Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, as its name suggests, is a ground-up remake of the 2013 hit that lets you relive the pirate assassin swashbuckling adventure in the original game but with new gameplay, souped-up graphics and more.
Often lauded as one of, if not the best, Assassin’s Creed game by players, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag (AC Black Flag) spawned the epic open-world concept for the franchise. It also made famous the action-adventure oriented gameplay, massive melee battles as well as naval exploration and combat.
The game’s memorable characters, including the dashing protagonist, pirate assassin Edward Kenway, as well as an engaging story of camaraderie, avarice and betrayal, stayed with gamers long after the credits rolled. AC Black Flag had a lot going for it although the detraction from a primarily stealth-based gameplay was a bit of a gamble back in the day.
Resynced is close to my heart as the development was led by Ubisoft’s Singapore studio, with support from other studios worldwide. To the delight of Singapore gamers, the game features hidden Easter eggs as a treat for Singaporean gamers.
Think of trinkets and mastheads shaped like the Merlion, comments from NPCs (non-playable characters) about durians as stinky cargo and an island on the map with a very familiar shape.
Half of my heart is in Havana ooh nana
AC Black Flag/Resynced takes place in the 18th century in the Caribbean during the golden age of piracy. You play Edward, the Welshman born in Swansea, who left his wife behind in England while he searched for wealth as a privateer.
Initially only motivated by coin and treasure at the cost of his friends and loved ones, Edward found himself embroiled in the war between Templars and Assassins. With one of the best stories in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, AC Black Flag is a memorable experience with a host of noteworthy characters as well as some genuinely tear-jerking moments.
Although it was one of the most highly-ranked Assassin’s Creed games, I felt that AC Black Flag was starting to depart from the stealth-based gameplay to a more epic, combat-heavy gameplay. But the game was genuinely fun and brimmed with bold ideas that took the franchise in a different direction.
Resynced takes the detraction even further, completely doing away with the modern-day Abstergo sequences in the original AC Black Flag. It makes sense at this point in time since the newer AC games have deviated too far from the Abstergo subplot in the older AC games.
The original premise was that a modern day user enters an Abstergo simulation to experience a life led by someone in the past through memories stored in their DNA. Instead, these are replaced by dreamlike holographic sequences in the Animus, similar to the Animus rift experience in AC Shadows where you get to encounter EGO and the Eagle in the Animus and delve more into the backstories of the characters.
Another big difference offered by Resynced is the modernised improved combat, which is more fast-paced compared to AC Black Flag. Edward can now parry, dodge, shoot and even execute chained takedowns instead of the player having to press the right key or button in time to counter and break the enemies’ defence in AC Black Flag.
If I have to nitpick, I admit I miss some aspects of the original AC Black Flag, such as the mini-map on the heads-up display but having been used to using the “observing” mode in the newer AC games, I quickly got accustomed to it.
I also miss the grittier and worn look of buildings as well as more elaborate animations of NPCs in the original AC Black Flag, which lend a more authentic feel than the overly polished and repetitive look of Resynced.
But all that’s forgotten once I see the beautiful waves crashing on the visually enhanced ship, The Jackdaw, captained by a more handsome Edward. The roguish protagonist is looks much better in Resynced, with better defined facial features and animations and less wild-eyed and scrappy than in the original.
Resynced takes advantage of modern gaming systems to deliver a breath-taking visual experience with detailed features and facial expressions for the characters, beautiful sceneries of the Caribbean and the most spectacular-looking ocean.
I played Resynced on my Radeon RX 7900XTX graphics card on a 4K OLED display, and was blown away by how much more stunning the game looks compared to AC Black Flag. Even if your gaming rig isn’t top of the line, don’t despair as Resynced runs decently on older systems too.
I also managed to play Resynced on my seven-year-old gaming laptop with only an Nvidia GeForce GTX 2060 graphics card. The graphics were a lot less spectacular, of course, but the game performed decently and was completely playable at a smooth 60 frames per second.
Travel the world and the seven seas
Although the main story, map and locations remain largely the same, which is the Caribbean as well as some quick jaunts to Príncipe along the African coast, Resynced expands the original AC Black Flag experience, adding a new chapter in the main storyline as well as new characters with their own side quests.
The new characters serve as officers on the Jackdaw and grant the ship with additional powers and abilities that make naval combat even more thrilling. With their own story arcs and motivations, these new characters add more depth to the game and also more allies for Edward.
Fans of the original Black Flag will be pleased to know that Edward Kenway’s original voice actor, Matt Ryan, was roped in to create the additional dialogue, so the new content doesn’t feel out of place.
Sailing across the map and docking at cities is now completely seamless without the immersion-breaking loading screen in the original AC Black Flag, which makes exploration so much more enjoyable.
In addition, Resynced adds quality-of-life upgrades in the form of pathfinding and a cruise mode that lets the Jackdaw sail automatically to the destination while you can go AFK (away from keyboard) to get a snack or a toilet break.
This isn’t entirely foolproof though – once I returned to the game with my snack to witness the Jackdaw caught in a deadly crossfire between the Spanish and English fleets!
Resynced has also added some new content to Edward’s base at Great Inagua. As with the original, vendors can be invested in and upgraded to unlock more improvements.
You have two new vendors, namely the Treasure Map vendor who can piece treasure map fragments together, as well as a Fisherman’s Wharf that provides you with items caught in their fishing nets. In addition, you can also decorate the Great Inagua mansion with treasures that Edward finds in his travels, just for vanity’s sake.
Sunken wrecks, hidden treasures
As with the original AC Black Flag, Resynced offers plenty of lucrative side activities to partake in, with some new additions. Old favourites include taking on naval convoys and assassination contracts for Edward to earn money, finding treasure chests, plundering warehouses and storming forts. And you can also go hunting down animals, solving Mayan stelae puzzles, and sending ships from Edward’s fleet on campaigns to earn money and resources and deep sea diving for treasures.
Unfortunately, one of my least favourite achievements has also been increased in Resynced, which is chasing down sea shanty song sheets as they fly across rooftops and trees. For those who enjoy singing along with the crew, Resynced has added 10 more new shanties to the original 35. The game also adds new random activities like defeating Animus anomalies including characters and ships for Animus rewards.
Resynced has expanded on the collectables and achievements, which will satisfy completists, loot hoarders and treasure hunters. As with the original, collectables include maps and treasure chests, animal skins for upgrades, Mayan stones and Animus fragments.
In Resynced, the addition of paintings and portraits, ornamental displays and ship models which are scattered across the map, can be displayed in Edward’s mansion in Great Inagua. There is also a variety of new swords, pistols and armour for Edward, as well as cool ship upgrades and cosmetic items like sails, mastheads and ship wheels to find.
The most valuable finds are the Ultimate Plans (known previously as Elite Ship Upgrades in AC Black Flag) that are essential for the Jackdaw’s final upgrades of the weapons, hulls and ammo storage.
These upgrades make naval combat and fort storming a lot less challenging especially in the later stages of the game. Many of these are hidden in sunken shipwrecks which Edward can explore once the diving bell is acquired.
Thanks to the improved graphics and audio in Resynced, the dreaded sense of thalassophobia is even stronger in the deep underwater world when Edward is diving for treasures with the risk of running out of air, being attacked by sharks and jellyfish and getting stuck in wrecks.
It took me over 80 hours to complete the main story, side missions and most of the collectables, but I was put off by some of the annoyingly elusive sea shanties song sheets, the overly tense claustrophobic and thalassophobic deep sea diving and tough Animus boss battles!
Weigh heigh and up she rises!
Resynced retains the original soundtrack from Black Flag but adds on some new pieces that sound more epic and “piratey”. In Resynced, the music is dynamically triggered by gameplay, making the musical soundstage more complementary to the fast paced action.
With the new shanties included in the game as well as the familiar favourites, sailing and singing along to the rousing sea shanties while sailing with the Jackdaw’s crew is definitely a high point in the game.
Engineered with Dolby Atmos spatial audio technology, the ambient sounds in Resynced are a lot more immersive and richer in detail compared to the original. With a good surround sound system and headphones, the thundering storms and crashing of the waves as well as the subtle underwater acoustics during diving are a treat for the ears.
Despite the technical achievements of Resynced, it would not have been a real Assassin’s Creed game without bugs and glitches aplenty. I had issues with Edward humping chests while trying to loot them unsuccessfully, which created plenty of anxiety for me during the timed “Burning Ship” activity that requires Edward to loot chests before the ship blows up.
There were also instances of Edward and enemies getting stuck in walls, forcing a game restart. Plus, the game freezing up and crashing during heated combat or overly enthusiastic exploration off the beaten path.
Another gripe I have is with the controls, which I found rather clunky and unresponsive during tense traversals and battles, with poorly-executed parkour jumps and combat actions especially while sprinting. The default controller scheme with the left stick button for sprinting is also taxing on the thumb during a long gaming session. A search online assured me I wasn’t the only one who felt this way.
Some new improvements in the latest patch allows for Edward’s gear to be hidden, so that the blowpipe on his back doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb and ruin his dapper suit. Although Resynced does not have a New Game Plus mode as yet, the sheer number of collectibles, challenges and treasures to find makes Resynced a game that will give you a reason to return for a good number of hours.
Some remakes do not improve the original game’s experience – think Mafia and Grand Theft Auto Trilogy. These were actually regressive remakes, sacrificing playing experience in terms of gameplay and character development for better graphics and modernised controls.
But Resynced lights the fire for Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed games, reminding fans why this franchise is so great in the first place. For those whose itch for a satisfying pirate adventure is not scratched by Skull and Bones or Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced provides a much-needed relief.
TL;DR
Resynced is everything you love about AC Black Flag, with modernised combat and gameplay, although it has lost some of the rustic charm of the original.
If you had intended to replay it with a modern PC gaming rig or console, or if you are just looking for a fun pirate assassin action adventure open-world game with plenty to do and a great yarn to boot, just get Resynced. Added bonus if you are a Singaporean tickled by cameos of the Merlion and durians.
With remarkable graphics and sound quality especially of the sea, Resynced takes full advantage of modern gaming systems to deliver an unforgettable experience. However, some annoying bugs and dodgy controls rub off some of the shine.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is available for PC at the Ubisoft Store and Steam at S$79.90, for Xbox Series X|S at S$84.75 and PlayStation 5 at S$84.90.
