1666: Amsterdam is a third-person action-adventure game that features a dark fantasy aesthetic, with players taking on some horrifying enemies as they make their way through the world. Its plot revolves around entities known as the “Originals” having lived among the people of Amsterdam for several centuries, having accrued power and freedom over time.

Players take on the role of Noa Brooklyn – a Collector, raised by the Zaindaris for a single purpose – to drive back the malevolent forces that are doing the bidding of the Originals.

If that story setup sounds enticing to you, Panache Digital Games has also released a free playable prologue on PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. The studio has noted that the narrative teaser tells its own story while also introducing players to the game’s world, its characters, and the core mystery that forms the foundation of the plot in 1666: Amsterdam. It is expected to take players roughly 30 minutes to finish.

“It’s been a long time coming, and I couldn’t be prouder of our team of nearly 70 talented developers in Montreal,” said creative director Patrice Désilets. “For the past six years, we’ve focused on one thing above all else: the game itself. No fake footage, no vertical slices, just a playable experience evolving build after build, day after day.”

“Today, we’re finally ready to invite players into that process. The free prologue available now on Steam and Epic Games Store is only a small taste of what’s to come, an amuse-bouche before a nine-course dinner, an introduction to the world, its characters, and its different time periods. We hope players will enjoy discovering it as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it. Merci and Panache Coliss!”

As for the full game, Panache Digital Games has confirmed that 1666: Amsterdam will be coming to PC as an Early Access title this year. Console versions are also planned, albeit for a later date.

Windrose began life as a free-to-play MMO title called Crosswind. The studio eventually made the choice to pivot away from the original plan and Windrose is the result. This is also the team’s first title, so hopefully the game’s ambitious goals will be met and we will get to see what else Kraken Express has to offer in the future.

Fundamentally, Windrose is a survival game above all else. The survival mechanics come first and the pirate escapades come second, not the other way around. This is something players should be prepared for, as it could be off-putting to those coming in looking for a pirate simulator. That isn’t to say that there aren’t pirate-centric game mechanics present, just that they are not the crux of the gameplay loop.

Performance-wise, Windrose left quite a lot to be desired. I was running the game on a pretty high-end rig and I experienced fairly frequent stuttering and frame rate issues. As previously mentioned, these are the sort of issues Kraken Express needs to iron out during Early Access as development on the game continues, but at the time of writing it is not the smoothest gameplay experience. Loading times also felt pretty long, even when utilising an SSD.

The opening hour of Windrose is unfortunately one of the worst first impressions that a game has left on me for a while. After creating your own pirate in a pretty basic character creator, you then load into a very brief opening sequence where immersion-breaking text is displayed onscreen to tell you that Blackbeard is apparently attacking your ship.

After fighting through a couple of basic enemies and making your way up to the top deck, you are abruptly met with a janky 2D comic book style cutscene that has no voice acting or professional presentation to it. Frankly it reminded me of a dated digital-only title from the mid to late 2000s. The whole sequence feels extremely unfinished and rushed out the door.

Some more text then appears onscreen to describe a sequence of events that would probably have been pretty cool to see play out; Blackbeard taking your ship and stranding you on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean. This is when the game properly starts and you are essentially left to your own devices from this point on, with just a quest log and a mini map to keep you company.

For the next few hours, Windrose is strictly a survival game, heavily focused on keeping your character fed while crafting a base as well as weapons and clothing. In rare moments, some voice acting can be heard as you re-assemble your crew, but don’t expect anything overly cinematic or in-depth. This is also when you’ll get more to grips with the game’s combat.

The combat in Windrose is not especially good, but it is serviceable by survival-game standards. Survival games traditionally don’t put too much focus into combat, so I guess what is here is perfectly serviceable by comparison. However, judged as third-person action combat in 2026, it feels pretty lacklustre. Along with the narrative elements, hopefully combat is something that can be improved with future updates to the game.

After a bit of time, you are given a small sailboat that allows you to leave the starting island and explore. A few more hours of grinding and you will eventually have fully re-assembled your crew and acquired a proper ship that you can set sail in. The sailing mechanics in the game are very basic, with a handful of forward speeds and one reverse speed. The wind doesn’t affect the speed of the ship, so it really is just a case of pointing the boat in the direction you want to go and waiting patiently until you arrive.

Ship combat in Windrose is also pretty rudimentary, but it is at least a lot more fun than the sword-fighting melee combat. There isn’t much more to it than pointing your ship’s cannons at the opposite ship after lining up the enemy and then firing until the other ship’s health drops enough to allow you to board.

Boarding an enemy ship is more fun here than in something like Skull and Bones, (although that is admittedly a low bar,) however there is unfortunately no actual animation to show the player swinging across to the other ship. Instead, the player just sort of teleports onboard whereupon you are required to kill off the enemy crew along with your invincible crewmates.

The graphics in Windrose are impressive, this is a very pretty game to look at; especially when you consider that it came from such a small, inexperienced team of developers. The character models may not be the most realistic, but they do carry a distinct art style which is cool, and the vast environment is stunning to behold, from the clear blue seas, to the lush leaves of the island jungle, and the golden sands of its shoreline.

Almost every aspect of Windrose feels like it could be improved with more development time, and feels unfinished in its current state. The bones of something interesting do exist here, but the narrative, the sword combat, the ship boarding, and several other elements all feel as though they could have done with significantly more time in the oven.

The experience is far closer to something like Valheim rather than Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag and players should be aware of that going in to quell any disappointment based on preconceived notions. This is not a title from a AAA developer and that is abundantly clear from the outset. Still though, what Kraken Express has managed to achieve here is an ambitious and promising foundation that can be built upon to create something great.

Although what is here currently is far from a complete package, Windrose is still worth checking out if you are a fan of survival games, enjoy pirate-themed titles, and aren’t too bothered about experiencing an in-depth, detailed narrative. Given a bit of time and dedication, this could really be something special and is definitely a title to watch in the future.

There is some fun to be had here within the gameplay loop, as long as you don’t mind dealing with the grind that comes with the game’s survival elements, which are really its bread and butter. It would be an exaggeration to say that the pirate stuff feels like an afterthought, but it certainly feels more like the icing on the survival game cake underneath.

Overall, if you can stick with it through its off-putting opening hour, Windrose just about does enough to justify its current launch-discount price. That is, as long as you are a patient person willing to put up with a few growing pains in order to experience something more polished down the line. It may be a little rough around the edges currently, but it lays a strong blueprint for what could one day become a genuinely strong pirate-survival game.

This game was reviewed on PC.

“We have just plundered another milestone – 1,000,000 copies, and ‘we’ means ‘you’ – a crew of fine, brave captains sailing the seas of Windrose,” announced the studio. “Moreover, today Windrose has assembled over 200,000 concurrent players!”

“Your support for the game is absolutely astonishing, and your patience while we are working on fixes is truly heart-warming,” continues the message. “While we keep working on the game, we read your reviews and comments, watch your videos and streams, and sometimes, honestly, shed a pirate-y tear of happiness, because now that the game is out, you share our dream of swashbuckling adventure. And there are boars, too, we know, but whatever does not send you flying into the nearest tree, makes you stronger, right?”

Windrose is currently available on PC, and Kraken Express has been quite honest about its Early Access ambitions, confirming that it plans to work on the game for between 1.5 and 2.5 years before releasing the 1.0 update. Ultimately, once everything is done, the studio has said that Windrose will feature around 50 percent more content in 1.0 than it does in its current state, which means more biomes, bosses, enemies, ships, and loot, among other things. The game’s narrative will also be continued through regular updates, before eventually “unfolding into an epic adventure with a satisfying finale.” In its current Early Access form, Windrose‘s story is noted as taking around 50 to 70 hours to complete, depending on playstyle.

The title makes use of an alternative version of the Age of Piracy as its setting, with its core gameplay loop revolving around the “build, craft, survive” formula. Along with this, it also boasts of intense combat, as well as exploration split between land and sea. Its world is procedurally generated with different biomes, while also featuring hand-crafted dungeons and quests.

In Windrose, players take on the role of a captain who has set out to challenge Blackbeard. While things start off relatively grounded, telling the story of survival and revenge, it slowly starts getting more intense, with players getting pulled into larger overarching narratives about conflicts between empires, pirate clans, and mysterious dark powers.

Along with land-based action combat, Windrose also includes naval battles where players will have to make split-second decisions about various aspects, such as whether to return cannon fire or manoeuvre closer for boarding actions. Players will also get to build their own base of operations, which can range from simple shelters to elaborate mansions, and even massive forts. NPCs can then be recruited to help grow the settlement out.

Windrose features solo play as well as online co-operative modes to play with friends, with support for up to 8 players on both self-hosted servers, as well as dedicated servers.

Headlining the update are six new cars – the Audi R8 LMS GT4 Evo, the Ferrari 296 GT3, the Ferrari GTO, the Ford Mustang GT3, the Lamborghini Countach, and the Porsche 911 GT3 R rennsport. The new circuit will bring in some more racing variety thanks to its bumpy surface, long braking zones, and technical flow, which the studio has said makes it “a natural match for the new GT-focused additions.”

When it comes to core gameplay improvements, the update brings in enhancements to the suspension modelling, including multilink and strut systems, coilover direction, roll and pitch center calculations, bumpstop behavior, and damper work. Multiplayer races will also see more stable collision detection thanks to updated netcode timing and prediction logic. Audio has seen improvements to reverb, especially in enclosed areas and underpasses, with selected cars benefiting from remade or refined sound sets and advanced multichannel management.

Assetto Corsa EVO now also has official support for MoTeC telemetry, which gives players more options for analysing their in-game driving capabilities thanks to in-depth data.

The update has also brought along some quality-of-life changes, including a reworked controls setting page that has been organized by input type and a revised car selection screen. There are now self-hosted game servers thanks to refinements made to the game’s netcode. Kunos has noted that it is taking “a layered approach designed to balance competition, freedom, and accessibility.” Dedicated servers can be hosted thanks to a brand new executable available through Steam Tools.

“This final addition completes a cohesive multiplayer framework built to support different player profiles, delivering an increasingly precise and tailored online experience for competitive racing, organized communities, and casual sessions with friends,” explained the studio.

The studio has also promised future refinements for the game across AI behavior, CPU performance optimizations, pit stops, penalties, weather systems, track limits, tires, aero, setups, rendering, replay, and customization.

Kunos Simulazioni has continued to provide extensive post-launch support for Assetto Corsa EVO since its Early Access launch on PC in January 2025. Since then, there have been many updates for the game that have expanded on its roster of cars while also bringing in other refinements. Looking to the future, Kunos has said that it will be bringing in the Eifel Free Roam mode later this year. The mode was announced with a teaser showing off how players can race around the track before the camera zooms out to showcase a massive complex. The teaser also featured other notable areas in Nürburgring, along with NPCs living their lives.

The trailer makes it very clear that Wreckfest 2 is far from complete at this stage. The studio has stated that there will be a lot of learning and bug fixing going on as players spend more and more time with the game. Alongside that, the studio has also revealed some of the new technology the game is using, including physics for vehicle suspension, deformation and driver interaction.

As the trailer puts it, Wreckfest 2 currently has its first few tracks and cars, and the studio is entrusting players to help it find all of the possible issues with the game before it’s properly released. The studio is also looking for feedback from players for potential new features that could come to the game down the line.

“We need your support and feedback to make this the best wrecking experience it can be,” wrote the studio on Wreckfest 2‘s description on Steam. “Wreckfest 1 was also in Early Access and became a big success thanks to the feedback and dedication of our community, so we want to do this again!”

While no concrete release date for a 1.0 release of Wreckfest 2 has been given, the studio believes that the Early Access period will go on for at minimum 12 months, depending on the community feedback it gets from players.

As for what content is already in the game, Wreckfest 2 includes racing and derby game modes for both single-player as well as online multiplayer. There is also a sandbox map where players can mess around with the game’s physics and the “destructive capabilities” of the new technologies that the game is using.

In totality, there are 3 distinct maps, each with multiple tracks. The Scrapyard map has a Circuit course with intersections and a Crazy course with oncoming traffic. The Speedway map has a Figure 8 Circuit, and a Speedway Oval Circuit. The Derby Arena has the Sandpit map, which is a remade version of the same map from the original Wreckfest, along with the Circuit long route and its reverse variant.

Players can drive through these maps and tracks in four different cars: 2 ’60s and ’70s American muscle cars, one ’80s EU compact banger car, and one ’90s US intermediate banger car. There are also some basic customisation options, including paint customisation for vehicles, a garage to edit and save car designs, a replay mode and a photo mode.

While its Early Access release is currently limited to PC, the studio revealed when it first announced Wreckfest 2 that it would also be making its way on to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Check out the trailer used to originally announce the game all the way back in August 2024, where the game’s new overhauled physics engine was first shown off.

Right when you start playing, the first thing you’ll notice is that Dragonkin: The Banished places quite a bit of emphasis on its world and story. The prologue chapter kicks things off by letting you play through an important point of the game’s fictional history, when several heroes banded together to help human armies take on the corrupting influences of an evil dragon. This prologue also serves as an interesting take on the tutorial formula, allowing players to play as multiple distinct heroes that you will then play for the rest of the game.

"Dragonkin: The Banished places quite a bit of emphasis on its world and story."

It’s important to note just how great of an idea it is to let the player experience the various heroes before you have to make the decision to pick one for the rest of the game. You get to experience multiple heroes: the Knight, the Barbarian, and the Ranger at the height of their power. You get to use their most powerful abilities as you take down hordes of the dragon’s underlings. Sure, it’s not a lengthy prologue, clocking in at around thirty minutes, but it gives you just enough information to let you make an informed decision so that you don’t end up regretting your choice two dozen hours later.

Dragonkin: The Banished makes one hell of a first impression thanks to the scale of the epic story being told. There are no punches pulled when you’re thrown against massive hordes of demons and dragonkins to take on. Starting things off in the shoes of the Knight, you get to feel immensely powerful. The prologue’s zones are also visually impressive, with plenty of debris flying all over the place and enemy corpses ragdolling away as you run through them with your shield raised.

On finishing the prologue, however, things slow down to an absolute crawl. After picking out your hero, you’re going to be spending the next several hours taking on small scale villains like bandits before you get to fight more intimidating enemies and bosses. There is also a surprising amount of time spent in mundane activities where you’re just running around and talking to various NPCs without any combat to break up the flow. While I’m not against the idea of trying to tell a story in an otherwise action-heavy genre like the RPG, things do start getting monotonous until you’re given your first real mission.

The core gameplay in Dragonkin: The Banished is a standard affair; movement is handled by left-clicking where you want to go, and can have five different abilities that can be used for a range of things, from shooting lightning bolts to teleporting around, and even getting defensive buffs. There is also an option for an alternate control scheme, where every aspect of your character aside from aiming abilities is handled by the WASD cluster of keys. The minute-to-minute gameplay where you’re just going on a rampage, slaughtering enemies by the dozens, is definitely quite fun.

"However, the Ancestral Grid does take a fair bit of time to actually start being fun."

There is also a great amount of customization allowed through the game’s Ancestral Grid system, which is also one of the core methods of progression in the game. Skills aren’t innate to your character, and are instead obtained through finding specific hexes, which can then be equipped into the Ancestral Grid. Skill hexes are available in different shapes and sizes, taking up varying amounts of space on the grid, and you are encouraged to mix and match various skills to find your ideal way to kill enemies.

Skill hexes come in two varieties: active skills, which are what you use to attack your enemies, and passive skills, which can buff up nearby active skills on the grid in interesting ways. For example, if Chain Lightning is an example of an active skill, a passive skill could improve its damage, reduce its costs, or even increase its area of effect. While it’s possible to find individual hexes for these skills, you will also eventually start finding combination hexes that can take up two, three, or even six spots on the grid. And while these combinations are always fun to find and try out, mixing and matching your own sets of actives and passives tends to be a lot more interesting and fun.

However, the Ancestral Grid does take a fair bit of time to actually start being fun. You don’t have access to the whole grid when you start out, and more parts of it open up as you level up. While this is fine in the long run, it definitely causes more frustration with the whole system in the earlier parts of the game since you don’t really have the room to equip the hexes you get early on. Considering the nature of the game, this isn’t too much of a problem; you can simply level up far enough to stop feeling those unnecessary early constraints.

"All things considered, Dragonkin: The Banished’s early access feels like a great first step."

Another unique aspect of Dragonkin: The Banished is that, along with your character’s abilities and gear, you also get to level up a city. Dubbed Montescail, the city has several spots where you can get new buildings built and upgraded. While an interesting concept, the city upgrading aspects unfortunately don’t do much to affect gameplay. Just about every building you erect or upgrade tends to offer at best minor buffs to things like your stats or how much experience you can get from killing things. Since it is an Early Access title and more city features are slated for future updates in the roadmap, however, this feels like an issue that will get ironed out over time.

There’s also a small baby dragon you get that can occasionally help your fight against draconic enemies, and as adorable as it may sound, when it comes to gameplay, your dragon companion doesn’t contribute much in these battles. You can get skill hexes that improve your dragon’s attacks, but unfortunately, all of these skills are surprisingly dull, doing little more than giving the dragon a chance to deal damage every time you do.

All things considered, Dragonkin: The Banished’s early access feels like a great first step. There are plenty of interesting ideas in the game, and its core combat is certainly fun enough to warrant at least one playthrough through its early access offerings. It’s too early to judge how the story will pan out, but the prologue feels appropriately epic and sets the stage quite well for what you can expect later in the game.

This game was reviewed on PC.

We got to have a chat with production director Jean-Georges Levieux about various aspects of the game, as well as the studio’s thoughts on new technologies like the PS5 Pro.

To what extent can we expect Dragonkin: The Banished to be complete at its Early Access launch?

The Early Access launch is really just the beginning. The core mechanics are already there – the city, the ancestral grid, the gameplay – but we will be adding a lot of content during Early Access. Most importantly, we want to take advantage of player feedback to improve the game in the right direction.

What are some of the ideas for additions to Dragonkin: The Banished along its Early Access journey?

When you develop a game for years, it can sometimes be difficult to step back and see the bigger picture. You create tons of mechanics, graphics, sounds, story elements… and there’s a moment when everything starts to come together – right at the end of the project. Playtests, betas, or Early Access help gain that perspective.

We want to use Early Access to listen to our players and adjust development if needed. The demo’s release has already taught us a lot, and we are already working on integrating player feedback.

That being said, we already have things in production and a roadmap that we’ve shared with our players. This includes new game modes, additional city features, a new playable character, new zones, multiplayer, and more.

"When you develop a game for years, it can sometimes be difficult to step back and see the bigger picture."

How many hours worth of content will be available in Dragonkin: The Banished in Early Access? How will this compare to the full release?

At launch, you will be able to play Act 1 (out of 5 total), which should take around 4 to 6
hours to complete.

After that, you’ll reach the End Game, particularly what we call the Hunting Board. Completing this board should take around 15 to 20 hours.

Once the Hunt Board is completed, you can continue playing and create your own custom Hunts with all the unlocked settings. At that point, it will be up to you to decide how much time you want to invest in the game.

Are there any plans to add multiplayer to the game?

Yes, it’s one of our major updates planned during Early Access.

How will build experimentation be encouraged?

A lot!

We have removed any costs for changing attribute points, passives, or even your hatchling (which can be seen as your character’s specialization). We’re also working on adding the Arsenal, which will allow you to save entire builds and test new ones without losing existing ones.

Of course, to perfect your builds, you’ll need to find the right equipment, the right fragments for your grid, and craft wisely.

How big of a role will the city-building mechanics play in Dragonkin: The Banished overall?

The city is your hub, and once multiplayer is added, it can be your friends’ hub as well if you choose. You will be able to develop it together – every activity (story, endgame hunts) will earn prosperity points that you can spend on your city.

You’ll be able to unlock services, merchants, artisans, bonuses for your characters, and various improvements for theorycrafting.

"Of course, to perfect your builds, you’ll need to find the right equipment, the right fragments for your grid, and craft wisely."

Are there already plans for endgame high-difficulty content?

We have designed a very broad difficulty system. From the start of Early Access, there will be 11 difficulty levels. Some thresholds will unlock access to certain types of rewards, allowing you to further enhance your character.

Whether you’re a beginner looking to enjoy the story on an easier setting or an expert in the genre, you’ll be able to experience the game however you like.

When are you expecting to be done with the Early Access period?

An Early Access period is determined based on player feedback. So, it’s still a bit too early to answer this question.

As a developer, what are your thoughts on the PS5 Pro? How does boost in GPU help in developing your game compared to the base PS5?

We are currently focusing on the PC version with the game’s release in Early Access. However, we have already run the game on consoles, particularly on the PS5, but not yet on the Pro.

The PS5 is a very important platform, and we will make every effort to ensure the game runs properly on it. As for the PS5 Pro, which comes with great improvements, we will take advantage of them to boost FPS and resolution.

What are your thoughts on PSSR? What kind of opportunities will this open for the game?

Almost all modern games use upscalers. On PC, depending on your GPU, we have several available.

On consoles, with Unreal Engine 5, we primarily use TSR, which is the engine’s native solution.

On PS5 Pro, we would definitely like to add support for PSSR. It should help us achieve better FPS while maintaining higher image quality.

"The PS5 is a very important platform, and we will make every effort to ensure the game runs properly on it."

What resolution and frame rates will the game target on PS5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PS5 Pro?

As I mentioned, we are focusing on the PC version for Early Access. The game will only be
released on consoles once it’s fully finished.

That being said, we have been and continue to be mindful of performance to ensure the game runs well on consoles.

At this stage of development, I wouldn’t commit to specific numbers for consoles. Ideally, we will offer different rendering modes to prioritize either FPS or image quality.

Do you have plans to launch the game on Nintendo Switch 2?

Not for the moment.

Along with choosing from a variety of anthropomorphic animals, players can also forge equipment from their fallen enemies. Scavenge the battlefield and use whatever you can to succeed. Though no gameplay is shown, Rotwood does have a nice vibe to it. Considering Klei’s expertise with titles like Don’t Starve, Griftlands, and much more, it should be interesting to see what direction this goes in.

Rotwood’s early access launch is listed as “202?” so at the very least, we know it’s coming before 2030. Stay tuned for more details and hopefully some gameplay in the coming months, maybe years. Also, keep an eye on more announcements and reveals from the PC Gaming Show.

Assetto Corsa Competizione was announced in February, with developers Kunos Simulazioni confirming that the game would be launching on PC, at least in Early Access, not much later, and they’ve now confirmed its specific release date. Assetto Corsa Competizione will be entering Early Access on September 12.

They have made this announcement via a press release, as well as a video (which you can view below). The very first build of the game that enters Early Access in September will launch with just one car and one track, as well as quick races against the AI, Hot-Stint, and “special events”. What price it will launch for has not been confirmed, but we can assume (and hope) that it won’t be too much, given how much content it is launching with.

There will, then, be five more monthly updates to the Early Access version, with each of them introducing a new car, a new track, new features and refinements. The full game will launch in Q1 of 2019. You can view further details in the release map below, as provided by the developers.

A new gameplay trailer for Assetto Corsa Competizione was also recently revealed at E3 2018. You can take a look at it here.

Scavengers Studio’s Darwin Project, a survival game where the director plays as much of a role as the players, is now available for Steam Early Access on PC and Game Preview for Xbox One. The newest trailer highlights exactly what the director does, which is restrict areas, throw gifts at players or make life harder for them. Check it out below.

Other features include the ability to place a bounty on a player’s head and reveal his location to everyone, thus creating a manhunt. The director can also change the gravity in the arena. Which feature allows for overtly loud shout-casting like the E3 2017 reveal? Well, the director can speak to other players so that’s also possible.

Along with making the game available on Early Access, Scavengers Studio has also given it away free to those who played the alpha or beta. There’s no update on when the full game releases but stay tuned for more information.