- 14 hours ago
This hands-on preview of 1666 Amsterdam reveals a game rich with atmosphere and innovative mechanics. Discover how its dance-like combat, dual narrative, and historical setting create a unique experience reminiscent of early Assassin's Creed titles.
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00:00I wield my broom with near-balletic grace in 1666 Amsterdam.
00:06Despite what you might know of its role in witchy pop culture,
00:09my bristled companion functions as protagonist Noah's melee weapon here
00:13instead of her vehicle of choice.
00:15I bring my broomstick down upon a knave's head with right trigger,
00:18knocking a chunk off his health bar,
00:20before hitting A to dodge out of the way of another attack on my left.
00:23There's no parry mechanic.
00:25Panache studio lead and Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Desolais
00:29wanted Noah's combat to feel like dancing, he says.
00:32As a parry diehard, I'm admittedly a little crestfallen,
00:35but as I rhythmically weave my way through foes,
00:38timing my own hits as well as smartly skirting blows to the head,
00:41Desolais' vision starts to make sense.
00:44There's something otherworldly about 1666 Amsterdam,
00:47familiar yet unique.
00:49Perhaps it's the text boxes that pop up as I enter dialogue,
00:52reminding me of the storybook quality of Claire Obscure Expedition 33.
00:56It could also be the twice-framed narrative,
00:58as a modern-day protagonist named Cleo reads through her late father's writings,
01:03learning about the strange connection between the nights of her conception in 1999
01:07and 15th century Dutch witch trials
01:09that reminds me of Desolais' early Assassin's Creed games.
01:13But 1666 Amsterdam's lusciously dark tone stands all on its own.
01:18If the brooding, medieval gothic drama saturating each pixel
01:22didn't have me fully invested in Panache Digital's fantasy already,
01:25its novel-level design, impressively executed facial animations,
01:29and cleverly-themed mechanics would have had me selling my own soul
01:33to play it in early access on August 25th.
01:37My Hands On picks up right where the free Steam demo leaves off.
01:41Noah has just chosen her Batarats, a feline familiar,
01:44and this one happens to be possessed by the disembodied spirit of a man called Aaron
01:48from 400 years in the future, whose last memory is of sleeping with his new wife
01:53in a swanky Amsterdam hotel, despite said wife having clearly set up their suite
01:58to look kind of definitely occultish.
02:00Noah barely has time to introduce herself,
02:02let alone explain the coven to Aaron before witch hunters attack.
02:06After the quick scuffle, I enchant one of the glittering canals dead ahead,
02:10and glide over its surface into the night.
02:12Emerging at a low-slung pier beneath a bridge,
02:15I spot a lively tavern up ahead.
02:17Flowing red robes give way to humble peasant garb as Noah,
02:20now appearing as a respectable bonnet-clad village maiden,
02:24with a black hat on her shoulder,
02:25swaps to her hidden form to scan the area for clues.
02:29With witch trials sweeping the Netherlands in 1666,
02:32Noah has to stay smart.
02:34Changing strategically between revealed and hidden forms
02:37is vital for passing through Amsterdam undetected.
02:40It serves a more obvious yet functionally similar purpose
02:42to donning or removing your hood in Assassin's Creed.
02:46Stay hidden to learn more from your surroundings
02:48and pass as one of the everymen.
02:49Let Noah's suspicion meter fill completely
02:51after being revealed in public,
02:53and you'll have witch hunters to fight off.
02:55Choosing your battles is key.
02:58Narrow cobbled streets, tightly packed houses,
03:00and a glittering tracery of canals
03:02means it's easier for Noah to anonymously go about her task as a collector,
03:06a witch tasked with reclaiming dark magic
03:08from devil-packed humans called Originals.
03:11Only able to channel her full power during a full moon,
03:14an esbat,
03:15Noah must prepare for these moments
03:16by tracking down each original's location,
03:19real name,
03:20and their signed diabolical deal with the devil.
03:22It's like getting ready for a witchy heist,
03:24or indeed a magical assassination.
03:26Whether fighting with a mighty broom or igniting torches,
03:30every spell Noah casts
03:31uses one of two forms of magical essence.
03:34Blood Red Luxe Essence is used to enchant elements in the game world,
03:38while murky black-and-white NUX essence is used in combat.
03:42Perform a quick-time event perfectly,
03:44and you're gonna get back your bullet,
03:46explains Desolet,
03:47comparing NUX in combat to a ranged weapon.
03:49It's even represented as sharp little bullets on the HUD,
03:53each charge replenished upon a successful QTE.
03:56Otherwise, you need to find a different source.
03:58That can be tricky.
04:00NUX as dark magic energy
04:01is much rarer to come across organically in the world.
04:04Meanwhile,
04:05LUX is everywhere.
04:07Life and death are intertwined in the world of 1666 Amsterdam,
04:11meaning every corpse I come across,
04:12whether human or animal,
04:14leaves its Luxe Essence behind.
04:16Luckily,
04:17Aaron can transmute Luxe into NUX,
04:19and vice versa,
04:20ready for Noah to absorb.
04:23It's not just the magical system
04:25that feels so attuned to the game's theme.
04:27Every detail is precise and intentional.
04:29The vibrant red of Noah's witchy get-up,
04:32paired with the dramatic veiled headdress,
04:34is in stark contrast to the more understated,
04:37but still gorgeous,
04:38villager disguise.
04:39Delicate lace hems the starched white collar and cuffs,
04:43brown leather straps crossing over her shoulders,
04:45the only indication of her witchy botanical herb and potions gathering
04:49as she moves through the city.
04:50A later stage of the game demonstrated for us by Desolet
04:53shows off Noah's private safe house,
04:56where she can recover from one street brawl too many,
04:58and mix her own health and shield potions using gathered reagents.
05:02Our open world is not about the city of Amsterdam per se,
05:05Desolet says.
05:06It's different districts in which every single house you see,
05:09you can go in.
05:10Some areas are off-limits,
05:12requiring Aaron's help to subdue NPCs.
05:14He can possess them with a quick swipe of his claws,
05:17meaning Noah can walk arm-in-arm with them into restricted zones.
05:20It looks like the game's answer to creed-like crowd blending
05:23and social stealth, and it's satisfyingly on theme.
05:26Another beautifully conceptualised factor of play I witness is its compelling roguelike
05:31systems for unlocking abilities.
05:33Ornate jewellery boxes, referred to as coffers,
05:36have been left for Noah across the city by her coven,
05:39each offering a choice between three abilities.
05:41Equipped abilities are represented by beautiful gems and ornaments you can physically see on Noah
05:47each time she reveals her arcane form,
05:49adding a striking layer of customisation that, at present, has no limit.
05:54The only catch is that if you die at any point during the SBAT,
05:57whether during the investigation stage or the boss fight at the end of it,
06:01you'll have to start that night over again, removing all your coffers.
06:05At this stage of development, if you don't die at all,
06:08it means you could become one very powerful and very jewelled witch by the end of things.
06:13But aiming to launch in early access,
06:14plenty may have been tweaked and balanced in the future.
06:17Hunting down an original for myself,
06:19asking tavern keepers and loose-lipped patrons,
06:22is an easy way to get hints as to their location.
06:25Luckily, Noah seems to have already identified roughly where this first original is hiding.
06:29He's been shut up in his house somewhere on this canal front,
06:32and tips from the locals suggest the adjacent house might be the spot.
06:36Tapping left bumper on my Xbox controller,
06:39I send Aaron the cat into the house to investigate through a cracked window,
06:42Just like finding points of interest with Noah,
06:45controlling Aaron requires me to hold down left trigger
06:47to look for white dots signalling an interactable item,
06:50or in Aaron's case, a surface he can leap to,
06:53as he finds doors to unlatch and let Noah inside.
06:56Aaron's feline agility means that 1666 Amsterdam
07:00does have a touch of Assassin's Creed rooftop-hopping verticality,
07:04something Patrice was inspired by when he first visited the city
07:07after leaving Ubisoft in 2013.
07:10She's a city witch because I'm personally a city dweller.
07:13That's it. I like cities.
07:15He chuckled during a post-preview Masterclass session,
07:18and that affinity shows in every inch of 1666 Amsterdam.
07:22There's even a coffer ability called travel
07:24that lets Noah herself soar out of windows and up onto rooftops,
07:28gazing down at the tangled streets without being detected.
07:31She can then gracefully leap and twirl back to the ground
07:34and swap back into a hidden form,
07:36earning a few gasps of surprise from a handful of nearby townies,
07:39but not unmasked for long enough to trigger a street brawl.
07:42Though, if that does happen,
07:44feeding a number of enemies builds up a terror gauge,
07:47making all remaining enemies flee your intimidating wrath.
07:50For now, though, I focus on battling the original in front of me.
07:53I'm warned that most originals won't go down without a fight.
07:56This one seems sympathetic to my cause.
07:59I've got his seal in my inventory,
08:01so all that's left to do is take him outside and let Noah do what a collector does best,
08:06a gruelling battle in shoes.
08:08Far simpler than the later stage ones depicted in the hands-off demonstration.
08:12Since I have no coffers to aid me,
08:14as the original's inner demon comes out to play,
08:17there's another attack pattern to learn.
08:19Noah dodges three strike combos and ranged projectiles,
08:23swooping in to deliver a few strong hits before pirouetting to safety.
08:26Target lock on is incredibly effective here,
08:29but holding a left trigger to cast spells can be confusing in the heat of battle
08:33without anything to slow my prey down while I focus.
08:36I'd only just reached a point where Aaron travels back to 1999
08:40to find his unconscious wife levitating in a gore-spattered bedroom,
08:45Noah appearing on his shoulder as his very own batterats,
08:48before the preview session came to a close.
08:50My hour and a bit with 1666 Amsterdam didn't feel long enough at all,
08:55but even this brief taste has me desperate to return to Panache's mystery world in all its gritty glory.
09:01Every rough edge feels like a battle scar,
09:03proof of the incredibly long road the game has taken to get to this point.
09:07I actually hope the developer doesn't smooth it out too much for that very reason.
09:11What a warrior without a few good nicks, after all.
09:15So, will you be picking up this witchy adventure when it enters early access later this month?
09:20Let us know, and stick with GamesRadar for the latest on the greatest games.