Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced

Developer: Ubisoft Singapore
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S (Reviewed), PC
Release Date: July 9, 2026
Price: $59.99 USD – Available Here $99.95 AUD – Available Here

Overview

Thirteen years ago Ubisoft released an Assassin’s Creed game that was remembered more for one of its secondary focuses rather than its primary focus of furthering the franchise’s plot between assassins and templars and the strange supernatural elements surrounding them. Instead, the main focus many fans took from the game was the fact that it delivered perhaps one of, if not the best, pirate games at the time, delivering ocean-based combat, cannonfire exchanges, and boarding followed by slaying captains for their treasures, unlike anything fans of the genre could have hoped for. Since then, no game has managed to capture that level of pirate enjoyment despite some attempts from Microsoft at a more cartoonish version and even Ubisoft themselves delivering something of a slimmed down style of pirating in Skull & Bones.

Now though, after being one of the worst kept secrets in the industry for quite some time, Ubisoft has finally decided it is time to give fans what they have been hoping for, a complete remake of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. Now sporting the new name of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, supported by a new graphics engine, reworked and expanded storyline, and modernization efforts, is this still the same game pirate fans loved but even better?

Story

Just like with the original release, players will follow the story of Edward Kenway, a pirate that is seeking to make himself a fortune in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy and return to his homeland a rich man capable of living a life of luxury once everything is said and done. Unfortunately for him, the pirate ship he’s working on comes afoul of a fleet of British vessels and the ensuing chaos results in the sinking of all ships. Kenway manages to survive and make his way ashore only to find that an Assassin carrying a unique artifact has also washed ashore. After a brief back and forth and eventual killing of the wounded Assassin, Edward assumes his identity only to find himself embroiled in the feud between the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order, since the man whose identity he stole was a traitor defecting to the Templars.

Ultimately discovered, Kenway manages to lead a prisoner’s rebellion on a small fleet of ships and take control of a ship as its captain, naming it the Jackdaw and sailing for Nassau to meet his fellow pirates as they seek to form a new fleet of free men, eager to take the riches of the Caribbean for themselves and sharing a chunk of the pie, including famous names such as Blackbeard and James Kidd. From then on, Kenway seeks to set his sights on the mystical sounding Observatory, an ancient relic rumored to be able to spy on anyone. Knowing that this item will be of immense value and the many parties of particular wealth seeking to obtain it, it sends Edward’s pirate senses a tingle that the object will fetch an insane value if he can locate it first, even if it means joining some unsavory sorts along the way. Though considering the company that Kenway already keeps, that’s not saying much.

In many ways Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced remains almost the same throughout a large portion of the first half of the game as the core storyline is mostly unchanged. The only significant change is the fact that all “real world” segments of the game have been removed and the only hint that players are even inside of the Animus are glitched videos players can trigger and track down through exploration. This is a large improvement overall since while Black Flag always did have a place in the grander storyline, it also felt the most isolated as well, meaning simply removing these sequences do nothing to harm the game and if anything improve it immensely as it keeps the pace flowing at a steady and enjoyable rate. It is interesting to note that there are now “What If” scenarios that can be triggered in certain locations thanks to the Animus that act as if different events had played out for Kenway, a brand new inclusion to the story.

Another addition to the story are a number of expanded missions including side missions that help provide more world context, entirely new characters that can and will join Kenway’s crew and have some wonderfully rough personalities making them fit in perfectly with a rough and tumble pirate crew and while we won’t spoil who, a certain girl happens to be one of the best of them all. It is also worth noting that extra story content has been added for Blackbeard and even Bonnet, helping to further expand some of the greater pirate names that surrounded Kenway on his journey through the Caribbean. Unfortunately the title does not feature any of the extended DLC “Freedom Cry” from the original game but the addition of extra main story content, expanded side-quests, and even post-game content help make up for it, especially if this happens to be the player’s first time through Kenway’s pirate adventure since they can get to experience the great highs and the devastating lows that come from living a life of greed without fear of potential consequences.

Gameplay

Now while the storyline is mostly intact with expanded content, the gameplay has been given almost an entire overhaul across the board with some of the biggest elements involving the game’s melee combat, stealth system, and of course, ship combat. One of the key aspects that Ubisoft avoided with Black Flag Resynced was making it another “RPG” with numbers going up upon every little bit of gear. Yes, players will be able to purchase or upgrade their standard sword and pistol combo through shops or quest rewards and even upgrade Kenway’s various pouches and health by hunting down specific animals and skinning them, but the core combat is all about rhythm and reflex. 

Any time players enter a melee against a soldier of any kind or even just another pirate they will be able to perform light and heavy attacks, block, and of course parry. Players can even parry an enemy and leave them wide open for an instant execution. Every enemy is shown to have a certain “guard” meter that when depleted will either leave them wide open for a combo attack or finisher. Red glowing attacks must be dodged at all costs though since they cannot be blocked. Interestingly enough, players have a number of useful tools on hand very quickly, with many tools and tricks arriving far earlier in the game. FOr example, players can sweep a foe’s legs out from under them with a kick and execute them, duse a rope dart to tug them in for a heavy blow or even hang them from above in a stealth takedown, or straight up whip out one of Kenway’s pistols and fire a barrage of bullets into enemies, slaying them outright or stunning them for a finisher.

This creates something of a dance of death and avoids the annoyance of having to chip away at enemy health. In fact, regarding stealth takedowns with the player’s hidden blade, any assassination is an instant kill no matter what. Bigger foes go down the same as a small one and double assassinations are immediately available. This means players can drop down into a large guard unit with a double assassination, pop a smoke bomb, and assassinate every coughing guard in the group before the smoke clears, leaving nothing but bodies in their wake.This is also helped immensely by the fact that players can actually crouch now whenever they want, something that was absent in the original game and make sneaking quite a bit easier.

Another major change is the fact that tailing missions or eavesdropping missions no longer are instant failures should the player be caught, something that is a massive improvement over the original game as it felt overly punishing at times, especially in regards to a certain swamp mission. Now instead players will need to either go in swords flashing or find an alternate route into a fortress or to obtain the information they need rather than finding out the information through simple eavesdropping or following a target. While some purists may find this lack of a failure state a problem, the annoyance factor far outweighs the new ability to brute force an objective if need be. Especially since those who still want to play stealthily can still easily do so.

The naval combat in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced feels just as impressive as the day we left it and even more so thanks to the fact that every aspect of sea exploration and combat has been improved. Nearly every weapon on the Jackdaw now has unlockable alternate fire modes such as “Heated Shots” from the broadside cannons that can set ships ablaze, enhanced Mortars, and more. As mentioned earlier, the recruitable Ship Officers provide the Jackdaw with special abilities as well once they join the crew such as increased ramming speed, better bracing efficiency, and more. Players can still battle ships and choose to scuttle them for minor rewards or board them and fight until they surrender for everything aboard.

It isn’t just other ships players will need to worry about on the waves either as the weather system has also been given a complete overhaul. While various things such as rogue waves and the occasional water spout were an issue before, these situations arrive far more often and look absolutely incredible in Black Flag Resynced. Players will notice the wind getting rougher, the Jackdaw slightly harder to control accurately, all before the rain starts pouring and lightning strikes can batter the ship, damaging it, all while hurricane style water spouts can spring up as well, making even a quiet voyage a potentially dangerous one if players leave port unprepared.

Audio & Visuals

Utilizing the ever upgraded Ubisoft Anvil engine, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is practically transformed in parts of the Carribean, seeing large locations now look extremely detailed and lush with vegetation where it was rather lacking before. The character models have all been given a rework and look as impressive as one would hope for a modern day game, all while retaining the same style of artistic impression that the original game had, meaning fans can still enjoy the same rough looking crew and gang of pirates Kenway associates with, only with more details and a bit of a glow-up. As for the seas, the oceans are just wonderful. Sailing along in shining blue waves in the day is gorgeous and watching whales breaching the surface as players travel along has never looked better. Underwater segments are also incredible looking as the coral and diving bell make every wreck and hunting expedition look outstanding, making this a true showcase of what Ubisoft can do when they put their minds to it.

The voice work throughout the game is also handled exceptionally well and players will be glad to hear that alongside the various bits of background music through missions and exploration on foot, the game not only sees the return of all of the classic sea shanties that players have come to know and love but the addition of many more to track down across the land. To top that off, players can now even cycle through the songs while sailing, giving their crew an order on what song they’d like them to sing next rather than hope they pick a favorite.

Overall

It took over a decade but fans can finally enjoy Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced in a way that far outpaces the classic in practically every way. While some story segments have been removed and it does lose a bit of its placing within the grander storyline as a result, the more self-contained elements of Kenway’s journey are expanded alongside modernized and refined combat both on foot and on ship. Combine this with a massive graphical overhaul and the fact that players no longer are forced into instant fail stealth missions and this pirate game has more to love and then some, though die-hard fans may be a bit annoyed at certain missing elements or stricter restrictions that were previously in place.

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