run.

@r_hjort@Anand
There are a few tells. Typically they are surrounded by 3 other rooms with accessible doors, so this can narrow it down a fair bit. Plus some rooms are just more likely to have a secret room attached. I have a pretty good feel for them by now and you will too the more you play. Its just one of those things you slowly start to figure out.

On the topic of Greed mode: I don't like it much either. I basically finish all the characters on it then never go back, and that is what most of the community is also like.

On the topic of Hard mode: Hard mode isn't that different. Different enemies and rooms can show up in, as well as less heart drops. But its not dramatically different. At launch (on PC) it wasn't fun though as all consumables had an incredibly rare drop rate so even going in an Item room was impossible on most floors. Thankfully they changed that.

@r_hjort
Some of the challenges are harder than the main game so beware. Others however are super easy and just fun to do. They don't all unlock amazing things, but there are some useful things locked behind them.

@Pokefreak911
I was wrong about no restarts, I think. You just have to pick New Run, instead of Continue. Also, I did have one crash. But that's still impressive!

@Anand
But starting a new run when you have one that's still unfinished still counts as a failure, right?

@r_hjort
Yes.

What's your longest streak?

@Anand
Haha, not very long. Three runs? Maybe only two? I'm not a very good...uh...streaker.

I think mine is 3.

Pokefreak?

Hmm not sure, not much longer than those. I don't enjoy streaking as much as I enjoy just having a fun run.

I just finally beat Mom for the first time after 30-something failures. The only other games I’ve sunk as much time into that I am clearly no good at playing are the Smash Bros games.

@chrisguy
Haha, I also stink at Smash.

@chrisguy
Congrats on beating Mom! Now even harder stuff awaits! Enjoy!