City of Brass asks players to dig through a ruined desert city and find treasure while avoiding traps. That simple idea works most of the time, and it fails some of the time.
Trailer, via IGDBcom.
Digging Through the Ruins
The digging system is the game’s clearest strength. Players move through tunnels, collapse walls, and uncover hidden chambers. It gives the player a sense of discovery that few games manage, and it carries the whole experience for a while.
Treasure and Traps
City of Brass leans hard on treasure hunting to keep the digging interesting. Gold, gems, and ancient artifacts fill the tunnels, and finding them rewards careful exploration. The traps are less consistent. Some hazards are cleverly placed, forcing players to study the ground before moving forward. Others feel arbitrary, punishing a wrong step without warning.
Difficulty and Death
Death in City of Brass is quick and often harsh. Players lose items they have collected, and progress can slip away fast. This creates a constant tension between greed and caution. It also means that the game’s later stretches rely too heavily on repetition, since death forces players to walk back through rooms they have already cleared.
Length and Replay Value
City of Brass is not a long game. Its levels are short, and once the player learns the tricks of each area, there is little left to discover. The game offers a few side paths and secret rooms, but the main route moves quickly to its conclusion. There is no real replay value beyond searching for secrets missed the first time.
Platforms and Performance
City of Brass launched on PS4, PC, XONE, and Switch. Performance varies across those systems. The Switch version suffers from frame drops in busy tunnels, while the PC version runs smoother but still shows some rough edges in the presentation. None of the versions reach a polish that matches the ambition of the digging system itself.
| Platform | Performance |
|---|---|
| PS4 | Solid, steady |
| PC | Smoothest, best visuals |
| XONE | Similar to PS4 |
| Switch | Drops frames in busy areas |
Where It Falls Short
City of Brass is at its best when the digging feels fresh and the traps are fair. It loses momentum when the difficulty spikes without warning, and the short length leaves little room for recovery after a stumble. The game also lacks a strong narrative thread to hold the digging together beyond curiosity about what lies ahead.
Here is a rough breakdown of how the game’s pacing holds up across a typical session:
| Stage | Focus |
|---|---|
| Early levels | Introduction to digging mechanics |
| Mid levels | Increasing trap density |
| Late levels | Treasure-focused, shorter rooms |
| Final stretch | Quick conclusion |
The Verdict
City of Brass is a game worth playing for the digging alone. Its central mechanic is sharp, creative, and genuinely fun to master. The traps, treasure, and brief length keep it from greatness, but they do not spoil the core experience. Players who enjoy exploration over combat will find plenty to like here, even if the game does not fully justify its ambitions.
City of Brass scores 6.8 out of 10.
