Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Review - A Pirate's Life for Me

Back when midnight physical game launches were a thing, I vividly remember that Assassin’s Creed Black Flag was one of the last games I got in those events. My 19-year-old self had been following the series since its beginning, and this Caribbean adventure quickly became the pinnacle of the franchise for me before its shaky years began. Now, with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, I have not only relived what is, for me, the best game in the series, but also experienced it in much higher quality, with better systems and added story beats that make up for a few technical hiccups.

The Golden Age of Piracy

When it comes to the core story, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced doesn’t change much from what we experienced back in 2013. You take the role of Edward Kenway, a pirate turned assassin, as he goes through some of the biggest events of the Golden Age of Piracy alongside big figures such as Blackbeard, Mary Read, Anne Bonny, and more.

While the epic voyage remains mainly untouched, Resynced ended up adding more things that expand upon this beloved world and provide some helpful features along the way. For instance, you can now recruit new Naval Officers, all of them with their own narrative and special rewards for the Jackdaw, such as a way to “perfect brace” for attacks to reduce damage or a powerful ramming skill. I must say that these new stories were amazing and didn’t feel out of place with the original narrative. On top of that, the new characters were extremely memorable, which was a bonus for me.

Beyond that, some extra missions delve into some of the game’s most iconic characters, which I won’t spoil, of course, but I was extremely glad to see some historical figures getting even more time in the spotlight. These quests even made some iconic moments from the story have an even bigger emotional payoff, which I greatly appreciated.

All in all, I was glad that the original story didn’t change much, but instead felt better due to its new additions and the gorgeous cinematics, which really gave the game a whole new look and feel. Furthermore, I’m extremely glad the Abstergo Interludes are gone, as the present-day story of the original game never resonated with me, and felt like it was dragging the new Desmond-less plot in ways that I never really enjoyed. Newcomers and veteran pirates will truly experience the ultimate Black Flag story without interruptions or unnecessary sequences.

An Assassin’s Job Never Ends

And while I loved everything about the new story beats, the real bread and butter lies in the remake’s gameplay additions. For starters, combat has been completely overhauled. While it still feels like the one we originally experienced, it has vastly changed to make it feel more tactical in line with certain modern action-adventure games.

While Edward retains most of his moveset, fighting relies more on parrying blows and breaking an enemy’s defense. Doing either of them will lead to an execution, and you can continue chaining them if your weapon allows it. That’s right, your instant-kill moves now are dependent on the weapon, with some letting you defeat two enemies in quick succession, with the number rising as you gather new cutlasses, rapiers, or pistol swords.

Speaking of which, I also liked how weapons felt more impactful now. Each type of sword has different heavy attacks, which are perfect for different situations, such as rapiers, letting you stab several enemies at once. It was great that blades felt more useful in terms of their types, and not just something to see as a cosmetic item for Edward.

In terms of his other tool kit, you still have your four pistols, which you can now use quickly to stun or defeat enemies, a sweep move to throw enemies off balance, and even a kick that sends enemies to a wall, allowing you to perform a finisher. There’s also the rope dart, which you can now get during the game’s early hours, which is something I appreciate, as the original game gave it to you during the second half of the adventure.

For those looking for a more stealthy approach, the sneaking part also feels much better now, with a dedicated crouch button that lets you take cover almost anywhere, which is great for those looking for a more organic stealth experience similar to that of Shadows.

Also, I felt as if the enemy’s AI had been completely overhauled, because sneaking around felt extremely challenging now, which made me approach all situations more carefully to avoid getting caught or starting an all-out fight. And, of course, some new enemies really had me constantly swapping my strategy. Despite finishing the original Black Flag more than once, I met my demise more than once in Resync, and I appreciate this level of difficulty that made the game feel completely fresh. Still, I felt the lock-on feature was a bit clunky and often had me fighting the air rather than actually aiming at the enemy I wanted to hit.

Ground combat aside, naval combat also felt refreshing, with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced keeping everything that made the original system so iconic while refining it to feel more accessible and just as engaging. It was a treat to return to the Jackdaw’s grind, as one of my favorite activities was increasing its power to face those Legendary Ships, which I also did in this remake, and it felt better than ever.

Last, but certainly not least, the parkour. Now, here is where it felt like a mixed bag for me in some ways. For starters, I do think it feels and flows better when it works properly. There are just so many mechanics that let you do ejects and certain jumps more easily, which is something I loved as I hopped across every rooftop in Kingston. Yet, it still has that janky movement that we saw in the original, which might be good or bad for some. Sadly, it was the latter for me because I struggled to do the simplest jumps, as Edward often decided to leap off a beam onto the street instead of just following the conveniently placed parkour track.

Despite that, I do think this is one of the parkour iterations we’ve had in the franchise, but it doesn’t reach the flow that we saw in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and that was a bit of a bummer for me. Also, it was sad to see a few glitches, such as Edward phasing through some geometry when doing leaps of faith or his arms flopping around after an assassination. They were distracting, but never ruined the experience. In fact, these were just minor glitches, as I never faced one that halted my progress or forced me to restart an activity.

The Caribbean Like Never Before

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Jackdaw

If all of the above surprised me, it was my first time sailing that made my jaw truly drop. For me, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag was already one of the best-looking games in the franchise, with only Odyssey surpassing it in terms of its art style, but Resynced raised the bar in ways I didn’t think would be possible.

The Anvil engine, which has been proving its power in a few installments now, truly enhances Resynced in many ways. The lighting, even if inconsistent at times on some characters, gives every scene more depth and realism, without losing the iconic look of the game. Also, the color palette is much brighter now and moves away from some tones that made the original version look a bit gloomy in some areas.

Still, what I liked the most was how well it handled its weather effects. I already remember feeling awestruck after watching the first storm back in 2013. Still, it pales in comparison to looking at the storms and tornadoes happening in the sea—it was as breathtaking as it was scary.

One thing that truly surprised me, however, was how well everything ran on my launch-day PS5. While I do have gripes with custscenes being locked at 30 FPS, especially since some led to a few audio desync moments and janky character movement, it is my only minor complaint. I played the game on performance mode, and I never experienced a frame drop, even during some of the game’s most taxing sequences when fighting several ships with lightning in the background and cannons firing in all directions. It was a pleasant surprise to see just how well Resynced worked on a technical scale, especially when compared to Shadows, which didn’t feel as visually demanding as this remake.

There and Back Again

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Boarding Ship

For me, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag is still the best game in the franchise, and Resynced just made it better. Even if I do have some issues with parts of its combat and parkour, the truth is that it is an improvement in every way, and one installment that makes me hopeful for more remakes of classic games with this treatment.

Ultimately, if you played the first one, you’ll get to relive it with an expanded story, better visuals, and the gameplay improvements we all wanted since 2013. And if you’re new to this world of piracy and naval warfare, you’ll have a blast, as Ubisoft has revived this epic voyage in the best possible way.

Review copy provided by the publisher.