Image credit: Eurogamer / Panache Digital

1666: Amsterdam, a game that's survived years of legal battles between Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Désilets and Ubisoft, has an early access release date. It'll be released 25th August for PC, on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

1666: Amsterdam was re-revealed to the world earlier this summer in an eye-catching trailer that showed a witch walking through the streets of old Amsterdam, fighting enemies with magic and her broomstick. I kid you not.

Amsterdam: 1666.Watch on YouTube

Developer Panache Digital released a playable prologue 1666: Amsterdam that same day, revealing a story of overlapping timelines and systems and ideas that I found a bit confusing. Nevertheless, I've seen much more of the game now and a clearer image of 1666: Amsterdam has come into view.

The early access release features about 10 hours of gameplay, Patrice Désilets told me recently, which is less than half of what Panache wants 1666: Amsterdam to offer in full. The early access timeframe seems fairly open-ended, though internally there's an end in sight, although I get the impression Panache is open to change should the community want it.

1666: Amsterdam casts you as the witch Noa in 1666, plus as a more regular civilian called Aaron in 1999, and as a descendent of Noa in the modern day. By way of magic, Aaron and Noa find themselves inextricably linked, with Aaron becoming Noa's cat familiar in 1666, and Noa becoming Aaron's cat familiar in 1999. The descendent of Noa then explores their tale from the present day.

Check out my still-warm 1666: Amsterdam preview for our latest look at the game - I found it to be a bit awkward but full of interesting ideas.

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