Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Review

Special thanks to Ubisoft for providing an early review copy.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is a remake of the original Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag by Ubisoft. released in 2013. It's rebuilt from the ground up using the Anvil engine, the same one utilized in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

My thoughts and review on this game will be from the perspective of someone who never played the original because of... reasons (I'm blaming you Assassin's Creed III)

I've been a fan of the Assassin's Creed franchise ever since the first one with Altaïr at the helm. I've played a few under my belt like the Assassin's Creed II trilogy, Odyssey, Shadows and more. Plenty of times, I always heard from friends, colleagues or random people on the internet say Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is their favorite in the whole series. With this remake, I truly understand why.

Gameplay:

I had an incredible time with various aspects of this game. The combat was extremely satisfying to dig into. When you get in a groove, everything works seamlessly. Parrying and dodging are key in order to not take heavy damage, but the other tools equipped in your arsenal are important too. Firing your pistols in quick succession to take enemies down. Using the rope dart to pull of the Scorpion "GET OVER HERE" to stun enemies (especially the ones with firearms) and bring them closer to you. Throwing a smoke bomb to cause a direction OR throw it on a group of enemies and go to town. These tools work well separately, but the real beauty is when you seamlessly chain them together. When the enemies' hat comes off, the takedowns are absolutely GRUESOME.

Stealth has always been a cornerstone aspect of Assassin's Creed and its identity isn't lost here. You can hire people and walk with them like they're your entourage so you can blend him. Got to listen to a conversation? Find a nearby bench and blend in so you can overhear the details. The balance is there when it comes to deciding whether you want to take on a tactical approach or announce your arrival to everyone and take them all down. It was cool to see the variety of enemies in this game when it came to weapon selection, types of attacks and so on. You couldn't enter every situation the same because you don't know who to expect. The enemies adapt to how you play as well. You can't just spam the same button over and over again. They'll look at you and think "I've seen this attack before" and they'll keep you on your toes.

I loved fighting other ships you find at sea because of the amount of skill it requires to not have your boat get sunk. You can't just whip a massive boat at the drop of a dime like a car trying to drift around a corner. There's different speeds you can go while fighting other ships but that also limits your maneuverability. Ships and forts adapt to how you move and will start shooting mortars and other types of firepower at you and if you're not looking around your boat and only at your enemy, you'll pay for it dearly. Fighting ships isn't the only naval activities you can do. Just like you can hunt animals on land, you can do the same at sea. I'm talking killer whales, hammerhead sharks, the big dogs of the ocean and they'll give you a run for your money if you're not careful. The deep sea diving was beautiful, but also dangerous. Sharks will find you and last time I checked, they don't mind eating humans for food. You can blend in with other fish traveling or if you're in a bind, dodge them at the right moment and keep it moving.

World Design:

This is the most beautiful Assassin's Creed game to date! The moment you set sail on your pirate ship in the Caribbean, you see how dynamic the game truly is. I forget I'm playing a game when the sun hits the ocean. It's like I'm there! When you sail to different areas, the weather dynamically changes and slowly adjusts. Sometimes, storms show up and you have to navigate past tornados and rogue waves. It's a thrill! I did not expect this level of detail.

Every place feels like a paradise in its own way. You start off in Havana and you see the infrastructure really built out with the buildings and the markets. You got somewhere else like Kingston or Nassau, you see villages and agricultural crops and the infrastructure isn't necessarily the best. Even the smaller islands have their own bit of flair to them too with different weather conditions, animals, different synchronization points, etc. One thing that really impressed me was the character detail is impressive and I'm not only talking about for Edward. Typically, NPCs will not look as detailed as the main character with their face models, attire, accessories and so on. The NPCs you see either walking around or sitting down, zooming into them they were designed with care.

Story (No Spoilers):

The start of this game truly threw me off. The main character Edward Kenway is this privateer-turned pirate and the first thing I do is kill a Templar who was an Assassin. And I stole his whole flow like Drake did with Soulja Boy (yes I took his outfit). The Templars realize he's not who he says he is, gets captured and his journey towards becoming the greatest pirate ever (Not really, this isn't One Piece) begins. Across the Caribbean, you meet people that ride for you. Betray you. Thrust you into danger for their own gain. All Edward wanted was to live a simple life and instead, he ended up being part of a century old conflict between the Assassins and the Templars when he just wanted to make some coin.

Edward Kenway is truly something else. He's a completely different person from the start to the end. Early in the game, Edward would typically respond to questions or statements with a selfish point of view. Only caring about how rich he'd get and how he'd be set for life. He definitely had a mouth on him too. Despite those things, man was he smart. Through the course of the story, you start to see his mannerisms as well as the way he carries himself are more mature and not childish. At each turning point, there was a flashback moment to him and his wife and you can easily see the growth he's undertaken as well as how much he struggled too. Edward is one of the few protagonists in the franchise where joining the Assassins wasn't a decision made out of revenge. It was one made strictly because of the ideals the Assassins held onto. To uphold them. "Nothing is true, but everything is permitted."

Extras:

There's plenty to do if you want something other than the main story to bite into. You can accept Templar hunts where you team up with another assassin. There's Assassin and Naval contracts to extinguish a specific target or ship. You can deck our the manor you gain with different ships and art you collect and you can choose where they go. I thoroughly enjoy the mini games available at some of the shops. I played checkers on a 3 star difficulty (its out of 3 stars by the way) and I got wiped the floor with and it was hilarious! Had to knock the cobwebs out. I saw a notification on the map about a "local event" and it was a cat that took care of a rodent problem. Cat was chilling next to the dead rats. Turns out local events happen in multiple areas on the map. There are areas in the ocean where you deep dive for treasure and you can actually get stung by jellyfish. The game has so many details, they're hard to miss.

Issues:

While the parkour system in this game has allowed for more freedom to jump whenever you want than its predecessor (based on footage I saw), it isn't "true" freedom. There's still times you still have to follow some path in order to get to your destination. I've had cases where I literally see where I'm supposed to go and yet, the direct path where it's feasible to make isn't available to me. I have to go the roundabout way as the game intended. Also, some of the most obvious jumps to make, Edward just jumps at a completely different angle, but the spot I wanted to land at was literally... right... there. Very similarly to Assassin's Creed Shadows, the amount of extra "battle pass" notifications showing up on screen during gameplay without having a way to clear it all in the menu was a bit annoying. I believe you can turn them off if you adjust your HUD settings, but it's all in your face from the jump and that was a bit off-putting.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced - Final Verdict:

Based on footage I saw of the original, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced keeps the heart while enhancing how it's delivered to us, the player. If anyone asked for my recommendation on what Assassin's Creed game is the easiest to get into, it's definitely this one. Pirates, tropical setting, beautiful visuals, satisfying gameplay. What more could you ask for?

8.7/10 - GREAT