Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Available on: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Review code provided by Ubisoft
The release of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag in 2013 came at a potentially crucial moment for Ubisoft’s star franchise. The game that preceded it, Assassin’s Creed III, had sold well enough, but fell short of the quality fans had come to expect following the excellent Ezio trilogy.
Black Flag was a risk, a game that felt the least like Assassin’s Creed in many areas, but that ultimately became its greatest strength. A swashbuckling adventure across the Caribbean turned out to be just the idea that would help steer the franchise back in the right direction.
Fast forward thirteen years, and the situation feels eerily similar. Despite decent sales, Assassin’s Creed Shadows didn’t quite do enough to pull the series back to its peak, all while Ubisoft’s reputation with fans and investors sits in a rather precarious position.
The announcement of a Black Flag remake was met with excitement from many fans, but the overriding sense of trepidation quickly settled in. If Ubisoft were to ruin the reputation of one of the series’ most beloved entries, not only could that impact the future of Assassin’s Creed, but quite possibly the future of the company as well.
Ubisoft could’ve taken the easy route with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, updated the visuals, added a few quality of life changes, then called it a day. Black Flag Resynced is far more than that, though, as it not only refines and enhances the original game, but also brings new content and features that help make it a beautiful homage to the golden age of piracy.
A Pirate’s Life, Resynced
Black Flag Resynced retells the story of Edward Kenway, whose greed and ambition take him well beyond his quest for riches. The writing and performances continue to hold up brilliantly more than a decade later, with Matt Ryan returning as Edward Kenway to remind us why he is considered to be one of the series’ best protagonists.
Thirteen years and eight games later, Black Flag remains one of the series’ best stories; the tale of a privateer-turned-pirate who, no matter how much he protests, is dragged kicking and screaming into the heart of a centuries-long conflict between the Assassins and Templars.
And what’s a pirate story without a merry band of misfits? Whether it’s the Engimatic Bartholomew Roberts or the gentleman pirate Stede Bonnet, Black Flag Resynced’s supporting cast is a true rogue’s gallery of the world’s greatest pirates.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the standout among them is the one and only Blackbeard. Mark Bonnar’s performance as the iconic pirate captain is among the best supporting roles in the series’ history, evoking plenty of passion and intensity that truly shines through in the remade cutscenes.
A World Without Gold
Not only is Black Flag Resynced a full remake of the original game, but Ubisoft have also added a substantial amount of new content, including an entirely new story chapter that’s unlocked near the end of the game.
The new story chapter, “A World Without Gold”, sees Edward come face to face with an old adversary, which forces him to confront the consequences of a life spent chasing endless fortune. The best compliment I can give to this new content is that it doesn’t feel out of place; it’s blended seamlessly into the existing story and side content, building upon the character development Edward undergoes throughout the course of the game.
Many of the same points can be made about the new officer missions, which see Edward seek out new crew members for the Jackdaw: A shipwright, a master-at-arms and a master gunner. Each officer has their own set of side missions that flesh out their personality and background.
These side missions are more than just bonus story content too, with each recruited officer bringing new tools to use aboard The Jackdaw. Whether it’s taking reduced damage with a well-timed brace, or offering more firepower for The Jackdaw’s cannons, the new officers will become valuable members of your crew.
The same positive experience can’t be felt in the new Rift missions, however, which act as the replacement for the original game’s modern-day sequences. Rifts offer an interesting premise, with each of the four missions presenting a unique “what if?” scenario.
I won’t spoil any of the scenarios, but rather than truly lean in and explore the idea, these alternate realities are simply used as the set-up for what is essentially a trek through the Animus, whilst Ego, the game’s modern-day villain, scolds you for embracing the chaos of the Assassins. As someone who’s a sucker for alternate history, this feels like such a huge missed opportunity that, had the idea been more fleshed out, could’ve been the best of the new content additions.
It seems strange that despite all the new characters and content in Black Flag Resynced, there was no room for the Freedom Cry DLC. Adewale’s journey with the Brotherhood of Assassins was a big addition to the original game, so much so that Ubisoft also released it as a standalone experience.
If Freedom Cry had also received the remake treatment, then Black Flag Resynced would have undoubtedly become the ultimate way to experience this beloved chapter of the franchise.
Captain On Deck
Plenty of Assassin’s Creed games have featured naval combat, but if you ask me, Black Flag did it the best, and it’s not even close. One moment you’re sailing across the West Indies while your crew sing “Lowlands” or “Running Down To Cuba”, and the next, you’re sinking half the king’s navy.
Sailing and naval combat are so intrinsically tied to the pirate fantasy that Black Flag provides, and the end result was something truly remarkable.
Fast-forward to the present day, and Black Flag Resynced has delivered a more refined naval experience. The Jackdaw feels incredibly responsive, and it’s just as fun to take the helm of Edward’s pride and joy now as it was in 2013.
Many of the improvements have come in the form of small but impactful quality-of-life updates, such as providing greater control over The Jackdaw’s swivel guns, which I found myself using far more in Resynced than I ever did in the original. Black Flag’s naval combat has truly stood the test of time; it’s no wonder that Ubisoft chose to develop the ill-fated Skull and Bones, an entire game based purely on sailing the seas and sinking ships.
Inevitably, the time will come for Edward to get his hands dirty, and combat in Black Flag Resynced is where significant adjustments are made, even if the results are a mixed bag. The original game’s combat was fast, but also felt rather one-note; you’d wait for an enemy attack, counter, then use that momentum to wipe out a whole group with a flurry of takedowns.
In Black Flag Resynced, it’s a somewhat similar story, but with plenty more variety. Counterattacks and takedowns are still strong, but now require you to land a perfect parry, which is easy enough to perform due to a generous window of opportunity. If you’d rather not wait for your enemy to make the first move, then you can make use of the new kick and leg sweep moves to stagger your target and line up an easy kill.
Another quality-of-life change made in Black Flag Resynced is the earlier introduction of the rope dart tool, which was unlocked much later in the original game than it is in Resynced. Not only can the rope dart be used from vantage points to take down enemies, but it’s now also a highly effective tool in combat.
The rope dart can pull enemies towards Edward from a generous distance, setting up a quick kill combo that’s far too easy to exploit: Pull them in, sweep the leg, then finish them with a takedown, which you can then chain to several enemies and watch the bodies pile up.
Technical Talk
The PlayStation 5 version of Black Flag Resynced offers up to three different graphics modes: Performance, which targets 60 FPS with ‘standard’ raytraced effects, Fidelity, which aims for 30 FPS with ‘extended’ raytracing support, and Balanced, which offers the same level of raytracing as Fidelity, but with a higher 40 FPS target.
Throughout my playthrough, performance mode became my default setting, as the extra bells and whistles in the other modes weren’t enough to make me give up the higher frames. Across all the available graphics modes, I never noticed any issues with performance. Each mode has managed to stick to its performance target perfectly, or at least, as far as I can tell.
Visually, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is stunning, whether it’s the colourful, bustling streets of Havana or the deepest, darkest depths of the Caribbean Sea; Ubisoft have lovingly recreated the West Indies in painstakingly good detail, taking full advantage of Anvil’s enhanced lighting and weather systems that were first introduced in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
A quick word on bugs and overall stability: As is the way with many open-world games, bugs of any kind are almost inevitable due to the sheer scale. Many of the bugs I encountered were minor, consisting of things like desynced animations and visual glitches.
While the game never crashed, I did encounter one instance where I was stuck in an infinite animation loop when opening the command room door during a fort raid. Simply reloading a save file would’ve likely solved the issue, but given that this happened during a combat sequence, this wasn’t an option, leaving me with no choice but to reboot the game.
Verdict
Black Flag wouldn’t have been at the top of many “needs a remake” lists, especially when other Assassin’s Creed games haven’t aged quite as gracefully, but I couldn’t be happier that it exists.
It’s not without its flaws; combat is still too easy, with enemy AI that’s predictable in fights, with easily exploitable combos that take the challenge out of battles. While the new officer mission and “A World Without Gold” elevate the game’s narrative, the same can’t be said for the rifts, which, if better executed, could have been the best of the game’s new additions
It’s also a shame that despite all the newly added content (both good and bad), the excellent Freedom Cry DLC has sadly been left out, an addition that really would have made this game the ultimate package.
Despite this, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a love letter to the original game and its fans, while also serving as an excellent starting point for those jumping into the series for the very first time.
