Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced review: A masterpiece in every way

It's been 13 years since we first stepped onto Edward Kenway's ship in Assassin's Creed Black Flag. Now, we get that chance all over again thanks to the new Black Flag Resynced, a remake so perfect that it somehow makes one of the best Assassin's Creed games even better.

Por qué esta historia importa ahora

Black Flag is revered thanks to its fantastic story, beloved yet extremely flawed protagonist (a pirate does love his gold after all), epic naval battles, and its sprawling world that's buzzing with memorable characters wherever you go.

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Resynced is all that and more, boasting hours of new content alongside officers, plenty of additional side quests, and a complete graphical overhaul. This makes it one of the most intense nostalgia trips ever that makes veterans like me fall in love with it all over again. And if you’ve never experienced it before, well, I’m jealous.

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Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced screenshots

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What is Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced about?

We’re back with Edward Kenway in the ‘Golden Age of Piracy’ as he leaves his wife, Caroline, behind in search of a great fortune, much to her disappointment.

Along the way, he finds himself scuttled, coming across an Assassin by the name of Duncan Walpole. Shortly after, Kenway adopts the outfit and promise of gold, heading to Havana to meet with the Templars, learning about treasure that’s bound to make him, and generations to come, incredibly rich.

What follows is Edward’s life as a greedy pirate, assisting the likes of Blackbeard, Anne Bonney, Charles Vane, and other iconic names from history in his attempt to locate this treasure. Though, is that the right path?

The big new additions in Resynced are the six hours of endgame content and Officers, new additions to your crew in Officers, who have their own story. It makes taking to the high seas again so worthwhile.

Black Flag Resynced has been rebuilt using the modern engines used for Shadows. However, even though it has been made with the same tools, Resynced manages to outshine recent games in the series with its jaw-dropping graphics and stellar gameplay improvements.

Whether you're swimming through the new underwater locations, sailing the Jackdaw to your next island, or enjoying one of its many cutscenes, it's hard not to be struck by the beauty of this remake. The water looks beautiful and makes you dream of going to the Caribbean (although without pirates shooting at you).

Perhaps the only issue deriving from the visual improvement is that a certain pirate who may not be who he says he is feels a little obvious when you can see them in this level of quality – but you'll find no complaints that there's 'too much detail' here.

Of course, this is still an Assassin's Creed game, so there's naturally a little of the charming 'jank' they're so renowned for. Though, a few clipped faces here and a little parkour frustration there is a minor inconvenience when you're gliding through the streets of Havana in a newly improved movement system that perfectly combines the old, more restricted climbing design with the smoothness we've seen in recent games.

That's where Resynced really shines, its ability to fantastically merge the nostalgia and style of the original game with tons of new mechanics, and of course, a galleon's worth of wonderful new content.