Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced review - the best pirate game got even better

Published: July 8, 2026

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced doesn't mess about, despite what the super-long title would suggest. It opens with several explosions, throws away the wristblades, and gets you on the high seas in less than 20 minutes. From there, it's chasing the horizon and gutting Spaniards, not necessarily in that order.

A remake of the 2013 entry into the Assassin's Creed universe, Black Flag Resynced overhauls the pirate game, bringing it up to modern standards and getting rid of a lot of guff - it was great then, and it turns out it's great now. It's kind of always been the anti-Assassin's Creed, what with the protagonist not really being that fussed with the band of hooded rascals as they are. It's about building a better life and raging against the machine, in theory.

Black Flag follows a man named Edward Kenway as he attempts to break from normality and live as a privateer. This eventually manifests as straight-up piracy, which is where we come in, guns blazing. It plays much like any other early Assassin's Creed game - pre-RPG enemy and item levels - with a main story and several different types of sidequests taking you all over the open world map.

After the explosive intro, I find myself in Havana. It's a moderately built-up area, perfect for those assassin parkour runs; it's dense without being overwhelming, and showcases a more traditional AC style of play. I tail a few soldiers, sneak into a heavily guarded fort to steal a few items - this is all very familiar. It's after this, though, where Black Flag shines.

Once I'm let loose in the world, things really start to take shape. In my ship, the Jackdaw, I can sail pretty much anywhere on the huge open-world map; there are so many small activities that cross my path wherever I go, and it's part of the constant drip-feed of stuff that makes Black Flag so compelling.

I'm not usually one for faff, but there's a strange balance here that works. There are so many small tasks that cross my path when I'm sailing from A to B - swathes of English and Spanish ships that can be looted, forts to be assaulted, spots to dive shipwrecks for treasure, and stretches of ocean prime for whaling. This doesn't cover everything, but to say there's a buffet of activities ahead of me whenever I set sail is an understatement.

None of these little sidequests alone would be enough to satisfy, but together they form to make the world seem alive and full of possibility. I never get tired of anything because there's always something else within arm's reach; I have to move to the next thing, there's someone else to blow up, there's more loot to gobble up, there's another desert island to explore.

Ship-to-ship combat is a huge part of Black Flag, and it hits with a punch like nothing else. I feel my vessel splinter as I'm hit with a volley of cannon fire; I brace against mortars while unleashing a volley of my own. It's a back-and-forth of positioning and timing as I attempt to balance offense and defense, and when the cannons go quiet, I have another decision to make.

Boarding another ship is one of the very specific delights of Black Flag; after disabling my opponent with cannon fire and the occasional high-speed ram, I'm given the option to sink it or dock alongside and draw swords. Backflipping from deck to deck and diving into a fierce melee is never-not exciting - the noise from both crews fighting for their lives as I weave through the maelstrom is so engaging, and cutting down the now-previous owners of the vessel with Kenway's bag of tricks is satisfying.

Black Flag isn't a pirate game in the Assassin's Creed universe; it's an Assassin's Creed game in a pirate universe. It could function just as well as a standalone game about setting up a paradise for the unwashed. This isn't some shoehorned, destiny-riddled tale of fate - not really. With all of the modern sections removed, it plays like a really good game about being a pirate, which is obviously great.

Edward Kenway thinks the titular assassins and their creed are a lot of faff; too much fuss, a bunch of people running around in cloaks and hoods, fighting against another mysterious organization, risking their spines on little bales of hay - where's the profit in that? Edward questions the morality of the Creed and keeps himself at arm's length while striving for a better life for him and his. Piracy is questionable, but Kenway's motives seem pure enough. Maybe. Chaotic neutral with a slight good-leaning, I guess.

The thrust of a lot of Black Flag revolves around breaking away from the norm. Kenway wants to create a place where people can be free, where he can make some coin, and where he can be at peace. The haven I build teeters on the piles of bodies it took to lay the foundations - my budding empire grows as I play, and I feel the stakes getting higher with each mission. What begins as a simple swindle grows into what could be all-out war.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is a remake of the highest order. It strips the original of the dead weight while expanding on its characters, and ultimately, it gives me more pirate things to do, which is never a bad thing. It feels more alive than it did in 2013 - locations are dense, bustling affairs when they need to be, or eerie and desolate when it calls for it. The PC version adds all the fancy gubbins like ray tracing, and with the removal of loading screens as I sailed across the Caribbean, it all feels interconnected and smooth in a way that I guess just wasn't possible over ten years ago.

Black Flag Resynced is definitely worth another playthrough for those who mined the original for all it was worth, and an absolute gift for those who have never heard of Edward Kenway. Get your swords, store your grog, and find the most disreputable crew you can: we've got loot to plunder.