Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was a game ahead of its time. Load Ubisoft’s pirate-themed action-adventure up now and you’ll swiftly realise that many of the gameplay features in remake Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced aren’t actually new. They’re simply expanded on and refined for modern gamer sensibilities. Pre-existing parkour is smoother. There’s more combat variety on foot and at sea, with added weapons and secondary modes. Contract missions have been rejigged. Fleet recruitment returns, but is now integrated into the main game as a means to generate passive income. Even the upgradable island base was around back in 2013, just with fewer investment options.
The point is that Resynced is building on a still-very-good-looking and very-playable original; a single-player game that many consider a masterpiece. Certainly within the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Black Flag – which tells the story of fictional rogue Edward Kenway during the 18th Century Golden Age of Caribbean Piracy – is very much present in the DNA of new-generation AC titles like Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla and Shadows. That said, it leans closer to Mirage in the sense that it keeps its open world relatively contained, players don’t have to concern themselves with constant gear stat juggling, and costume and ship changes are mostly cosmetic. Plus, for all the swashbuckling, if you behave like an assassin, striking from the shadows and sugar cane, you typically will have an easier time of it. Warning: that new parry mechanic requires pinpoint timing, and Edward is a bit of a glass cannon.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced really feels like it hits the satisfaction sweet spot. Remade from the ground up by various Ubisoft teams – led by Ubisoft Singapore – Resynced removes old pain points like pedantic follow quests where failure was an insta game over. At the same time, it introduces modern features like a photo mode, dedicated crouch button, and a difficulty tuner system so you can separately adjust the individual aspects of the gameplay experience (like stealth, combat, naval combat and activities) to your needs. And yes, not only can you pet or feed the game’s non-aggressive animal life (even turtles), but you can choose between a cat or monkey as your ship’s pet.
Black Flag Resynced is bigger than its source material, but also sidesteps the overwhelming bloat and busywork of more recent AC games. There are loads of optional activities in Resynced, including treasure hunts, tavern games, art and relic collecting, harpoon fishing, wreck diving, Mayan puzzles and contracts of all kinds, but if you simply stick to the compelling main storyline, where you’ll rub shoulders with some of the most famous pirates of real-life history, you’ll have a blast. You don’t ever have to worry that you’re missing out on something key to your success.
For the record, Resynced promises six hours of additional story content above the traditional Black Flag offering. This includes eight new end-game missions to extend the narrative. The end result is an estimated 45-to-50-hour playthrough if you’re dabbling in side attractions in addition to following the main storyline.
And honestly, that story, plus Edward as the playable character, remain the game’s primary, low-tech hook. Black Flag Resynced is made with Ubisoft’s proprietary Anvil engine, used most recently on AC Shadows, and that means dramatic weather shifts and vibrant, populated Caribbean settlements that really add to the sense of immersion in this historical locale. There’s nothing quite like sailing the open seas, coming to grips with the intricacies of wind driven manoeuvrability (much more challenging than Odyssey’s rowed vessels), while your crew sings shanties, humpback whales breach around your brig, and rogue winds, waves and water spouts are as dangerous as the Spanish and English navies passing by. There’s extra drama if you take on your foes during a storm.
But I digress. For all the visual dazzle and small details introduced to sell the believability of this world – as a further example, the buildings on your hideaway of Great Inagua will improve as you spend money on them, in turn bringing more prosperity to the island – Black Flag Resynced is still anchored by its protagonist and plot. That hasn’t changed from 2013 to now.
Charlie Hunnam-lookalike Edward Kenway (played by Constantine’s Matt Ryan) is one of the great Assassin’s Creed leads. While it’s obvious that Welshman Edward will ultimately forsake his mercenary priorities and step into a role of responsibility for those in his life, it still doesn’t stop him from feeling like someone who would be a natural fit for the title “assassin.” Far from noble, Edward is a cad, a wastrel, with an unwavering “what’s in it for me?” attitude. He just accidentally ends up slap-bang in the middle of the centuries-old conflict between the Templars and Assassins, and seizes the opportunity.
The same goes for finding the legendary Observatory, a powerful Precursor Race device – a refreshingly straightforward narrative driver in a game series that can become very convoluted. If he can find and leverage the Observatory’s value, ex-farmer-turned-privateer Edward can finally accomplish his goal of making a sizeable fortune, and return to impress his estranged wife Caroline, who comes from a prominent merchant family. Edward has a chip on his shoulder about his station in life, and it makes for a character who is credible, rich and interesting, even before he starts evolving.
A similar depth of thought has been applied elsewhere in Black Flag Resynced. There’s a side quest involving a doomed love story between a Templar and an Assassin; warehouse raids are paired with key searches that come with their own mini narrative; and each of the three new Naval Officers you can recruit for your ship has their own tragedy-touched tale to discover. The effect is that you’re more emotionally invested in events across the board.
There are few things to gripe about in regards to Black Flag Resynced. Probably the biggest disappointment is that the game strips out the intriguing present day storyline of the 2013 release. Instead of Abstergo Entertainment shadiness, Edward can find Animus Rifts quite far into the game, which offer a “What if…?” alternate spin on how his life played out. Other than it, a minor quibble is that Edward’s climbing movements can be too fluid at times, popping him out in front of guards and ruining a stealthy approach; and that the typical AC problem of strung-together cut scenes immediately squashing narrative tension is present here as well.
Finally, if you really want to nit-pick, you can complain that with Black Flag Resynced, you’re playing an expansive pirate game with an Assassin’s Creed skin, rather than a purer AC title like, say, Mirage.
I won’t make that criticism though. After twenty hours exploring West Indian waters aboard the Jackdaw, I can confidently say that while Black Flag Resynced hasn’t quite dethroned Odyssey as my favourite Assassin’s Creed, it’s a contender for the best-ever game in the series. Ubisoft has been promising the ultimate solo pirate adventure for today’s players, and they have delivered in spades with something that is consistently absorbing and, very importantly, fun.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced releases tomorrow, 9 July 2026 for Playstation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Ubisoft+, and PC (Ubisoft Store, Steam, Epic Games Store).