1666: Amsterdam has the witches, demons, time travel, and wonderfully strange ideas needed to become something memorable, but this Early Access build is far too rough to recommend, especially on a ROG Xbox Ally X
This is not really a full review of 1666: Amsterdam. The game has only just entered Early Access, and what is available now is the first part of a much larger story. Think of this as an assessment of the game as it exists today, after I spent around seven hours fighting with some truly atrocious performance on the ROG Xbox Ally X.
The frustrating part is that I like it. There is something special underneath all the technical problems. Witches, rituals, time travel, demons hiding behind human faces, and several connected stories set across different eras of Amsterdam make for an immediately fascinating setup. Coming from Panache Digital Games and Patrice Désilets, one of the creators behind Assassin's Creed, this kind of historical mystery mixed with supernatural nonsense feels completely on brand. I am very much into it.
The story moves between 1666, 1999, and the present day, letting you control different characters as its mystery comes together. It is confusing when the game starts introducing names, relationships, rituals, and time periods in quick succession. Still, it is the good kind of confusion, the kind that made me want to understand how these people are connected.
The main attraction is Noa, a red witch known as the Collector. She roams old Amsterdam investigating occult activity and hunting Originals, powerful demonic beings hiding behind human faces. Noa looks fantastic, and the city has a wonderfully oppressive atmosphere. Narrow streets, canals, suspicious citizens, black cats, and supernatural symbols give the place an identity that is difficult to shake. Even on Low settings, I often stopped to appreciate the view.
Actually figuring out what to do in that city is less elegant. A large part of the game involves investigating, eavesdropping, gathering clues, identifying an Original, and finding a way inside a building. Noa can focus on people and objects to reveal useful information, but the game does a poor job of teaching how important that ability is. One mission asked me to locate the House of Balance on a particular street. I did not realize I could focus on building facades and identify the correct symbol, so I tried to sneak into almost every house instead.
That accidental detour was not entirely wasted. I stole everything that was not nailed down, found Coffers containing abilities, and learned more about the game's infiltration. Noa can use her cat companion to reach places she cannot. As the cat which is also the dude from the 90's and the dad of the present day girl you also control (yeah, weird stuff, I love it!), you can slip through windows, climb across balconies, steal keys, and unlatch doors from the other side. It is a clever idea that turns each building into a small environmental puzzle.
Sneaking is not always clean. People become suspicious if they spot Noa where she should not be, and raising the alarm brings guards down on you. That is when the game shifts into combat. Noa has a basic attack that can be chained into a short combo and a dodge for avoiding incoming hits. Bonking humans and demons over the head with her staff is simple but serviceable. It works, although the limited moveset and rough enemy behavior keep it from feeling particularly satisfying right now.
The more interesting layer comes from the Coffers and their roguelike-style upgrades. These grant somewhat random abilities that can strengthen attacks, unlock charged moves, add power-ups, or improve traversal. The randomness is an odd fit for a story-heavy action game, but it gives each discovery some excitement.
Traversal has its own strange ideas. Noa can enchant the water and float above the canals, turning Amsterdam's defining feature into a supernatural route through the city. Flying across the water as a red witch while a black cat follows is exactly the sort of image that makes this game stand out. Many of its systems feel as if they came from completely different games, yet that unpredictability is also part of the appeal.
Unfortunately, the current tutorialization makes those systems harder to appreciate than they should be. Too much is explained through text boxes instead of letting the player perform an action and learn it naturally. Even then, some control icons appeared as broken asset text rather than actual button prompts. Important mechanics are easy to miss, so I often felt as though I stumbled into understanding the game instead of being properly taught how it works.
There are plenty of Early Access problems too. I had a mission refuse to progress, encountered guards that appeared to keep spawning, and watched Noa phase through civilians. The audio glitched constantly, which was far more damaging to the atmosphere than a funny collision problem.
Performance on the ROG Xbox Ally X is the deal-breaker. With every setting on Low and FSR set to Performance, I was getting around 20fps while roaming Amsterdam. Combat became a pain. Traversal became a pain. Simply turning the camera and moving through a busy street felt bad. A game built around dodging attacks, scanning the environment, sneaking through crowds, and flying over canals needs to feel responsive, and this version absolutely does not on the handheld.
I endured it for seven hours because I wanted to see more. That says a lot about the premise and mystery, but it does not make the performance acceptable. A proper gaming rig is the only sensible way to play right now. I would not try it on another handheld until substantial optimization work has been done.
I also cannot recommend buying it yet unless you specifically enjoy following unfinished games and giving developers feedback. This first chapter has real promise, but the poor onboarding, basic combat, progression bugs, audio issues, and miserable handheld performance make waiting the smarter choice. Early Access explains why the game is unfinished. It does not make those problems disappear while you are trying to play it.
Still, I cannot dismiss 1666: Amsterdam. Its supernatural version of the city looks great even on Low settings, Noa is a striking lead, the cat infiltration is smart, and the time-spanning story has me genuinely curious. Panache has a lot to fix, but the foundation could eventually support something fantastic. I cannot wait to see how it progresses, and I would love to revisit a polished version one day on PS5. For now, though, this witch needs much more time to work her magic. Thanks for reading!
The game was previewed on PC via a ROG Xbox Ally X using a promo copy provided by PR. 1666: Amsterdam is available in Early Access on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.
