News City of Brass PS4 review – Is it too hard?

JonathanVan

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City of Brass is a game where you must learn from your self-education, your self-worth, and your death – all in that order.

Can you make it to the end?

ABOUT THE GAME​

City of Brass is first-person, but the battle involves a sword and a whip.

Moreover, the situation is based on the criminally used Arab nights.

This fresh approach helps keep it interesting longer than it would be for the most clichéd routes.

While nice to look at, there’s something missing from the main gameplay cycle that’s important to roguelikes.

HOW TO PLAY CITY OF BRASS?​

THE ONLY PROBLEMS YOU FACE ARE IN DEFEATING THE MONSTERS AND AVOIDING THE TRAPS​

The short story of City of Brass features you as a thief who enters the same legendary city to steal the treasure at its heart.

It’s a regal-looking place that’s instantly familiar to the style of anyone who grew up watching Disney’s Aladdin and Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia.

Well, despite the fact that it’s a cursed city full of traps and monsters that change and move every time you fail.

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City of Brass PS4 review
Yes, the old procedural generation post was managed by City of Brass, and it turned out that the support was too much.

As with much in this game, the changing city environment is a pleasant distraction.

Still being rude to your targets, the only problem you face is defeating monsters and avoiding traps along the way.

YOU CAN MASTER IT TO SOME DEGREE WITH A LITTLE TIME INVESTMENT​

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City of Brass PS4 review
Games with decent levels have at least one moment where everything clicks to show you the full potential available, and City of Brass is no exception.

The time comes once you understand the rules and controls of the game.

Stop starting slow skirmishes from time to time and desperate for a hook or platform to launch yourself past the enemy?

It melts and everything is beautifully arranged as you glide effortlessly across the map, dispatching foes with all the skill and grace of a ballet warrior.

Your whip draws your enemies to you, and you sweat and weave as you slash at them with your sword.

It’s hard to balance right from the start, as its reliance on precision doesn’t make it a good match for the controller, and collision detection has a disappointing hiccup.

However, with a little investment of time, you can get the hang of it to some extent, and as we mentioned earlier, when it works, it’s quite satisfying.

Problems usually arise when this quick and smooth step is left behind.

You see too much of what isn’t there.

ARABIAN NIGHTS AESTHETIC IN CITY OF BRASS​

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City of Brass PS4 review
Take the level design. Visually beautiful. Lively and cute without getting too deep into the animation.

There is warmth in the aesthetics of Arabian nights.


Technically, relying on procedural generation games is detrimental to the art style.

The random nature of procedural generation means that each region is affected and left out during execution.

Yes, sometimes you get lucky in the draw and get a good area, but that’s not enough. Personality is sucked out of the City of Brass when the level design offers something that negates the fluency needed to sing the game.

A team that has limited leeway in designing cities (4 slightly different styles in 12 level areas) and the clear caveat is that battles and transitions should address this issue.

Which, as you may have guessed, is not always the case. Battles with bosses are a special problem.

They didn’t require any real tactical thinking, they were just a little tougher than ordinary foes.

Each of them is more of a reprieve than an exciting one-off encounter.

CITY OF BRASS WEAPONS AND PLAYSTYLES​

What makes regular fights interesting is that they can be handled in many ways.

You will usually be overwhelmed by enemies and use environmental traps and escape routes to be the key to your survival and enjoyment.

Holding the bad guys in place before the explosive traps are triggered is incredibly satisfying. Strength is second to speed in City of Brass.

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City of Brass weapons and playstyles
It’s best at using the same response as a fast-paced first-person shooter. Of course it also suffers.

When you are forced to run slower scenarios, the complex nature of the controls becomes an inelegant disappointment.

Being beaten to death for a sword swing was hard to judge, quite hard to accept, but when it happened at a slower time, it was extremely disappointing.

Situations that throw some of these problems down their collective ass, at least in the short term, are options for big trouble.

City of Brass may be a tough mistress, but Uppercut has provided plenty of customization options for all playstyles and time constraints without taking away the main challenge altogether.

Also, to help you out, there is an in-game upgrade system that you can use to unlock more powerful weapons or more health.

In addition, there are short-term fixes such as disabling traps, partner spiritual cooperation and so on.

CLOSING THOUGHTS​

City of Brass showed their hand early on in tricks and underutilized surroundings. Unfortunately this reveals the game’s flaws as a long term investment over time.

A typical successful run lasts no more than a few hours, and by the time you’ve completed two runs, there’s almost nothing left to see.

It lacks the dazzling gameplay hooks that encourage repeat play, and that’s tantamount to dying for roguelike opportunities.

That doesn’t mean it makes sense to invest your time in it.

It’s unique enough that it’s worth experiencing, but not the ultimate purchase you’ll want to make.

We want to hear your unique perspective on City of Brass PS4 – Please leave a comment below!

 

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