Simply put, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a thrilling and well-designed remake of one of the best games in the series. Missions have been redesigned to be far more fluid, the story has been expanded upon in a bounty of interesting ways, and the game looks gorgeous. There are some technical issues present that have come to be expected for this sort of game, but they’re small enough that they can’t distract from how grand a remake this is.
It’s surprising that I’ve never reviewed an Assassin’s Creed game, as I’ve been playing the series since the very beginning. Black Flag has always stood out as one of the best entries, with protagonist Edward Kenway’s swashbuckling adventures remaining fresh in my mind even years later. Now, those adventures have received the remake treatment in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, and the final product has me excited to see other older entries in the series get the same treatment.
Combat in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is incredibly smooth. Clashing swords with enemy pirates and navy men has a certain flow to it that I rather enjoyed, dancing between the pulpy action of an Errol Flynn pirate movie and the gory realism that would come with such a duel. The “Takedowns” that you work towards through well-timed counters and tool use have a truly visceral nature that rewards solid play and defines Edward as a truly ruthless seafarer. I never got tired of combat throughout the entire storyline, instead relishing the chance to get into more scuffles.
Potentially my hottest take about the original game was that I couldn’t stand the boat sections. This time around, they feel smoother and less stilted than I found them to be back in the day. Sailing and docking are seamless, and ship battles retain the explosive and weighty feeling that defined the experience before. You can quickly zip between areas using new navigational features if you’re not fond of sailing, or you can freely roam and plunder enemy boats and undiscovered islands – no matter how you go about it, sailing the seas and battling boats has been made smoother than ever before.
One aspect that underwent some pretty massive overhauls in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is the mission structure, which has had its clunkier edges sanded off. My favorite change has to be to the tailing missions, which have always been one of the weaker aspects of Assassin’s Creed as a series to me. Instead of having to restart from a checkpoint if you get spotted, the mission continues on and provides you with different options – such as killing who you’re tailing and getting the info you’re after off of a note they were carrying. This less punishing alteration leads to less irritation when stealth doesn’t pan out, and less replaying sections, which is a much appreciated fix.
Three new officers, each with their own intriguing storylines and ship abilities, have been added in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, and they feel surprisingly natural despite not existing in the original game. It’s wonderful to see the Jackdaw’s crew expand with such a likable trio, and the abilities they give you for naval combat are immensely useful. Having your own villa to decorate with weapons and collectible art pieces/relics is another nifty new thing, as its affiliated storyline further fills out the already bustling world.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced expands on the stories of a couple of beloved characters.
These aren’t even the best addition to the remake, however. Instead, the additional storylines that Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet receive towards the end of the game’s story take that honor. These two were already standout characters in the original story (and in history in general), so it was a joy to experience some rather thoughtful epilogues that tie the duo further into Edward Kenway’s story in a meaningful way.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a beautiful game, fully bringing Edward, Adéwalé, and the many other memorable characters onto modern consoles with flair. The characters are all sharp and impressively realistic-looking, to say nothing of the environments. The vast jungles, open seas, and colorful skies are more beautiful than ever, evoking the sense of exploring the Caribbean in a far more vivid way than you could before. The weather effects have also seen a substantial upgrade, making the rain, wind, and sun look straight out of the real world. This is by far the nicest Black Flag has ever looked, and I commend the effort that went into it.
Unfortunately, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced does suffer from the sort of technical issues that Ubisoft games tend to have at launch. Edward’s textures got messed up a couple of times, certain jumps didn’t work properly on occasion, the aiming reticle got stuck on the screen once – all small things that are remedied by either perseverance or a quick restart, but there were enough to be worth mentioning. Given the precedent set by past games from Ubisoft, I’m sure the majority of these problems will be patched out soon enough, but you may have a couple of minor frustrations if you play right away.
Great
The Final Word
I’ve come away from Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced remarkably impressed, as it’s a top-notch remake of an already excellent game. Though there are a few little bumps throughout on the technical side, the revamped mechanics and expanded story, supported by the updated visuals, do more than enough to validate this remake’s existence. Whether or not you’ve played the original Black Flag, Resynced is certainly worthy of your time.
