After well over a dozen mainline entries, Black Flag remains one of the most fondly remembered in the long canon of Assassin’s Creed entries. It’s little surprise that Ubisoft chose this installment for a robust reenvisioning. While not a fundamental remake of the original 2013 game, Resynced is also far more than the standard remaster some might expect, as it features expansive gameplay and narrative additions and tweaks, along with a complete visual overhaul. The result is an impressive and sizeable game that maintains both the charm and some of the rough edges that defined the original. After 13 years, there’s enough new here to delight returning fans, but it’s also notable for being modernized to a degree that new players should find a lot to enjoy.
Black Flag benefits tremendously from one of the great narrative maxims: pirates are fun. Across the series’ many historical time periods, few have featured such an inherently attractive setting and concept. Black Flag Resynced ably captures what works about the pirate fantasy. The revamped ship combat is approachable and explosive, if eventually a bit repetitive. The narrative dialogue is salty and rowdy. The sea shanties are jaunty. The many islands at the edge of the horizon are filled with secret chests, messages in bottles, and forgotten treasure caves. The sunsets across the West Indies are to die for. The game’s greatest success is its spot-on pirate experience, and that alone is worth a lot.
The story of Edward Kenway is one of my least favorite of the many Assassins we’ve met. He spends most of the tale obsessed with his own acquisition of wealth, and the plot fails to nail what works for me about the Assassin’s Creed formula. That hasn’t changed in Resynced, and the broader narrative can still sometimes feel disjointed and missing in some important transitional moments, especially in the later hours. However, re-recorded and expanded dialogue helps the storytelling feel modern and dramatic. And new content helps fill in some important gaps that previously felt barren. I especially like the new naval officer missions, which help your ship’s crew feel a bit more dynamic. I also like some of the expanded storytelling around historical pirates like Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet. The modern-day story component from the original Black Flag is now absent. While that was never a high point, I still feel the series as a whole misses the boat by not tying these historical narratives together with a more meaningful twist on the modern-day Assassin/Templar conflict.
Virtually every element of gameplay has been retouched in some way, and it’s all for the better. Parkour feels smoother and more flexible. Combat has increased options for parries, takedowns, and tools. Poor tailing missions are scaled back. Stealth is easier to navigate. The Hideout in Great Inagua offers new options for expansion and growth, fostering a stronger sense of investment in the place. Explorable locations are fleshed out, with more secrets to uncover. Difficulty and accessibility settings dramatically expand the play customizability. Taken together, these improvements make a big difference and help Resynced feel fresh and up to date, and that extends to the visuals, too.
The Caribbean seas and islands of Black Flag Resynced make it an exceptionally beautiful game, adding to a clear allure in going off the beaten path and exploring. Beyond nailing the pirate aesthetic, it’s the sense of freeform discovery that is the game’s other undeniable success. There’s so much to do, and a lot of it is great fun. Dive for sunken treasure. Hunt animals. Build a pirate fleet. Hunt Templars. Fill your mansion with art. Track down legendary ships. Conquer forts. Follow treasure maps. Even when Black Flag Resynced flirts with feature bloat, there’s no denying its capacity to distract and offer more to do.
For me, a lot of the joy and excitement of Assassin’s Creed comes from visiting a new era in history and rediscovering the series’ conflict through the lens of that time and place. This return to a familiar locale lacks that, but it should still offer it for newer players who never experienced the game more than a decade ago. But even without that sense of newness, Black Flag Resynced is an impressive rework, setting a high bar for how to return to an older action game and make it relevant once more. I’d prefer to sail to new horizons, but I’m also happy to rediscover a journey that reminds me why I embraced the franchise in the first place.