Black Flag Resynced Review: Full Breakdown & Transcript

[00:00] reality. And that's what Squarespace does for millions of other people, too. careers, build new businesses, or just get things done. They're offering a the video to learn more. Okay, so Assassin's Creed Black Flag

[00:18] documented since he's never been shy about calling it one of his favorite games ever. And given he's already done a 40-minute preview on it that covered a lot of ground, he thought it would be fun to hand this review over to me, and

[00:32] I was more than happy to oblige. Despite 2026 being the year of many hotly anticipated games, this was actually the one I was looking forward to the most because Assassin's Creed Black Flag is, in fact, the only mainline Assassin's

[00:44] Creed entry I have not played. I know, I know. Suffice to say, it's been one of franchise. I think at the time of its release, I wasn't totally drawn to the whole pirate thing, particularly the focus on a ship battles since those were

[00:59] since. But after years of hearing people praise this thing, myself feeling fatigued by the modern entries, and finishing that Black Sails series, which piece to this game, I promised myself that someday I'd loop back to Black

[01:17] Flag. And hey, as luck would have it, Ubisoft were working on a remake. Having now played and rolled credits after some 30 hours, I can say that yeah, this game Ubisoft have done a brilliant job updating it for the modern day. Like,

[01:31] I'm going into this in the year 2026 with no nostalgic goggles. I'm here to tell you that Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is now my favorite remake not existed and I instead played the original game this year, I'm sure I

[01:47] would have ranked it very highly as is because everything in this remake that hasn't changed from the original still absolutely holds up. I I Black Flag has easily the most affecting story and memorable cast of characters in the

[02:00] franchise. It's activity variety and more restrained progression feel quite refreshing when set against the bloat of the modern games. The ship combat is so much more engaging than I imagined it'd be. And of course there's the music.

[02:12] Man, the music in this game is absolutely incredible. With this remake what was already a feather-filled cap. Now not only do I think this is the best-written Assassin's Creed game, but it's also the best-looking by virtue of

[02:28] this massive visual overhaul that makes for a truly stunning and immersive strikes a fine balance between the older games and the new, making you feel like a badass pirate assassin, but in a way that's encouraged and earned. And that

[02:43] combined with refinements to stealth and parkour arguably makes this one of the best Assassin's Creed games from a gameplay perspective. But Ubisoft didn't overhauls are all the brand new additions. Some of them, like most of

[02:58] the new quests and the ability to swim underwater anywhere in the world, aren't cutscenes written by the original game's writer, do uplift the whole package. All

[03:10] told, Black Flag re-synced takes the incredibly solid foundations laid down by the Ubisoft of 13 years ago, builds upon it with the artistic and technical expertise of today's Ubisoft, and implements all the lessons learned from

[03:22] fans of Black Flag are going to be quite pleased with how faithfully this has been updated. And to those like me who are fortunate enough to be playing this beloved game for the first time in this way, I hope you see legs already for one

[03:36] hell of an adventure. >> My god, you're a cipher, [music] salty eyes.

[03:52] >> I'm a husband and a father. I have responsibilities. [music] Life can't be all pleasure and distraction, Duncan. All right. So, I think the most obvious Now, don't get me wrong. I think the original Black Flag was a great-looking

[04:08] game at the time of its release. But, I remind you that that was basically two generations ago, releasing on the PS3 and 360 back in 2013. So, Ubisoft have rebuilt Black Flag from the ground up in the latest iteration of the Anvil

[04:21] will about Shadows, but there's no denying that that was a fantastic-looking video game. Almost goes without saying then that the same is true of this remake. The Caribbean's cerulean seas and turquoise shallows

[04:34] shine so vividly here. Its tropical jungles are ridiculously dense with vegetation, and its rickety villages and main ports are crammed with detail and bustling with life. Add to that fancy new-gen lighting and the new and

[04:47] Flag Resurgence delivers the most striking and immersive rendition of the high seas we've ever seen in a video game. That sense of virtual tourism has experience that at its peak in the golden age of piracy is pretty damn

[05:05] magical. I'm not going to lie. Considering this level of fidelity, I thought it ran pretty well, too. Playing this on my main PC equipped with an RTX 4090 at 1440p max settings with ray

[05:21] tracing also set to max and no frame gen enabled, I was hitting around 60 FPS with the occasional dip. Turning on DLSS to balanced was a lot more comfortable, expensive rig. I don't have another PC to test it on, but I did play around 10

[05:37] play most modern games these days. I know people turn their nose at AI upscaling. Fair enough. But, hey, I was pretty happy with the fact that with DLSS set to balanced and FSR frame gen set to 2x, I was able to play this at

[05:51] 1440p, high settings, ray tracing also set to max with a consistent 60 plus FPS. I didn't notice any artifacting or input delay, so do with that information tracing set to max, and the answer might be obvious to you watching the gameplay

[06:08] given how much water there is in this game between the puddles left by the frequent rain and you know, the ocean. I do recommend playing with ray tracing on if you can because those crisp accurate reflections do make a huge difference.

[06:21] The little one's been poorly this week, so she's worrying her head off with any Ubisoft have achieved here with this visual overhaul. I mean, Black Flag is

[06:35] not a small game. They've had to remodel, retexture, and replace every original look as they could. It really can't be understated just how much work the art team has done here, and it absolutely pays off. I'd go as far to

[06:50] makeover extends to the characters, too, of course, and while I'm sure some may have mixed feelings on their new looks, as is often the case with remakes, I remaining faithful to their original designs. Obviously, this added fidelity

[07:07] makes these characters feel more real, but in many ways, it also enhances their story beats. A good example, I think, is this incredible monologue from Thatch, aka Blackbeard. >> Give your quarry something to fear.

[07:21] Some hellish thing from a fever dream. And men will drop to their knees pleading for their lord BEFORE ALL ELSE. >> [groaning]

[07:39] >> PRETTY FANTASTIC CUTSCENE, RIGHT? If we compare this with the original, fine details like wrinkles in his updated model show his age a lot better. And the sizzling fuses light his face in a way that's even more menacing. You can see

[07:53] the sweat on Bonnet's skin and the tears beginning to well in his eyes as Thatch towers over him. Point is, the new visuals add extra layers to the killer this even more so. I think you can also pick out what's been slightly lost,

[08:08] though. The new facial animation does appear a little more restrained, lacking dramatic lighting is effective, perhaps the flat overcast of the original

[08:20] emphasized how intimidating Thatch can be even in unremarkable conditions. As I personally. And to be honest, I think the underlying performances still come through so strongly that most people, even fans of the original, would only

[08:35] am for some good-looking visuals, the main reason this game left such an impression on me, as the original did for so many others, is the razor-sharp at least briefly talk about it. Back when Ubisoft were making 20-plus hour

[08:53] stories instead of 50-plus, packed with properly shot cutscenes and expensive performance capture, they knew they needed to make every line count. And damn did the original game's lead writer, Darby McDevitt, make them count.

[09:06] verisimilitude. I love that his quest for a free life is cleverly aligned with versus control mantra that defines the Assassin versus Templar conflict, having

[09:20] Kenway witness the price that is often paid in that pursuit and regularly testing his character. Like any man, his motivations wax and wane. Deep down, always meaning well, but could just as easily succumb to the allure of wealth

[09:32] north. >> For Christ's sake, Edward. Don't let >> What's got into you, man? >> Reality, mate.

[09:45] brilliant story, and the allies and villains he meets along the way are just ways of speaking that make them sound like they're actually from this time

[09:57] period, a far cry from what we get in the newer AC entries. Thatch, Bonnet, Bonny, Rackham, Vane, Rogers, Roberts, and more, every one of these characters times. It's been a minute since I played the older games in the series, and I'm

[10:13] game with anywhere near as memorable a cast. In fact, I'd go as far to say it's something that scares few games, even today, are able to achieve. >> Dash, mate. Buttons. Your life seems a grand one, if I may say.

[10:28] >> There has been at least one notable change in the narrative department, though, and that's the removal of the modern-day stuff. My understanding is Animus for research or something, all of course part of a nefarious plan for the

[10:43] modern-day Templars to extract the whereabouts of an ancient device. In the some purists will take issue with, and I get it. That meta-narrative added another layer of intrigue and served as the connective tissue between the games.

[10:58] Personally, though, I never cared much for this. I didn't really like being interesting characters that I'm invested in feel like a bullet point in someone felt as keenly, since in their place are new scenes written by McDevitt himself,

[11:16] which, while few, strengthen Black Flag's emotional core. That being >> So, how's it feel to drink like a duke?

[11:28] >> [laughter] >> Edward, my father is a merchant. I've had chocolate many times. >> Have Have you not?

[11:45] >> Go on then. >> Like many scenes written by McDevitt, this intro manages to say so much with so little. It puts Kenway's inner conflict front and center, emphasizing that the life he's yearning to give

[11:59] Caroline is one she's in fact already lived and willingly leaves behind for loved ones, while a noble, is in most part driven by his own pride and insecurities. Or at least, that's my read on it. There are a couple more

[12:14] what Kenway is fighting for. With McDevitt pointing out in an interview presence throughout his entire journey." End quote. And I'd say that's definitely

[12:27] the case. The story additions that I'm a little more iffy about were the new interview that the only ones he wrote were to do with Caroline. [music] There are two new quests involving Thatch and Bonnet. Those I didn't have a problem

[12:40] bring some nice closure to their stories and feel broadly in keeping with the officers. These are new characters created just for this remake, and

[12:53] combat capabilities for your ship. To be clear, I think these quest lines are combat even more interesting. The stories behind them are not great.

[13:08] They're pretty cut and dry tales of revenge told with very little subtlety and short-lived character arcs. But the worst part is that they sap all >> The man who put you in a box. Vile business to buy us.

[13:24] So it goes. Should I be spared when others face the box? Should I stand aside and tinker with cannons? >> Well, there are no boxes here.

[13:38] >> See what I mean? He's just really dry. Doesn't really care about these people. really is like this in every one of these quest lines. Further, the

[13:52] cutscenes here do a lot of that stilted shot reverse shot thing that the modern AC games do. And they even have Kenway use that stock hero pose pulled straight pose? More disappointing, I think, is that these things bleed into the new A

[14:07] of end-game quest line, maybe even an epilogue of sorts. It actually opens up just before you hit the last chapter. And what I'll say is I am thankful that I did it then rather than saving it for after the credits. I won't go into

[14:22] line, I'd hoped for something a little more profound than what was delivered up to that point in the story, resetting him to factory settings, and having him

[14:36] relearn the same lessons only in 2 hours instead of 20, and again without any of >> Our quartermaster's not going to like this.

[14:48] >> Mum's the word, then. She'll come around when she sees the always going to be a tall task to match the caliber of writing in the original game. Just a shame they couldn't come a little closer to meeting that bar. The

[15:02] not even close. Alongside this huge visual overhaul and these story additions, there have also been several big and small additions to the gameplay side. So, let's talk about those next.

[15:23] Now, like I said, I didn't play the original, but I do know how it operates, and I did play a ton of Assassin's Creed 3, which, as I understand, plays very similarly, having only released a year prior. The combat in older Assassin's

[15:37] Creed games, like Black Flag, was rather binary. For the most part, you could get either dodge or counter with a stylish insta-kill. And you know what? It worked, and I quite liked it. Simple as it was, the minimized inputs ensured

[15:52] animations all wove together smoothly, making you look cool and feel cool all the time. Like many fans then, I was not all that enthused by the move to the widely adopted actiony combat with blocks, charged heavy attacks, and

[16:05] abilities to cycle off cool down. It prioritized agency over style, style among some that this remake would be leaning in that direction. Thankfully, that's not quite the case. Combat in Black Flag Resync finds a happy medium

[16:20] between the new and old combat styles that I think works brilliantly. In our videos people made with Black Flag, stringing together cool combos that leverage all the weapons and counter animations. And yeah, what a great place

[16:35] playing Assassin's Creed, right? But because the game never really rewarded D-pad to switch weapons, most players did not engage with the combat this way.

[16:48] The design goal then for combat in Resync was to make that style of play the default. As such, the traditional weapon swaps are gone. The hidden blades cannot be swapped to in combat. They're now only used for stealth kills and the

[17:00] but personally, I'm not too bummed about it. Then when it comes to your pistols, stealth tools like smoke bombs and the blowpipe when needed. So, in regular

[17:13] combat then, you're mostly relying on your trusty swords with a basic combo and a new special attack unique to each sword type. A thrust for rapiers, a wide slash for cutlasses, and as for the pistol swords, well, good news, they

[17:25] through many encounters by simply waiting for enemies to attack and countering, but that loop's now a little more involved. The parry window is a fair bit tighter than you might expect, and there's now also an extra button

[17:39] much, but enemies can and will interrupt you within that short window. So, it does retain that parry loop, but you can't be asleep at the wheel anymore. that's taken to another level with all the other ways you're able to set up

[17:56] combined with a button input, kind of like abilities in the modern AC games, specific situations, almost like a fighting game. If an enemy's guarding,

[18:10] the leg. If an enemy's backing into a wall, you can kick them into it to stagger them. Or if they're near a ledge, you can use it to boot them off.

[18:24] reeling toward you with the rope darts. you've got the ammo.

[18:39] be countered in ways that you didn't expect, forcing you to change your approach. Some enemies will just dodge your kicks or bat away your rope dart. but fair enough. For the most part though, you will still feel pretty

[18:55] enemy attack patterns, but hey, that's part of the fun of Assassin's Creed, or at least it used to be. They're supposed to be a power fantasy, allowing you to flow going. Black Flag re-sinks to keeps that spirit alive, but by eliminating

[19:13] weapon swapping and offering extra inputs, feels more intuitive, immediate, and deliberate.

[19:27] overhaul, it too benefits from some subtle additions. Getting spotted during into combat. Kenway can also now manually crouch, where I believe he

[19:41] and shadows will now affect how easily you're detected. A really great mechanic carried over from Assassin's Creed Shadows, which I personally think had an underrated stealth sandbox. I honestly think the thing that makes

[19:55] It's just the way that Kenway moves. Parkour has long been a staple of this depth and elegance of the older games. Time will tell how purists might feel

[20:10] least not to the same extent. Kenway in re-skinned is very agile, bounding between rooftops, trees, and beams with minimal halts in momentum. The ability to manually jump, back eject, and side eject for a higher skill ceiling and

[20:25] self-expression are also in here at launch, whereas the other modern entries relieved to find that Kenway feels great to control. It's not quite at the level of Unity, which is where I personally feel parkour was at its best, but it's

[20:40] getting pretty damn close. The other major combat element, of course, is the ship combat. Safe to say

[20:52] my assumptions about how I'd feel about this were completely incorrect. The ship combat in this game absolutely rules. There's just so much to hold in your line of sight and forcing you to to the arc of your volleys. There's bracing for

[21:07] incoming fire, they're steering the ship to avoid mortars or land masses, or know all this already, but the remake's new weather effects give you even more to think about. The storms create heavy gusts that you need to fight against,

[21:22] that you need to get the hell away from.

[21:35] with the S-tier soundtrack and the voice acting and the gameplay, it really is something special. Like there was a point in this game where Blackbeard is arousing the crew at the top of his lungs while a terrifying storm is raging

[21:50] cannonfire is being blasted back and forth lighting up the surrounds. And in that moment, I was just thinking to myself, holy [ __ ] did Ubisoft nail this pirate fantasy.

[22:12] The final new feature worth touching on is that you can now swim in any body of water, whereas before this was reserved for specific diving bell areas. If I'm it'd encourage exploration with chests hidden in all manner of underwater

[22:27] arrival to a new area. You'd think it'd expand the stealth sandbox since many occasions in the game where you actually need or can do that. So

[22:41] However, I get that all of this would have required changes to mission and level design that were probably out of scope for this remake, so I don't fault that little bit more to see and do in a game that's already chock-full of things

[22:58] to see and do. isn't anything new when it comes to activities, but that's unsurprising.

[23:12] maps, forts, capturing and sending ships on missions, and more, I think Ubisoft kind of already hit the sweet spot here in offering a huge variety of things to do to drive progression and get more playtime out of the game, but crucially,

[23:27] entries ask you to grind levels and gear just to progress the story, or collect near endless knowledge scrolls to access more abilities. Black Flag, on the other

[23:39] hand, was made in the before times, a time when Ubisoft preferred to keep the overtly stopping you from doing whatever you want whenever it took your fancy. If plunder some ships to upgrade the Jackdaw or harpoon some sharks to craft

[23:56] be overcome by playing smarter in my experience. I loved this. I hope that in new appreciation for it, and that we might see this carried forward into

[24:10] future Assassin's Creed entries. >> So, you've got yourself a fancy brig now. Fine. note reads, quote, "In 2013, Black Flag was ahead of its time. The Caribbean was

[24:28] a world crafted with love and ambition. Resync is meant to honor the original and serve as a love letter to our community. Profusion of thanks, your support and love for Edward made this happen." End quote. And yeah, call me

[24:40] naive, maybe it's PR talk or whatever, but that line about Black Flag Resync serving as a love letter, I believe it. Even having not played the original, cutscene direction, ship combat, activity variety, and progression have

[24:55] been largely retained here. They knew that stuff was timeless and would still worse for wear, like the combat and visuals, and I think they managed to vision. And then there's all the extra adornments, and while not all of them

[25:12] are as meaningful as they could be, it's still cool that they're here because this remake without all these additions since so many people loved Black Flag copies, but it's nice to see Ubisoft not rest on their laurels. In knowing what

[25:30] to preserve, what to refine, and when to simply get out of their own way, Ubisoft have exercised level of restraint and thoughtfulness that I think many of us had begun to think the studio had lost. Thankfully, re-synced has proved that

[25:42] remake that should have fans fall in love with this game all over again while making new ones long into the future. And I know that because it's certainly Assassin's Creed game ever. It's got the best story, the best visuals, and some

[26:00] of the best gameplay. I had an absolute blast with this from the first unfurled sail to the last. The legend of Edward Kenway will not be one that I soon forget, that's for damn sure. And for that reason, I strongly recommend

[26:12] Assassin's Creed Black Flag re-synced. There are a lot of ways to do it, of course, streaming, community building,

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