Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced represents a new era for the stealth action series. While Ubisoft could have picked any game from the series’ storied history – remember when Assassin’s Creed games used to release every year? – the studio chose Black Flag as the first to get the remake treatment.
It’s a smart choice given how popular Black Flag is with the community, but Ubisoft is by no means playing it safe when it comes to the game’s development. As the studio’s creatives explained to me, this is not a game built on the bones of its predecessor. Even the naval combat in Black Flag, which you might expect would use the template of Skull & Bones, has been designed specifically for this game. Indeed, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a true remake.
I had the opportunity to play over 4 hours of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced to get a feel for how Ubisoft plans to modernize one of its most celebrated titles. From the visuals to the melee combat to the naval battles, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced captures the feel of the original, but it’s as sharp and snappy as ever. If the full game can live up to this small taste, then this is exactly what a remake should be.
Black Flag and Edward Kenway Get a Visual Upgrade
Visually, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced looks significantly better than the original, and that’s to be expected. Now running on the Anvil Engine seen in AC Shadows, Resynced has all the particle effects, detail, and depth that the more-recent Assassin’s titles have used. I wouldn’t necessarily say this is the most impressive-looking Assassin’s Creed title, which is a byproduct of the open-world nature of the game, but it still looks very good.
Character faces are particularly detailed, like the wrinkles on Blackbeard’s face or the details on a pirate’s scruffy facial hair. More than that, the world of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced feels more alive, with a higher density of NPCs, small leaves blowing in the wind, and most importantly, the use of light and shadow. Lighting is a crucial part of the series’ mythos in that the assassins use the shadows to their advantage, but that felt somewhat perfunctory in past games, where you merely assumed the character was invisible because of a meter. Here, you truly feel like Edward Kenway is blending into his surroundings.
Kenway is back, and with him comes the return of lead actor Matt Ryan, who may have first tipped fans off to the remake. While Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced does use the old voice lines from Ryan and the rest of the cast, the remake also features new missions and quests starring those same actors, with some minor exceptions. There has been some debate about how Kenway looks in Resynced, but I think he better aligns with Ryan, and that’s a good thing. It helps the character’s emotions come through more convincingly and gives one of AC’s most dynamic characters more layers.
Combat is Fast, Fluid, and Very Satisfying
While visuals can instantly showcase how Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced improves the original, the real make-or-break is how it plays. Ubisoft has captured the feel of Black Flag but revamped it to be both fluid and brutal. There are no RPG systems here, which means that player skill and their expression of that skill will fuel their success.
Small touches are what help evolve the game, like the ability to crouch anywhere, but those feel more like obvious considerations rather than big innovations. To bring Black Flag onto the same level as Shadows, for example, you can’t have players feeling stifled by 2013-era mechanics. Every part of that formula has evolved, in most cases for the better, over the years and Resynced isn’t looking to go back. It’s here that Resynced feels the most like it fits with the current era of Assassin’s Creed games, without abandoning what made the game so special.
Melee combat has come a long way since Black Flag, but Resynced is not following the same path as some of its predecessors. From what I could see, there was no deep RPG-esque equipment system – instead, your weapons have some modifiers like how many takedowns you can chain together, as well as some trinkets to boost the viability of tools or abilities. Your skill is your greatest ally, and I found the combat elegant and weighty, with the right amount of brutality.
Each enemy carries a health and a defense bar, where the defense bar prevents Edward from dealing meaningful damage. You can chip away at each opponent’s defense with basic attacks and even deal greater damage in a wide area with a charged heavy attack, but parries make the biggest difference. Perfect parries are where your skills as a player are most rewarded, as they instantly break the enemy’s defense and open them up to a takedown. And depending on your weapon’s attributes, you can chain that single takedown into multiple.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced still favors a parry-first approach and players will find success if they bait out attacks and do little more than react, but Edward can also break his opponent’s defense with more aggressive moves like kicks, which can cause big damage if they bash into a piece of destructible environment, or sweeps that knock them to the ground and leave them vulnerable. Dodges, and perfect dodges, let Edward add a little more finesse to his combat encounters, making the enemies look like fools as they slash at the air.
Mix in some tools like Edward’s pistol, the rope dart, or the smoke bomb, and there is a certain freedom of expression in the game. I wouldn’t say that it expands beyond what we have seen in the series thus far, but the parry is so satisfying in Resynced that it helps give fights energy from beginning to end. This isn’t necessarily new to Assassin’s Creed, mind you, but I appreciated how well-executed the familiar formula is without becoming overly complex like the more recent entries.
My one big gripe with the combat from the preview is the camera, which can oftentimes get stuck on geometry or otherwise obscure the full group of enemies Kenway is contending with. Because even just one strike can take a good chunk of damage (and require the use of a heal “charge”), players must be aware of their surroundings at all times – who is attacking, when, and from where. Unfortunately, there were more than a few times when I simply couldn’t see an attacker because the camera was either too close or the environment was too enclosed to offer a wide enough shot, which was frustrating. I also heard from several other previewers who found the camera troublesome as well. Obviously, this is something Ubisoft can improve before Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced releases in July, but it is something that has plagued past AC games and made certain combat scenarios problematic.
The Stealthiest Assassin’s Creed Has Been in a While
Stealth has an equally recognizable form in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced – you mark targets with Eagle Vision, plan your route, and pick off enemies one by one. AC is still at its best when you can choose your own path through a crowded patrol area, and Resynced gives you just enough tools to make that experience fun each time. Unlocking the rope dart much earlier in the original game allows for a lot of fun pick-off moments, while the blow dart helps solve those trickier sections with multiple guards.
If you’ve felt like Assassin’s Creed has become too action-heavy, Black Flag Resynced offers a nice reminder of how well the earlier games mixed both stealth and melee. And those little touches, like being able to crouch or using shadows to your advantage, modernize the stealth just enough to prevent it from feeling antiquated.
Black Flag Resynced offers a nice reminder of how well the earlier games mixed both stealth and melee.
Parkour is arguably the easiest thing to get right, but just one flaw can make the whole thing fall apart. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced nails that freedom of movement, with both an ascend and descend button. Its animation system is also extremely responsive, allowing you to change direction quickly and fluidly. There isn’t much else to say other than this feels right, and it looks as elegant as fans hope.
Sea Shanties and Ship Battles are Still Incredible
Black Flag didn’t introduce naval combat, but it became the series entry most notable for its use. Again, this isn’t repackaged Skull & Bones combat; this is its own thing. There are some bits and pieces borrowed from prior games, like the auto-targeting Swivel Gun from Rogue, and new upgradeable versions of the Jackdaw’s arsenal, like the Hot Shot that fires heated cannons or the Double Shot that packs a larger wallop at enemy vessels, but you don’t feel like this is an experience copied and pasted from another title.
Naval combat is a bit like riding a bike. It might take you a second to get into the rhythm necessary for success, but once you start to remember how crucial positioning is and when to attack versus when to brace, everything comes together so well. I loved jumping back behind the giant captain’s wheel and looking for trouble.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced expands the ability to swim under water to more freely allow Edward to venture under the sea. There are still the Diving Bell sequences, one of which I played during the preview, but even just ducking under water is now possible in the remake.
Although this is a remake, and it mostly follows along with the beats of the first game, there are new missions and quests available in Resynced as well. The modern-day, Abstergo sequences are gone, but that has allowed Ubisoft to expand on Edward’s own story and the story of some beloved side characters instead. During the preview, I was able to experience a sequence with Blackbeard that fit perfectly within the world of the game; it was well-acted and had its own arc. To be honest, more Assassin’s Creed when it comes to story is never a bad thing.
I did see a few of the classic elements of Assassin’s Creed in Resynced, like the music pages floating around Havana and there were forts to destroy and Armadas to board. But this is still an AC game and that means markers and copious side quests, and while I didn’t see enough of the Black Flag Resynced map to speak definitively, what I did see didn’t feel bloated with stuff to do. Just enough to try and entice, but not so much that it felt overwhelming.
Final Thoughts: Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag is arguably the best entry in the entire franchise, so a remake makes the most sense. But if you’ve played the title already, it really comes down to your affinity for Kenway’s adventures and your curiosity about the new content that will dictate whether this remake is appealing. If you haven’t played Black Flag, though, this feels like the definitive Assassin’s Creed experience, and one that has been handled with love and care.
It’s a tricky thing, trying to recreate the feeling of a 13-year-old game while still keeping it modern, but based on my hands-on time with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, I think Ubisoft has done it. The developers have nailed the fluidity that’s essential to sword combat, the methodical and experimental nature of the stealth is well-represented and fleshed out, and naval combat hits all the notes you would expect. There is not a piece of this remake that doesn’t fall in line with the spirit of the original game, even if it isn’t an exact carbon copy. I can’t wait to pop on a sea shanty and jump back into the swashbuckling world of Edward Kenway again.
- Released
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July 9, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence / In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced releases July 9, 2026 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. GameRant was provided travel support for this preview event.
