1666 Amsterdam's prologue is taking a beating from Steam commenters. That just seems unfair.

I want to talk about the idea of a ‘Prologue’ versus a ‘demo.’ Let me start with a definition: per the Cambridge English dictionary, a prologue is “a part that comes at the beginning of a play, story, or long poem, often giving information about events that happened before the time when the play, story, or poem begins.” I’d like you to keep that in mind.

Panache Digital Games’ 1666: Amsterdam prologue debuted after Summer Game Fest to a somewhat mixed response. Created by Assassin’s Creed veteran Patrice Désilets, who reacquired rights to the IP from Ubisoft in 2016, the studio’s debut RPG appears to be a mix of traditional stealth mechanics, red-tinted magic-focused action, and, black cats, all wrapped up in a 1600s Dutch setting.

Its eerie witchy vibes, gothic aesthetic, and spell-slinging combat took many a breath away, with the shadow-dropped prologue adding yet more excitement to an already-hyped reveal. In the wake of the prologue’s launch, however, the Steam discussions are merciless; “this demo will damage more than help,” reads one comment, “boring,” says another. “There were no fights at all,” “zero combat.”

I’ve played 1666: Amsterdam’s prologue, and while it did only last for around 30 minutes (it was billed that way, I’ll add), it did a lot to get me excited. Its eerie Collector and her black cat; the Assassin’s Creed-esque flickers into both the past and present – it’s a unique concept, and the perfect teaser ahead of a grander reveal.

I was shocked, then, by the level of hate in the Steam discussion forums and the meager 58% Steam rating. While I also encountered some frame-rate drops, and agree that some of the dialog leaves a lot to be desired, the experience itself was genuinely fun. It was certainly more ‘walking simulator’ than high-octane, spell-slinging magical combat, but that was precisely what I had expected. Sure, it’s a videogame ‘demo,’ but the ‘prologue’ part told me from the outset that I was in for a more introductory experience than a heart-of-the-action scramble.

It got me thinking about the difference in expectations between myself and those in the forums. As I mentioned at the start of this article, the very definition of a prologue is that it “comes at the beginning;” it’s informational versus a full-blown exploration of the product. A demo, by contrast, is a tailor-made slice of gameplay that actively showcases a videogame. Sure, they largely come from the start of the game to avoid spoilers, just far enough in that you can experience some of the core systems, but not so deep that it’ll ruin things. While Steam categorizes them as one in the same, I wonder if it needs to refine its definitions.

As a prologue – a teaser of what’s to come – 1666: Amsterdam’s debut drop is perfect. It allowed me to learn more about the universe, introduced me to my trio of protagonists, and let me play as a cat (Stray walked so that this ‘lil feline could run). As a demo, I didn’t hate it, but can perhaps understand why some players expected a little bit more action. Even still: the game was revealed literally as the prologue dropped; having expectations is fine, but damning a new, double-A title based on 30 minutes of gameplay when we don’t even really know what the gameplay looks like is reductive at best, damaging at worst.

It perhaps ties into the general negativity that’s dragging games down at the moment. If your game doesn’t launch with a million players, it’s a dead game. I watched ‘critics’ start to attack 007 First Light as its player count began to fall on Steam: as a single-player title with a week or two-long shelf-life, that’s literally par for the course; high peaks and quick troughs are all part of a single-player game’s lifecycle.

1666: Amsterdam is suffering from the same thing. No combat equals bad game. Poor optimization on an early preview? Dead on arrival. There seems to be a fundamental lack of understanding about what the prologue was trying to achieve, and the unrealistic expectations of some players. While it’s always worth striving for perfection, achieving it is nigh impossible. This is a cool new videogame; something creatives have worked hard on, and had the guts to shadow-drop a gameplay experience with their reveal. Just cut them some slack. Gaming is good right now, especially on PC.

1666: Amsterdam’s prologue is not anywhere near as bad as the ‘mixed’ reviews claim. It’s a window into what’s to come; a mere glimpse of a magical, gothic world. Perhaps it’s time for Steam to differentiate between a prologue and a demo, or perhaps it’s time for the community to take a moment to breathe. We all love videogames; Summer Game Fest is a celebration of gaming; of the hobby we hold dear. Let’s keep it that way.