This strange historical fantasy comes from Patrice Désilets, the lead creator of Assassin’s Creed, and its concept is a dark third-person, story-led game about witches, cats, time, Amsterdam, and the mysterious year 1666. Uncovering and fighting demonic entities while making investigations, seems to be its core identity.
According to Stephen Totilo, 1666: Amsterdam was originally going to be an Xbox-published project before Microsoft pulled funding. And looking at the current reaction to the game’s prologue, it is not hard to understand why Xbox may have hesitated.
Désilets has spent years trying to bring 1666: Amsterdam into the spotlight. His return to a historical action-adventure project with supernatural elements was something to be excited for. The setting alone gives the game personality, and the idea of exploring different time periods, solving mysteries, and discovering old-world paranoia could become something very memorable if the studio Panache manages to turn it into a strong gameplay experience.
The problem is that promise alone is not enough.
The prologue currently available on Steam seems to have left many players cold, sitting at 49% positive reviews. A lot of the criticism is not about the idea itself, but about what players actually got to play. Some reactions describe it as slow, awkward, and too close to a walking simulator, with very little of the combat, tracking, investigation, or fantasy action that the trailers suggest might define the full game.
Having divided first impressions is dangerous for a game like this. If the first public slice of the game mostly leaves players asking where the gameplay is, then skepticism becomes understandable.
Image Source: Panache Digital Games
Microsoft has been cutting projects, reassessing spending, and moving through a difficult period for its gaming division. In that kind of environment, an experimental third-party publishing project from a smaller independent studio becomes harder to protect. 1666: Amsterdam may be creative, but it also looks risky. It has a long and complicated development history, a niche concept, uncertain commercial appeal, and now a public prologue with mixed player sentiment. For a company trying to reduce costs and focus on safer bets, that combination may have been enough.
But could Microsoft be wrong about skipping this?
Sometimes the most interesting games look strange before they fully come together. Have a look at Death Stranding. When it was first revealed, saying it was a strange game was an understatement, but it came together wonderfully. Surely, it had the mastermind Kojima behind it, but a similar situation may be happening here. 1666: Amsterdam could still become something special once its full gameplay loop appears. The Steam page itself makes it clear that the prologue is only an introduction, while the investigation, tracking, and confrontation systems are meant to begin in the full game.
It has a great vision, but it still needs to prove it has strong gameplay. It has a famous creator, but that does not guarantee a great game. It has a fascinating world, but player sentiment suggests it did not convince everyone that the final product will deliver.