Victory Lap

A Victory Lap allows Isaac the opportunity to start a new run with almost all of his final items after killing The Lamb in Dark Room; after it dies, a context box appears, giving Isaac the option of starting a Victory Lap or not (this option is only given once per run). Multiple Laps can be made as long as Dark Room is cleared each time.

Effects[]

Completion marks and Achievements cannot be earned (except for the Achievements earned for completing Victory Laps).
The effects of all Pills are re-randomized.
Some items are lost upon starting a Victory Lap. Items lost this way are added back into their respective item pools and can be acquired again.
- This mechanic can remove items in a character's consumable slot, which leaves an empty slot that said character can still switch to.
All Victory Laps will be on Hard difficulty, even if the initial run wasn't.
Once the third Victory Lap has been reached (and on every subsequent Victory Lap), several effects occur:
- Isaac will turn into The Lost.
  - This version of The Lost does not get Holy Mantle or Eternal D6 However, if the run was started as The Lost (or if Holy Mantle was found during a previous run), it will be retained, unless the Victory Lap discards it by chance.
  - This version of The Lost has Holy Mantle if it has been unlocked by donating to the Greed Donation Machine.
  - Tainted Forgotten and Tainted Soul will both become The Lost, controlled with the same inputs like Jacob and Esau, removing the latter's attack restriction and ability to pick up and throw Tainted Forgotten. The drop key cannot be held to individually control each character, and items previously acquired are held by the Tainted Forgotten. Tainted Soul can acquire its own items.
- Shops will no longer appear (except for in ???).
- Red Chests in the Dark Room will turn into Chests and Locked Chests.
If a Devil Deal is taken at any point during a previous Lap, Angel Rooms will no longer appear (unless Act of Contrition, Duality or Eucharist is picked up, or a Sacrifice Room teleports Isaac into an Angel Room).
If the Donation Machine jams, it will remain jammed on all subsequent Victory Laps. The Donation Machine can be donated to and consequently jammed, but the amount of coins will not increase.

Notes[]

Killing any final boss aside from The Lamb will result in the expected ending; the option to continue the Lap will not be presented.
The Negative may disappear upon starting a Victory Lap and must be reacquired to access Dark Room and continue the run.
Isaac can still change characters after becoming The Lost on the third lap (e.g., Ankh, Lazarus' Rags, Clicker).
- Obtaining Genesis will transform The Lost back into the original character.
Transformations will remain even if the items used to acquire them are removed.
When using Telepills or other teleportation items in Womb II or equivalent, Isaac may be teleported to an I AM ERROR room with only a way to the Cathedral, possibly ending the Victory Lap streak.
If a Sacrifice Room appears in the Cathedral, Isaac may be able to teleport to Dark Room if he has enough health, continuing the run.
Entering The Void and killing Delirium will end the Victory Lap streak.
The achievement U Broke It! (unlocked by obtaining 50 items) can be earned during Victory Laps.
Broken Shovel / Broken Shovel are still obtainable in a Victory Lap, but using Mom's Shovel on the dirt mound in the Dark Room will not unlock The Forgotten.
Stats obtained by Black Rune or Void will not be removed after starting a new lap.
Effects from trinkets absorbed by Gulp!, Marbles, or Smelter will not be removed after starting a new lap.
Enemies and bosses killed with Eraser will remain erased after starting a new lap.
R Key Resets the entire run, INCLUDING all completed Victory Laps! This means the lap counter will reset to 0, and shops will return.
- Additionally, if the difficulty had changed from Normal to Hard, or if the character had become The Lost, these changes will not be reverted.

Unlockable Achievements[]

Once More with Feeling! - Complete a Victory Lap, defeating The Lamb.

Butter! - Complete 2 Victory Laps and start a 3rd.

RERUN - Complete 3 Victory Laps and start a 4th.

Trivia[]

This mechanic is similar to Nuclear Throne's looping system, where defeating a certain boss loops back to the start of the game with a higher difficulty.
According to Edmund McMillen, the Victory Lap mechanic is only included in Dark Room, since it's the "Harder Chapter 6 path", therefore being set as a "reward" there.^[1]