If you ever felt like playing the underlying framework of a BioShock game with the horror swapped out for something different, check out City of Brass on Nintendo Switch.
The game shares some of BioShock’s first-person mechanics, but with the promise of something new. It’s clear that City of Brass developer, Uppercut Games, includes a number of veteran BioShock team members.
High-Stakes Heists in the Desert
City of Brass is a first-person rogue-lite set in an Arabian Nights-inspired world. Players delve into a treasure hunt fantasy that has them infiltrate a cursed city to steal the various rewards inside. The city’s streets are always changing thanks to procedurally-generated levels.
Originally released on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, City of Brass is finally coming to the Switch. This version offers new features; more weapons, relics, enemy types, and three more playable characters that can be unlocked.
The roster features a vibrant-looking cast. Each character utilizes a different weapon and playstyle. Players can throw knives as the hooded Brigand; wield a spear as the Soldier; hack and slash with swords as either the Traveler or the Fool; or channel magic into their fists as the Hellion, a genie recently freed from his lamp and determined to escape the cursed city next.
According to Eurogamer and GamingBolt, City of Brass on the Switch will include all of the characters from previous versions, except for Revenant.
A Classic from the Adventurer’s Toolkit
A whip is also featured as a key weapon, adding an extra Indiana Jones-flavored touch of adventure to the game. Players can also utilize the whip outside of combat for navigating the city. Swing across gaps, grab hard-to-reach objects, trigger traps, etc. In combat, use the whip in a variety of inventive ways, such as tripping up enemies or disarming them.
The whip even has strong ties to Uppercut Games’ BioShock background. In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, City of Brass team lead Ed Orman talked about drawing inspiration from BioShock’s potential for combinative battle situations.
“So we decided early on that we would focus on systems that supported ‘combinative gameplay’—allowing players to combine their tools to do fun, different things,” Orman said. “The whip gets us a long way towards that goal.”
Orman then explained a few examples, such as using the whip to stun an opponent before using another weapon to defeat them, or just shoving them into an environmental trap.
An Evolving Metropolis
City of Brass has an interesting system for adjusting levels of difficulty called Blessings & Burdens. “Blessings” make the game simpler and are available from the beginning. Players can unlock “Burdens” to increase difficulty during gameplay.
Blessings & Burdens, the full roster of characters, and other features like a new Catacombs environment, a system for saving game progress, and new achievements have all been added to City of Brass since its initial release. Proof of the dedicated support from Uppercut Games.
That dedicated support has led to a new Switch release, and players with the Nintendo console can start plundering City of Brass now.
