Game review: Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced (Xbox Series X/PC)

Ubisoft invites players to return to the Caribbean setting of its most lauded Assassin's Creed game with Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced. More than just a simple remaster, Black Flag Resynced is a complete rebuild of the original Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag with some additions and some omissions.

In case you've been living under a rock for the nearly twenty years since Ubisoft's tentpole historical/sci-fi adventure series has been with us, here's a brief recap, or as brief a recap as one can conduct for such an esoteric series.

At its heart, Assassin's Creed is a third-person action-adventure series about a centuries-old war between two factions, more recently known as the Assassins and the Templars. The games are loosely based around historic events but really set in the present day. The player, via a device called the Animus, steps into the lives of characters across time using the concept of ancestral DNA. 

The idea is that the memories of our forefathers are stored, locked in our DNA, waiting for a device like the Animus to reveal them. The Templars, through a company called Asbergo Industries, seek the knowledge of powerful and ancient artifacts left by a precursor race, the Isu, that they wish to use to control humanity's destiny. The Assassins, however, believe that humanity should be left to forge its own path. 

And if you think that's strange, I left the really weird stuff out. But, as I'll explain below, you don't need to know any of that to enjoy Black Flag Resynced.

When Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag launched back in 2013, it was the series' first multi-generational game. It was released on both the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 and Xbox One/PlayStation 4. And it was a game changer.

Whilst its successors may have built the world of Assassin's Creed, Black Flag was where the series really found its feet. Wrapping the series' age-old conflict between the Templars and the Assassins in a pirate fantasy was a stroke of genius. It proved just how versatile the concept was when given a bit of artistic licence. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag was the template that allowed the developers to transpose the story to such diverse settings and explore ancient Greece, Viking Britain and feudal Japan.

In 2013, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag looked amazing. In 2026, the original still looks pretty good, but the game is showing its age. And, of course, the relatively unrefined controls leaves a lot to be desired compared to the slicker, more modern Assassin's Creed games.

But Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced isn't a remaster of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. This is no retexturing and upscaling of the original; this is something altogether different. 

It's not even simply a remake of Assassin's Creed IV. Paradoxically, Black Flag Resynced continues the story from Assassin's Creed Shadows, both historically and in the series' sci-fi subplot. But unless you wish to, you don't have to worry about any of that; you can just take Black Flag Resynced for what it is – a pirate action-adventure game. 

On more than one occasion, Ubisoft's writers have been too smart for their own good and written themselves into a corner with the Assassin's Creed convoluted modern-day plot. Threats of devastating solar flares and magnetic storms, the hijinks of a precursor race, and the modern-day war between Templars and Assassins culminating in the present-day reincarnation of an Isu is an absolute mess of a story and unnecessarily complex. 

Moving forward, it seems that Ubisoft are choosing to downplay its modern-day shenanigans in favour of a take-it-or-leave-it, optional "in simulation" narrative about opposing AI's that have infiltrated the Animus. Now, rather than playing a character who has entered the Animus, it is the player who has entered the Animus and is experiencing memories from the past.

Unlike in the original, you are no longer jarred out of the pirate fantasy that is Black Flag by the modern-day Assassin's Creed plot. You can enjoy Edward Kenway's story independently of the series excessive baggage. Which is rather smart. If you want to find the continuation of the modern-day subplot, that is also tucked away in Assassin's Creed Shadows, you can.

If you've not done so already, be sure to check out the Assassin's Creed Shadows tie-in missions, both the Black Cross Templar missions and the Ego missions that segue both the historical story and the Animus story into Black Flag Resynced.

Black Flag Resynced blends the romanticism of the golden age of pirates with the gameplay familiar to fans of the Assassin's Creed series. Edward Kenway's adventures take him to famous locations from pirate lore, such as Havana, Port Royal and the pirate haven of Nassau. The game map is vast and packed with interesting characters, missions and other activities, giving players well over a hundred hours of play. Exploring and the naval battles give near-limitless gameplay opportunities. 

On the open sea, as you pilot Kenway's ship, the Jackdaw, you will witness British, Spanish and pirate ships engaged in open hostilities, which you can join in with or sneak past, but watch for errant cannon fire. Ship-to-ship combat is satisfying and rewarding with plenty of loot to be gained. Instead of just sinking an enemy ship, which is an option, Kenway and his crew can overrun the ship, plundering it and using it for repairs, making it part of his fleet. From either Kenway's manor or his ship's stateroom, players can then dispatch ships from the fleet to perform missions in controlled waters. 

As well as the familiar viewpoint locations across the various islands which unlock fast travel points, there are also enemy forts to liberate. The forts require bombardment from the Jackdaw first, before landing and defeating the enemy. They are similar to raids in Valhalla, but grant fast travel points, reveal map areas and unlock missions for Kenway's fleet.

Black Flag Resynced may have been rebuilt from the ground up, but in many ways, it still feels like a classic Assassin's Creed game. Edward Kenway's movement in Black Flag Resynced feels different to Naoe in Assassin's Creed Shadows. But this is perhaps by design. Why should a rough pirate move like a shinobi? Assassin's Creed Mirage's Basim plays differently, as well. The same with the Viking Evior in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. 

The absence of the roleplaying elements that are a major part of more recent Assassin's Creed games may surprise players. There's less emphasis on unlocking abilities or upgrading clothing and weapons. Kenway's attire is purely cosmetic. Upgrading is really reserved for the Jackdaw, which can be augmented with things like extra cannons, better ammo, a strengthened hull and a battering ram. Following the officer side missions grants extra crew members that bring with them further abilities to help dominate the ocean.

The game's updated combat allows players to strike and parry attacks, with extra abilities similar to those of Assassin's Creed Shadows allowing Kenway to kick and leg-swipe enemies, as well as fire a shot from his pistol. And then, of course, there are assassinations, using the series staple, the hidden blade. All in all, it's fun, if a little easy, to dispatch enemies in the game.

Much of the game is familiar, but there are still enough differences to make things interesting. As I've mentioned, Kenway's movement takes a little getting used to, but the rooftop running and the hiding feel old-school compared to more recent games in the series. Just as was the intent with Mirage, Black Flag Resynched is much more of a throwback to the original entries as opposed to totally being modernised. But there is around six hours of new gameplay, including a whole new epilogue.

Visually, the game is a massive improvement over the original Assassin's Creed IV. It feels like you are playing the 2013 game, and many of the same cues are still there, but it's as if it were a fresh 2026 entry. Black Flag Resynced overhauls every aspect of the original without going too far. The result is the pirate fantasy game that you may remember, but thanks to the improvements to Ubisoft's Avil Engine, it has an even more epic, cinematic scale. 

In recent years, the likes of Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Valhalla have overtaken my love for Black Flag. The visuals and more modern gameplay trumped Edward Kenway's original adventure. But with Black Flag removing the RPG elements of the later games and going back to basics similar to Mirage, my love for this pirate instalment has been reinvigorated.

It's a credit to the development team that they have, in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, at once created a fresh Assassin's Creed game for a new audience, and one that also treats the original material with such reverence for us old timers.