Remaking a game from just a generation past always feels like a slightly strange endeavour.

Whenever I think of games that need or should get remakes, I think of a PS1/2 era game where the graphics look jagged and the controls are clumsy and in need of modernising.

The difficulty, of course, is these games probably need a lot more work. Take the Final Fantasy VII Remake, for instance, Square have fundamentally changed the game from the ground up and that takes years. Which is why we’re still waiting for a part 3. Whereas a more recent game has all the core elements in place and can pass for some higher definition, platform specific features and a few extra bells and whistles.

Fortunately, that’s not exactly the case for Resynced, a remake of the 2013 PS4 original. Yes, it’s largely the same game with a new lick of paint but you can also tell Ubisoft have put a ton of work into making this the Definitive Edition of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag.

Which also feels incredibly odd to say as this version is missing content. Specifically, the present day Abstergo sections where players visit the piratey world through a more advanced Animus. Instead, Resynced is fully set in Kenway’s Piratey world and replacing that content are new missions for some of the side characters of the game, including Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet.

Personally, I’m ok with this. Sure, the modern sections did break things up a bit and allowed you to learn about some of the historical context of the times while seeing how it all married up to the wider modern day plot, but Black Flag’s is and has always been at its best when you’re living the life of a pirate.

So the main story hasn’t changed, therefore if you’ve recently played Edward Kenway’s journey, it’s worth saying this isn’t a true remake. This is 80/85% like for like, but it looks a hell of a lot better, it feels smoother, the combat has been improved and many of the recent Assassin’s Creed stealth implementations are now in place. It just adds some more context to certain things and flesches out new details.

Which is actually important because you forget how much Assassin’s Creed has evolved since 2013. Sure it still has all the viewpoints and collectibles, but now Kenway can be crouched at any point. Which means if he’s in tall grass, he’s a lot harder to spot – which is more in-line with recent Creed games. And it works great, though I found sometimes the stealth elements weren’t perfect and I often got either caught too quickly or had times when I should have been spotted but wasn’t.

Parkour is also massively improved and flows so much better now as Kenway leaps from one tree to another and bounces between rooftops. The flow of Resynced feels much more akin to more Assassin’s Creed games and less jarring or interupted. He can easily get around and drop down on unsuspecting or get himself out of a critical situation. I love it.

And Combat is perhaps the games biggest improvement as there are now better options for counters, parries and takedowns. The swordplay is really brilliantly designed and again just has a better feel and flow to it. You can take on a group of enemies quite comfortably using the areas around you, and the gunplay breaks up the action nicely if you’ve got enemies trying to take you out from range or you need a quickshot solution to get rid of charging enemies.

Resynced is quite unique in terms of how to use terminology actually. Because it would be a little unfair to call this a remaster – it’s more than that. Systems are better, the visuals are a massive improvement – less greying and withered, more vibrant and eye-catching. Characters facial expressions are more clear and evident, animations are far better and there’s quite a bit of new content to play through. So I guess the term Resynced – being more of a halfway home between Remake and Remaster – is actually quite apt.

But the critical thing is that Ubisoft have made the game feel true to what it was. So ship sailing is still one of the best parts of the game as you cruise along the waters, shanties filling your ears and lands well off in the instance for you to venture off and explore. The sense of adventure is as present as its ever been, and in many ways its better as everything just looks and sounds better.

Similarly, if ship battles are your thing, you’ll find plenty to run up against and bear down on, though the weather and environmental effects add such an amazing addition with waves crashing around you, lightning strikes flashing down and so much going on along the waters like tornados that look more dangerous than ever.

As a game, Resynced is also more brutal than ever, with many of the kills quite guttural as you stab enemies through the chest and garrot them from high. I was actually really surprised at how graphic the game could be at times but its certainly more in line with what we’ve seen from recent Assassin’s Creed games and definitely authentic to the times.

There’s a couple of interesting additions in Resynced as well. For one, you can now recruit officers to the Jackdaw and unlock quest lines for them which will eventually lead to the character’s loyalty being improved and you unlocking new features for the Jackdaw. I love this change and it makes a ton of sense as you can give some identity to the people you’re sailing with.

One of the more intriguing additions are the Dark Animus quests which are essentially ‘what if’ scenarios for Kenway and crew. This is the big component replacing the modern day Assassin’s Creed sections and it actually seems by design, as if Assassin’s Creed is being built up for a new direction in the future with HEXE. I really like the approach and concept behind this and see an intriguing vision as it’s almost as if the entire legacy of the assassins could be rewritten by the modern day Templar. But for now, it makes for fun additional content that seems to have a deeper meaning.

You’ll also be able to bring pets onboard, find legendary ship designs and the aforementioned end-game missions and storylines for other characters. There’s enough in Resynced for players of Black Flag to come back to, unquestionably.

And that’s the thing ultimately – Black Flag was always one of my all-time favourite Assassin’s Creed games. While I enjoyed Shadows last year, I bounced off it a bit. Which surprised me as I’d been really eager for the Japanese setting for so long, but replaying Resynced, this is giving me the Assassin’s Creed back that I’ve loved and wanted. The adventure, exploration, not tying you to things, but just letting you be free in a fun and entertaining sandbox that’s beautiful to look at.

Valhalla got overwhelming for me and Odyssey – while a lot of fun –  I’d reached a ceiling with it. With Resynced, I found I wanted to do everything. Every side mission, look at every part of the map, unlock as many missions as I could. I wasn’t satisfied until I got everything out of this game and I still wanted more by the end. It’s not too big, not too small, and considering I’d already gone through these missions once upon a time before, the fact I was quite happy to do it again speaks volumes about the content.

And exploring the game’s beautiful underwater sections somehow feels quite refreshing, especially when it looks so good and is done so well. They’ve managed to really take advantage of the 4K resolution and make the game look even better than ever before. It’s very special!

One of the bigger detractors, of course, are the microtransactions, which have become a common staple of Assassin’s Creed games. Honestly, I find their inclusion a little odd for a singleplayer game – yes, Ubisoft removed the multiplayer from Black Flag Resynced, too – but clearly this is something that people still connect with and use. But obviously these weren’t present during the original Black Flag which makes their inclusion strange.

Similarly, having Red Bull branding on the ships sails is just….icky.

But it’s important to say all of this is optional, none of it is forced and you can play Resynced start to finish with no additional payments. They’re just there purely for players to get a bit more out of the experience if they want to. Which is fine and fair enough for me.

Ultimately, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is one of the better remake/remasters (resyncers?) I’ve played. It makes the original game better, it modernises it effectively, it adds meaningful additional content that contributes to the wider story and even expands it, and despite removing some content from the game – which I’m never really an advocate for being completely honest – it’s at least content that is an acceptable miss.

I didn’t play multiplayer a ton being honest and by Black Flag the modern day Abstergo bits and pieces felt like they were just there for the sake of it once Desmond’s story had concluded.

Whether it’s your first time playing this all-time classic, whether you’ve played it before, or if you’re a series veteran, you’ll find something to love here. This is, without question, as good as Assassin’s Creed has ever been and the important thing has been achieved here – they’ve made a great game even better. Irks and icks and all.

Verdict

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a successful reimagining of one of the best Assassin’s Creed games. It looks incredible, it feels and plays better than ever, there is some great new content added in here and existing mechanics have been updated to feel more modern and in-line with more recent games. Some content removed isn’t ideal for true preservation, microtransaction bits and icky branding feel a bit off, along with a few glitches here and there. But it was never enough to steer me away from how much enjoyment I was having and why this is a great example of how to do a remake right! 

Pros

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Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is out now on PC, PS, and Xbox.

Reviewed on Xbox Series X

Code Kindly Provided by Ubisoft for review purposes