Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced recovers one of the most beloved installments of the saga with a spectacular world and naval combats that continue to be magnificent. However, its technical problems, the simplification of combat and the lack of ambition make this reconstruction a wasted opportunity.
Introduction
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced recovers one of the most beloved installments of the Ubisoft saga. After completing 100% of the adventure, the feelings are positive but with quite a few objections.
The foundation remains extraordinarily solid. Edward Kenway’s adventure, Caribbean exploration and naval battles still work many years later. The problem is that this new version relies too much on the merits of the original game and fails to take advantage of the opportunity to update it to current standards.
We are not looking at a simple coat of paint. There are changes to movement, controls, and some combat elements, but the experience is still deeply tied to the design of the original. This preserves much of its charm, although it also causes many problems and decisions to return that, although they may have worked in 2013, do not quite fit thirteen years later.
Edward Kenway and a story that still works
The story keeps the structure that we already knew practically intact. This means that it continues to have the same virtues of the original adventure, especially in the way of presenting Edward Kenway.
Edward doesn’t start out as an assassin nor does he really know the conflict between templars and assassins. He is a pirate interested mainly in gold, fame and the possibility of improving his position. Little by little he crosses paths with both organizations and begins to discover that behind his adventures there is something much bigger.
This evolution allows the player to learn the creed at the same time as the protagonist. It is one of the features that worked best in the first installments of Assassin’s Creed: the characters did not simply appear within the Brotherhood, but rather we discovered their motivations and understood how they ended up being part of that conflict.
Thanks to this, Black Flag continues to be an excellent gateway for someone who doesn’t know the saga too much. Edward also does not initially know what he has gotten himself into, so the player can learn alongside him who the assassins are, who the Templars are, and why this fight exists.
The loss of modern history
One of the changes that has least convinced us is the disappearance of the part set in the present. In the original, these sections helped explain why we were reliving Edward’s memories and what the relationship was between his history, the Animus, and the modern conflict.
In this version they have been replaced by a kind of virtual world with platform missions and small challenges, which fits with the new management of the current world that Ubisoft has been working on in the latest Assassin’s Creed. Unfortunately, these activities end up being tedious and do not provide the same narrative interest.
The story of the present had been losing importance within Assassin’s Creed for years, but eliminating it here causes a part of the context of the original to be lost. The new missions are not particularly fun and do not replace what has been removed.
A ground combat that is too simple
Artificial intelligence presents some improvement. Enemies no longer always politely wait their turn to attack and can shoot at us or try to surprise us from different directions. However, these improvements disappear as soon as we enter stealth situations.
We can still hide in the vegetation, whistle and attract the guards one after another. It is possible to accumulate several corpses in the same hiding place without the rest of the enemies seriously wondering what is happening. The system continues to work, but it retains behaviors typical of another era.
The hand-to-hand combat is also not very satisfying. Most confrontations are resolved by waiting for the right moment to parry and chain executions. Depending on the weapons equipped, a single response can allow us to incapacitate several enemies consecutively.
It is not a complicated or especially demanding system. Even by increasing the difficulty, matches still rely too much on dodging or blocking an attack to initiate a run animation. It’s correct and functional, but it lacks the depth and satisfaction of more recent installments.
Naval battles are still magnificent
The situation changes completely when we take control of the ship. The naval battles continue to be the great attraction of Black Flag and one of the sections that has aged best.
Sailing around the Caribbean, locating other ships with the spyglass, studying their level and deciding if it is worth attacking them is still a fantastic experience. The fighting is intense, especially when we try to board ships superior to ours without yet having the necessary upgrades.
There is a constant feeling of danger. Receiving a broadside, being hit by a mortar, or being rammed can completely change the course of combat. These battles make upgrading the Jackdaw meaningful and each new cannon or hull reinforcement is noticeable during the game.
Ubisoft has done well not to modify this part excessively. It was one of the biggest fears due to the possibility that it would try to bring the system closer to other more recent naval productions. Luckily, the essence of the original remains intact.
A parkour that gets stuck again
Moving and climbing present more problems. Sometimes we find invisible walls or surfaces that apparently should be climbable, but that the game does not recognize as valid.
There are also situations in which Edward grabs onto points that don’t exist, changes position unexpectedly, or ends up sideways on a ladder. In those cases you have to descend and start the route again.
This problem becomes especially evident during the climb to some watchtowers. The character may end up placed on a surface that he apparently fits on, but from which he can no longer continue. The result is a climbing system that is far more frustrating than it should be.
Technical problems on PC
Technical experience on PC has been especially patchy. During the first hours, the game worked correctly on a high-end computer and using a controller. However, the management of updates has caused significant problems.
One of the patches released to solve stuttering when playing with keyboard and mouse ended up negatively affecting other sections. After installing it, every jump made during parkour in cities like Nassau, Havana, or Kingston could cause the game to freeze for a couple of seconds.
The problem repeated itself every time the jump button was pressed, to the point of preventing me from continuing to play normally for a day. It is difficult to understand that an update intended to correct errors can introduce such an obvious failure in a fundamental mechanic and, in particular, that it will take more than 10 days to solve it.
It is also possible to get stuck within the terrain, mountains or different elements of the setting. The autosave system prevents losing too much progress, but having to load a previous game is still frustrating.
These incidents correspond to the version available during the analysis period and could be corrected through future updates, but they considerably affected the experience.
A beautiful Caribbean with too many repeated faces
Visually, the open world is spectacular. Ubisoft may receive a lot of criticism for the repetition of its formulas, but it continues to be one of the most capable studios when it comes to building large and visually impressive scenarios.
The sea, islands, settlements and large cities allow Black Flag to be attractive even when we are simply sailing or exploring. The graphical update works and makes returning to this universe very enjoyable.
The problem appears in the secondary characters. There is an excessive repetition of models, especially in taverns and crowded areas. We can find several practically identical drunks, dancers or civilians in the same place.
The difference between the protagonists and the generic characters is also very noticeable. Edward, Blackbeard and other important characters are clearly of a higher quality than the NPCs walking the streets or beaches. With today’s tools, I expected greater variety and smoother visual integration.
The cinematics have also lost some of the charisma of the original. Movements and animations present in other recent Assassin’s Creed are reused, which reduces the feeling of watching scenes created specifically for these characters.
Lots of content, but few reasons to complete it
Black Flag Resynced offers a huge amount of activities. There are islands to explore, chests, treasure maps, contracts, kills, ship upgrades and numerous collectibles.
The problem is not the quantity, but the interest that many of these tasks arouse. The missions related to Edward, the Templars or the assassins are still attractive, but much of the secondary content responds to a shopping list structure.
Collecting sheet music to unlock new sea songs is not particularly annoying, because they are usually found in cities and are clearly indicated. However, completing areas by crossing out icons and collecting objects without context ends up being tedious.
In 2013 this formula was much more innovative. Currently we know this type of open world too well and we expect more elaborate, narrative or varied secondaries. The game has enough content to dedicate many hours to it, but it doesn’t always make you want to do so.
Sailor songs to remember
The sound section works especially well during navigation. The songs performed by the crew continue to be one of the most memorable elements of the game and help greatly to create the fantasy of touring the Caribbean with a group of pirates.
The music also correctly accompanies naval combat, although in chases and land confrontations it can go too unnoticed. It lacks a little more intensity at certain moments, but the sea songs make up for a good part of these shortcomings.
Price and access model
At the time of review, the game could be purchased on Steam for 60 euros or played with a 17 euro monthly subscription to Ubisoft Plus.
For 17 euros it offers enough content to complete the campaign during the month. Paying 60 euros is more difficult to recommend, especially for those who already have access to the original.
Anyone who has never played Black Flag will find here an extensive and very enjoyable adventure. However, those who already own the previous game should not be carried away by the fear of missing out. The story is essentially the same and the original continues to offer an excellent experience.
A missed opportunity
The best thing about Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is that it rebuilds a game that was already extraordinarily good. Its story, its characters and the naval battles continue to work, making it very difficult not to have a good time touring the Caribbean again.
At the same time, this version is inferior to the original if we put it in today’s context. If the 2013 game received only a graphical makeover, keeping its narrative elements intact and correcting its problems, it would probably offer a superior experience.
This new version could have eliminated many of the edges that currently make us tired of the Ubisoft formula. It could have reduced the repetitive content, modernized the combat, improved the artificial intelligence, and definitively fixed the parkour. It could also have expanded or recovered modern history.
Instead, Ubisoft has taken very few risks and incorporated some decisions that weaken the experience. It’s still a good game, but it’s mainly because of the merits of Black Flag and not because of the contributions of this reconstruction.
For someone who has never played the original, it is a highly recommended option. For those who already enjoyed it and can still access that version, the purchase is much less necessary. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is an updated, spectacular and enjoyable adventure, but also a missed opportunity to turn a classic into a truly definitive work.
The good
- A story that continues to work especially well
- Edward Kenway remains one of the most charismatic protagonists of the saga
- The naval combats are intense, fun and satisfying
- The open world is visually spectacular
- A good gateway for those who have never played the original
The bad
- The original game is still superior in several ways
- The disappearance of the present story detracts from context and interest
- Excessively easy and unsatisfying hand-to-hand combat
- Imprecise parkour and numerous technical problems on PC
- Too many collectibles and activities typical of an outdated formula
- Cinematics with reused animations and minor personality
- Little visual variety among secondary characters
Conclusion
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced continues to be a very enjoyable game because it builds on an excellent work, but fails to take the opportunity to truly modernize it. Its naval battles, its setting and Edward Kenway’s story continue to shine, although ground combat, secondary content and technical problems prevent this version from surpassing the original. Highly recommended for those who have never experienced this adventure, but essential for those who can still comfortably enjoy the previous edition.
Recommended for
- Players who have never tried Assassin’s Creed Black Flag
- Fans of pirate adventures and naval combat
- Players who prefer a more modern visual presentation
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