Was pre-European America that bad?

The answer to this question hinges on how the term "bad" is defined. However, it would be most accurate to say that it was certainly not "bad," just different. Firstly, pre-Columbian America includes North America, Central America, South America, and the Carribean. The cultures in all of these areas differed from each other and from Europe.
There were technological differences between Europe and the cultures of the Americas. Two of the major differences were the absence of horses (which impacted transportation) and the absence of guns. However, cities and complex cultures flourished in pre-Columbian America. The Inca civilization included a complex economy that functioned largely without a fiat currency, and many cultures created complex writing systems. Cultures engaged in large-scale building and were able to create interesting and efficient agricultural systems.
It is also important to note that Native Americans lived on a spectrum, with some cultures existing largely as hunter-gatherers and other cultures engaging in wide-scale agricultural production. Many also existed in a middle ground, engaging in small-scale agriculture that relied on natural growth while also moving with animals as their protein sources.