1666: Amsterdam is finally in Early Access: between praise for the writing and criticism for the gameplay.

p>In our previous news, we told you that 1666: Amsterdam, the project by Patrice Desilets born way back in 2010, would open Early Access on August 25th.The deadline has been met: the game is now available on Steam and the Epic Games Store, sixteen years after its first conception in Montreal.

Desilets, the father of Assassin's Creed, told wccftech about a journey full of obstacles, starting when he left Ubisoft after Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood to found THQ Montreal.The project—at the time a historical action-adventure set in 17th-century Amsterdam—survived the closure of the studio, two decades of troubled development, and a demo debut at the last Summer Game Fest, already marked by frequent crashes.

First impressions of Early Access are bittersweet.CGMagazine talks about a writing that mesmerizes - the protagonist Noa, the Collector, hunts demons called Originals hidden behind human faces - but the gameplay remains the weak point: "it feels bad when you're in control," writes the review, and PC Gamer confirms that there's still a lot to polish before recommending the $30 asking price.

Those who play on consoles will have to wait further: a Switch 2 version is in the plans of Panache Digital Games, but only after the 1.0 release, not during this PC-only Early Access phase.We at apocanow will continue to follow the updates - with a project that has been in the works for sixteen years, a little more patience for the gameplay doesn't seem too much to ask.