Developer: Uppercut Games Pty Ltd
Publisher: Uppercut Games Pty Ltd
RRP: £15.49 (Steam) and £15.99 (Epic)
Released: 4th May 2018
Available on: Steam and Epic
Played Using: Mouse and Keyboard
Approximate game length: 15 hours
Roguelites tend to be rather hit and miss for me, usually its a lack features or the developers including a frustrating obfuscation that causes it to be a miss for me. I’m going to get called out on this but… its that obfuscation that makes me dislike The Binding of Issac. If I’ve picked up an item I want to know exactly what it does, not have to guess at it. That’s one of the things I like about this game, the first time you pick up an item or drink a potion you have no clue what it does, however once used you can look in your journal to see the details.
City of Brass is a First Person Roguelite that has spawned from some of the minds that were behind Bioshock. The story is nothing overly special but then you don’t really need much of one for a roguelite, essentially you’re trying to get into the city steal as many treasures as you can and get out. Of course there is the tiny issue that anyone who goes in gets locked in unless they defeat the genies that are bound to the city.
At the beginning of the game you start with a sword and whip (at least with the default starting characters). I wasn’t expecting much from the whip but it turns out its actually quite useful, it can be used to stun enemies, grab treasures from a distance and hook onto rings to propel yourself forward. Throughout the levels there are genies that act like shops where you can purchase items and charms with the gold you have accrued through your playthrough.
Each level is absolutely littered with traps and enemies, while the traps are a major inconvenience they can also be a saving grace as you can lure enemies into them. So far that doesn’t sound too difficult, just take it slow and steady and you have little to fear, right? You would be right there if it weren’t for the small matter of each level having a timer. You can disable the timer and even make it so that you do a lot more damage to your enemies (among other things) but it will mean that your playthrough might not appear on the leaderboard, if you care about that.
The more you play the more experience you gain, of course this is only given to you once you die. Eventually all that XP buildings up and increases your Rank. Ranking up unlocks new features such as other characters to play as.
One of the interesting things about this game is that you also start with three wishes, you can use these wishes to enhance the shop genies stock, turn off certain hazards or fast travel to later parts of the game (which unlocks after defeating the boss of each area).
I have to say I rather like this game, admittedly I probably wouldn’t pay the RRP for it (I got it for free when Epic Games were giving it away), but I have to say its definitely a fun time.
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
Dead Cells
Risk of Rain 2
Children of Morta
