Assassin’s Creed Black Flag originally released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 back on October 29, 2013. A few years later I gave it a go on my PlayStation 4. Now, thirteen years later, Ubisoft has given this game the first “resynced” (or remake) treatment for an Assassin’s Creed game. Why this one?

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag had a few deviations from your standard Assassin’s Creed game. There was the whole pirate thing, which added ship battles and the open seas.

In almost twenty years, Ubisoft has released about fifteen original Assassin’s Creed titles (starting in 2007). Not much has changed game-to-game, other than the time period and some technical enhancements over the years. These enhancements are especially noticeable from Assassin’s Creed Black Flag (2013) to Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced (2026).

Overall, Assassin’s Creed games are pretty much the same — which is why I fell off the series a while back. Explore vast areas, climb to the top of cities, assassinate individuals, sneak around, kill, complete missions. These are your basic open world story games, with tons of extra missions to complete for those who want them. Players can spend as little or as much time as they want in these worlds. When you play an Assassin’s Creed game, you know exactly what to expect. What makes the series so special?

Side Quest:
Many players stick with series they know they already like, like Assassin’s Creed and other recurring titles. What if you pick the wrong game? The game that isn’t for you. Like the time I bought Elden Ring over Horizon Forbidden West. Elden Ring was totally not a game for me, but playing Horizon Forbidden West later on, that was definitely the right choice — for my gameplay style. I always say I will return to the land of Elden Ring one day, but it was way too frustrating for me.

My big question is why remake an Assassin’s Creed game from the past, when they just created another new, unique one with Assassin’s Creed Shadows — the samurai world. I really enjoyed what I played of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. 

So far, the pirate and samurai world were the biggest departures for me. I barely played Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, but I’m sure the whole Viking thing was pretty different too. Many of the other Assassin’s Creed games I’ve played sort of blend together.

Maybe the team was out of big, new ideas for the series. They decided to go back to one release that was well regarded and people still talk about today, thirteen years later. “Let’s remake Black Flag and show our fans that we can make it even better than they remember.”

A Love/Hate Relationship

There are plenty of things I love about the Assassin’s Creed series, but also things I don’t vibe with.

Exploration and traversal always feel great and keep feeling better. My favorite part of these games is climbing to the highest points to sync my map, then swan diving into a pile of hay (or whatever landing zone is waiting down below). The way these assassins move through the cities, especially higher up, feels so seamless and satisfying. There’s no way real humans can move like this. If they told me this was all mo-capped from real humans, I wouldn’t believe it. Aliens? Maybe.

Assassinations are another heavy favorite. I love sneaking around and pouncing on unsuspecting victims, and the cinematics are always enjoyable — even if I’m seeing the same ones over-and-over again. There are many times where I fail at being stealthy and am forced into hand-to-hand combat with enemy hoards all because of one small mistake. The combat is also pretty smooth, once you get used to the blocking, dodging, and parrying system.

These games are also educational. These worlds are inspired by real world stories, historical figures, and events. They’ve even recreated many historical buildings and landscapes. While sci-fi and fantasy are great backdrops for video game stories, there’s also something neat about building a story within a pre-existing world.

The one thing that takes me out of these games, and the reason why I’ve never made it to the end of an Assassin’s Creed game is the repetitive cycle. After a while, the quests and missions become repetitive. Also, we’ve been doing many of these same missions for almost twenty years now.

I know other games are repetitive, but there’s another element to them that makes it not feel the same every time, even if it is. I’m not sure what that element is. In Ghost of Yōtei, clearing enemy strongholds and camps was the same sort of thing each time, but they each felt unique and different for some reason.

Once Again, Who’s This For?

As someone who played a couple of hours of the original Assassin’s Creed Black Flag, I enjoy the changes in look and feel to this new version. I’m also thinking “been there, done that” as I play this version. Maybe this is more for those who didn’t get to experience the magic of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag when it first came out.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced may be more suited for new gamers who may have been too young for the original Black Flag, but have since fallen in love with this series. Now, they are lucky that they get to play Black Flag as a game that was made today.

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*myVGBC was provided a review code for Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced by Ubisoft.