Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Resynced has arrived, offering a significant update to the 2013 title praised for its pirate gameplay and swashbuckling narrative. This remaster rebuilds the game using Ubisoft's Anvil engine, most recently seen in Assassin's Creed Shadows, resulting in a markedly brighter visual presentation. The original game's desaturated, sepia-toned art direction has been replaced with a more vibrant look, particularly noticeable in its lighting and water effects. A new dynamic weather system introduces more potent storms, complete with gameplay implications like waterspouts and lightning strikes that can damage Edward Kenway's ship, the Jackdaw.
Character models have also seen substantial detail improvements, especially in cutscenes and during story missions, though non-player characters remain less defined. While some may prefer the original's grittier aesthetic, Resynced positions Black Flag with a more contemporary visual fidelity.
Seamless Exploration and Expanded Diving
The open world experience has been enhanced with the removal of loading screens between sailing and entering locations like Havana, creating a smoother transition. The remaster also boasts more explorable islands compared to the original, which featured numerous blocked-off areas. Diving mechanics have been revamped to integrate more seamlessly with this open world. Players can now dive anywhere to explore underwater environments and discover treasure chests, provided they have unlocked the Diving Bell. This is a notable departure from the original game, which restricted diving to specific locations and underwater missions.
Revamped Combat and Stealth
Combat in Resynced draws inspiration from Assassin's Creed Shadows, featuring an upgraded parry system that allows for perfect parries to break enemy posture. While the ability to pick up enemy weapons during combat is absent, dual-wielding is now possible, and several new combat moves have been introduced, including a Hidden Blade Takedown and Heavy Strikes. The fan-favorite Rope Dart, previously a late-game acquisition, is now available much earlier, in Sequence 3.
Ship combat has also been enhanced with new secondary fire modes for the Jackdaw, such as manually aimable Shrapnel Barrels and Swivel Guns, reminiscent of Assassin's Creed Rogue. Three new naval officers—the Padre, Lucy Baldwin, and Tobias "Deadman" Smith—offer new quests and serve as a Man-at-arms, Shipwright, and Weapon Master respectively.
Stealth and traversal have seen improvements as well. A dedicated crouch button has been added for easier sneaking, and a Visibility Meter helps players gauge how well hidden they are, with environmental factors like time of day and weather influencing detection. Annoying Tailing sequences from the original are refined, allowing players more options to fight or use stealth if detected. Traversal is also more fluid with quicker parkour interrupts and the addition of ziplines for faster ground-level access from viewpoints.
New Content and Modern Day Omission
Resynced includes a significant amount of new story content, featuring an entire new endgame chapter that expands Edward's narrative. This expansion required new voice work from actor Matt Ryan. Additionally, new side missions such as Assassin's and Naval Contracts, along with Templar Hunts, have been added. The three new naval officers also provide new quests.
However, the original modern-day segments from Black Flag are absent. These segments, which focused on a nameless Abstergo Entertainment employee uncovering secrets, have been de-emphasised by Ubisoft in recent titles. Instead, modern-day lore is presented through the Animus Hub, an in-game launcher that serves as a portal for new Assassin's Creed games and contains lore files. Resynced introduces "Rifts" to the Animus Hub, narrative-focused "What If" scenarios that explore alternate outcomes for Edward's story, serving as a thematic reminder of reliving Assassin memories rather than direct replacements for the original modern-day scenes.
