City of Brass: RUN RUN RUN SLASH WHIP SLASH WHIP RUN RUN SLASH WHIP WHIP SLASH annnnnd I’m dead. Start over!
City of Brass, from developer Uppercut Games, is about high replay value. Seriously, if you don’t like dying and starting over and over again then you might wanna look somewhere else. If you like a game that rewards fast movement, fast combat, and playing smart, then you might want to stick around and continue reading. City of Brass is a first-person rogue-lite with a fantastic Arabian theme. Currently, the game is in Early Access, which does mean that everything is subject to change, of course.
I spent a short while in City of Brass and I left with plenty of bruises. The basic gist is that a powerful ruler captured genies and wished for eternal life and riches. Yeah, you can see where this is going. After realizing that they had been cursed, the dead started to walk the city. Everything went to hell and all contact was lost with the City of Brass. You play one of the many stupid thieves who seek treasure at the heart of the city. Between you is an army of undead as well as all sorts of magical nightmares.
All you have is a trusty whip and a scimitar. This will be a cakewalk right? No, hell no. City of Brass is a brutal game, with traps, explosions, sand sprayers, poison and a dozens of other things trying to kill you. You only have about four hearts and I still haven’t discovered a way to recover health beyond having crazy amounts of gold. Which brings me to my first gripe, the clock. Every time you start a level there is a little timer on the top that when it runs out, spawns tougher enemies inside the level. The Dervish are little windstorms that just run after you and do damage, oh and they can’t be killed. At all.
Normally it’s no big deal as the clock gives you sufficient time to get to the end. However, if you plan on taking your time and trying to collect as much gold as possible or to explore the level then you’re in for a nasty surprise. Aside from the gold aspect, the reason this is a shame is because the overall design of City of Brass is fantastic. I would’ve liked to stop and enjoy the sights and sounds. From cool glowing genies, great architecture and dope enemy designs, City of Brass is extremely pleasing to the eye. Even if their is sand everywhere. This level of detail makes sense when you discover that Uppercut Games are ex-Irrational devs who helped bring Bioshock to life.
Combat is an elaborate dance between whipping and slashing. Your whip is, by far, the most versatile weapon you have and one you should become comfortable with if you plan on making it very far. Your whip has the ability to knock down foes, push/pull foes and to disarm. You will use the whip to lure enemies into traps, pull treasure/equipment to you and stun foes so you can defend yourself from overwhelming odds. It’s super satisfying to see the stunned looked on a skeleton’s face when you whip its weapon out of its hand.
Perhaps the game is too easy for you? Maybe you are saying to yourself, this game isn’t that hard and I need to stop whining. Then feel free to activate the multitude of Divine Burdens that make the game harder. Doubling enemy damage, heath or speed. City of Brass is a game that wants to challenge you, it wants you get to get better, and the only way to win is to adapt. You will die, you will rage, and you will play again and again.
Overall, I appreciate what City of Brass is cooking and I think it has plenty of room to grow. They have a great solid foundation for a game here. I loved discovering which upgrades did what and screaming when I saw a new enemy heading my way. It rewards the smart player and punishes the reckless. That being said, I do feel like there could be something done to make this a bit more friendly to a broader audience. The “one more time” mentality can only last so long before I get tired of dying and move along. Having to start over on an entire run because my foot clipped a spike trap is a bit much for me.
City of Brass plans to be Early Access for about six to twelve months. Who knows what awaits this intriguing title. I plan on finding out if I can manage to survive the countless death traps and get some sweet, sweet gold.
