Last Updated on Jul 8, 2026 @ 11:05:15 AM.
It was the worst kept secret in gaming for a long time, but we’re almost at a point where we’ll all be getting to set sail on the Pirate seas as Edward Kenway. I’ve been lucky enough to have been playing Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced for the last few weeks, ahead of release, putting it through its paces and seeing exactly what has changed in what was my favourite Assassin’s Creed adventure when it first released back in 2013 – this means I’m going into this extremely critical and hard to please. After 30+ hours, I can safely say that the majority of what made the game great is still there, there’s been some changes for modern gaming’s sake, and Ubisoft has even thrown in some extra content, both gameplay and story wise, to make the whole affair even more well-rounded.
The story of Edward Kenway is well known to Assassin’s Creed fans. A man of lowly origins, desperate to make riches and a legend of himself, we take control of him as he gets his own ship, a loyal crew and the beginnings of a grand adventure involving Templars, Assassins and an impossible treasure he doesn’t understand, but desperately wants, The Observatory. Starting in 1715, we see him grow into more than that, and come the end of his story some seven years later, he’s realised his greater purpose, and has also rained down wrath on those that have wronged him and his friends. This is just one reason we’ve all been clamouring for a remake of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag for years, and the heart of the game is still there, but with a fresh lick of paint.
New Graphics, Optimisation and a Return to the Sea
Any remake or remaster worth its salt will take the original game and give it a once over visual wise, but Ubisoft have done that, and a little more. Every town, settlement, tree and grain have sand look better than its predecessor, and in some cases, even the recently released Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The original game was rightly lauded for having some incredible weather systems and sea mechanics, and they both return here, dialled up to eleven and looking stunning. During my playthrough there were moments when I’d stop, stare and watch the sea roll over me and the Jackdaw, or the rain pound down on Kenway as I had him positioned in a tree, ready to pounce on some unsuspecting soldier. The game is a visual treat, and Ubisoft have truly done not only a great job but arguably more than many expected.
With two modes, both Visual and Performance, you can choose between what’s more important for you, but in both instances, the game looks incredible, and runs more than smoothly. I’m especially glad to say that in 30+ hours, I had precisely one moment of pop-in, where a ship on the horizon appeared out of nowhere, and no noticeable frame drops on either mode. Not only is it pretty, but its ridiculously well optimised.
This optimisation extends to the game’s sailing sections, which considering you’re a pirate, is plentiful. Whether as part of the story or just the free-roam of the large map, you’ll spend a large amount of time behind the wheel of the Jackdaw, Kenway’s ship, and main mode of transport, and in some cases, combat.
The original game made sure to flesh out the pirate mechanics, and that’s of course still present here. Sailing, upgrading your Jackdaw with new, more powerful weapons, customising the look of the ship, going to war with ships big and small, British, Spanish and Pirate, and all vying to sink you if you piss them off. Early doors, just like Kenway, you’ll feel small, weak and insignificant in your sea-faring abilities, but after a few hours, several supplies and the besting and boarding of a few ships, you’ll find your proverbial sea-footing and be well on your way to becoming the biggest and best pirate of the Caribbean.
The enemies aren’t just humans though, with the sea itself being dangerous. Rogue waves bigger than your ship will hurl themselves at you. If you’re not facing the right way when they hit, to the bottom of the sea with you. Listen to your crew, and you’ll see and hear them before that happens. A lesson I learned the hard way unfortunately. Similarly, you’ll randomly encounter water tornadoes on your travels. These look terrifying and beautiful in equal measure, but get too close, and they’ll tear your ship apart and send you all to the depths.
All of that meant that when I wasn’t on the Jackdaw, I was waiting to get back to it. There’s a reason this game spawned a new genre, and was the inspiration for Sea of Thieves.
As with any Assassin’s Creed game though, the bread and butter is in the combat. Recent entries have been lambasted for being too much of an RPG, with enemies having health bars and the ‘feel’ of an Assassin’s Creed game being forgotten and ignored. This is not a criticism I can throw at Black Flag Resynced. There’s a multitude of ways you can quickly dispatch enemies, and a lot of them are the ‘classic’ style. Hidden assassinations from hay stacks, rooftops, reeds or ledges. A few slices of a sword or takedown during combat and most enemies are done with, and that’s before you even quickshot with Edward’s guns – start with two, upgrade to four- in what makes him feel like an 18th century John Wick.
I was surprised at the lack of additions weapons wise, and thought maybe we’d see some increased variety in this reimagining, and whilst I understand the need to keep it to the two swords, pistols, rope dart (of which you thankfully unlock FAR earlier this time round) and darts, I wouldn’t have hated seeing something more to give increase variety and make it really stand out from the original, combat wise.
Regardless of that though, the combat feels pretty responsive, natural and intuitive, and perhaps more so than the original, I found it ridiculously simple to carve my way through a crowd of encroaching soldiers using all the tools at my disposal. Not only did I feel like an Assassin this time round, something the last few games haven’t made me feel, but I felt like a powerful maniac very few could actually damage.
That’s not to say that the combat is button bashing mayhem. The AI has been tweaked to offer more of a threat than the original, and you’ll quickly feel it if you rely too much on one tactic. At least, I did. If I overused a kick on sweep, they’d quickly avoid it. Wait for a parry? Well how about an ‘unparryable’ red attack that absolutely wrecked me? Once you get into a flow state though, you’ll cut through them like ribbons, and it’s always satisfying.
But What’s New?
Thirteen years on and there’s no getting away from it, some aspects of the original are dated. Graphically it’s passed it, and in some aspects, gameplay too. Whilst I expected some tweaks to those, I wasn’t necessarily expecting much extra content to the meat and bones of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, but again, Ubisoft has thrown plenty of that at us.
In between sailing the seas and chasing down the devil duo of Torres and Roberts, the Templar and the Sage, I spent my time clearing our forts, hunting whales and sharks, exploring shipwrecks and much more – all staples from the original. New, however, were the three Officer missions added, which were sprinkled across the map, and Adewale, our favourite Quartermaster, mentioned in passing, early on. Find and complete these missions, and you’ll add a new officer to your ship’s crew, each of which will grant a unique perk for your ship. Without spoiling anything, Lucy’s questline was especially harrowing, and particularly dark in what is an already dark tale comparatively. Do not miss it. She’s also pretty useful for the ship.
Some of the more frustrating moments of the original are gone, too. Before, if you failed a tailing mission, be it through being spotted, killing the wrong enemy or just being rubbish, it’d result in an irritating ‘Desynchronised’ screen and you’d have to start over. With the walking pace of some NPCs, this quickly became tiresome. Now, if you were to ‘fail’ by being spotted, it’s not the end. It’ll change the mission instead. Some targets run off. Others charge into combat. Either way, you can still get the required information and continue to mission as intended. It all feels more realistic, and most importantly, is far less irritating. In a remake full of changes, it’s probably my favourite one.
Talking of realistic, the game has had a few new immersive moments added, with NPCs chatting between themselves, more often than not about something pertinent to the task at hand. It makes the place feel lived in. It’s the little things you realise the original was missing. Some characters are also fleshed out more this time round, and there’s a whole host of new side missions specifically for our favourite bearded Pirate, but those need to be played and seen for yourselves, I don’t want to spoil those, just know as a Blackbeard fan, I was happy.
The most controversial change, at least to me, is the removal of the modern day sequences of the original. It’s no secret that Ubisoft is moving away from that, thanks to missteps with the story years ago. Unfortunately, I feel like not jumping to modern day does take away some of the mystique of this story, specifically surrounding the Sage, his origins, longevity and who he really is. I get that they want to keep this as a purely pirate adventure, and that’s fine, but removing the modern day also removes some important contextual cues you just don’t get from the Vault Entries you can find around the map. I hope this is remedied in the next remake, or just the next entry, as the dual timelines was one of the biggest attractions way back when this franchise first launched all those years ago.
I came into my time with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced almost cynical that it could recapture the same magic of the original, but I’m glad to say I was proven wrong. Very wrong. It’s one of the best remakes of any game, perhaps ever. It changes what needed to be changed. Adds small bits here and there, including some side missions, gameplay changes and improvements, quality of life changes and even mission structure and design, and then wraps it all up in a beautiful graphical bow that is optimised for maximum enjoyment.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
The iconic solo pirate adventure returns. Sail the Caribbean as Edward Kenway during the Golden Age of Piracy in this faithfully enhanced remake featuring stunning visuals, upgraded gameplay, and new content.
Summary
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is one of the best remakes we’ve ever had. Maintaining what made the original special whilst making it more modern, and adding some flair of its own in new stories and content is no easy task, and yet, here it is. A good remake will make you remember what you loved about the original, and it does exactly that, and I was transported back 13 years when I first played it.
The removal of the modern day setting does leave a bad taste in my mouth, but the updated mission structure, graphical overhaul, new routes for parkour, fleshing out and a proper background for the likes of Steed and Blackbeard all make up for it, and then some. This is a return to form for Assassin’s Creed, and hopefully Ubisoft take note and continue with it going forward.
HOURS PLAYED: 32
PLAYED ON: PS5
- Incredible to look at. Between the sea storms and the environments on land, they clearly pushed the Anvil Engine to its max.
- New side stories, locations, quests and more make this more than a simple remake.
- Modernising or flat out removing some of the aged and frustrating elements of the original show Ubisoft actually listen to fans.
- The removal of the modern day story is not a positive for the franchise as a whole, let alone that side of the Sage's storyline in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.
- More weapon variety would have been nice.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced releases on the 9th July, on PS5, XBOX Series X|S, and PC.
For your next read from us, check out our interview with The Pines’ creator, or our review of Lassen’s Loop.
Thumb Wars reviews every game based upon the structure of our review policy, and every review is on OpenCritic.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
