City of Brass (v1.6.5)

A cursed Arabian Nights metropolis turns every corridor into a gamble between glittering treasure and a brutal, timer-driven death. City of Brass is a first-person roguelite built around the fantasy of being a quick-handed thief, raiding a labyrinth of palaces, bazaars, tombs, and trap-filled streets. Its mood mixes lavish gold-and-silk fantasy with a nasty arcade edge: enemies swarm, floors collapse, blades swing from walls, and hesitation is usually fatal. Reaching the city’s heart means surviving a sequence of increasingly dangerous procedurally assembled districts before time runs out.

Combat revolves around the satisfying partnership of a scimitar and whip. The sword handles close-quarters damage, while the whip can stun foes, disarm them, pull objects, trigger mechanisms from safety, and shove enemies into hazards. Movement is equally important, with sprinting, slides, jumps, crouching, and vaulting used to cross gaps or escape pressure plates, poison vents, arrow launchers, and spinning blades. Each run delivers different weapons, relics, merchants, secrets, and imprisoned genies, who trade powerful boons for valuables or grant high-impact wishes. Death sends players back to the start, but learning trap layouts, enemy behavior, and the many ways systems interact gives subsequent attempts real momentum; the Revenant character also offers a crossbow-focused alternative to the default melee style.

City of Brass stands out because its traps are not just obstacles but weapons waiting to be turned against pursuers. A whip crack can open a route, topple a threat, or trigger a lethal room-wide surprise, giving the action a more tactical feel than a straightforward first-person hack-and-slash. The procedural layout keeps runs unpredictable while preserving a clear sense of place, and its ornate Middle Eastern fantasy setting remains far less common than the usual medieval dungeon. Players who enjoy the repeat-run structure of Rogue Legacy or Dead Cells, but want it in a first-person action format with BioShock-like environmental improvisation, find plenty to like here.