Watch First Footage of Game That Was to Be "The New Assassin's Creed"

The mysterious game 1666 was described as "the new Assassin's Creed," but since no footage was ever released, we never knew what that would have looked like. Now, we do. Creator Patrice Desilets today shared the first-ever public footage of the game during a presentation in Europe.

According to journalist Brandon Sheffield, who attended the event, this footage stems from a build of the game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game was reportedly planned to be ported to Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but this never happened, as developer THQ Montreal eventually closed.

"The game's theme is 'be worse than the devil,' which is why the protagonist can control animals traditionally associated with black magic," Sheffield wrote.

1666 may not be gone forever. Just this week, Desilets re-obtained the rights to the game, as part of a settlement deal with Ubisoft.

Little is known about 1666, which was first revealed through a 2012 trademark application and also mentioned in THQ bankruptcy documents. Ubisoft scooped up the 1666 rights at THQ's bankruptcy auction, paying $2.5 million for not only 1666, but also the THQ Montreal studio and a new game codenamed Underdog.

In 2010, Desilets left Ubisoft to establish THQ Montreal, but became a Ubisoft employee again in 2012 when the company bought the studio. His new path at Ubisoft didn't last very long. In May 2013, just months into his new role, Desilets claimed he was fired by Ubisoft, and went on to sue the company, attempting to reclaim the rights to 1666 in the process, which he has now done. As part of his out-of-court settlement deal with Ubisoft, he gets the rights back to 1666 because he agreed to drop his $400,000 lawsuit.

Ubisoft suspended work on 1666 amid the lawsuit. Going forward, Desilets will have "all creative and business control over the project" now that he has the rights again.

According to Desilets, 1666 was to be "the new Assassin's Creed." The game would have taken plan in Amsterdam and be connected to the painter Rembrandt.

Desilets now runs a Canadian studio named Panache Digital Games. Its first project is a game called Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, which tells the story of mankind. You can read more about it here.

What do you make of the first 1666 footage? Let us know in the comments below!