Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced hands-on: "Wonderfully sailing on the edge of the series' best classic and modern entries, this feels like a statement of intent for its future"

Even after 13 years, the debate over Assassin's Creed: Black Flag's sea shanties remains fierce. But to me, the gentle call of 'Lowlands Away' and its promise of a new beginning always felt the best fit for Edward's journey and the quiet beauty of the Caribbean. So, when that song rang out the very first time, as I steered the Jackdaw out onto the open ocean in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, the cresting wave of nostalgia I felt served as a potent signal; first, of how popular Black Flag remains; but second, of just how faithful a recreation Resynced is.

My demo begins with Edward Kenway's mad dash through the jungle in pursuit of unfortunate assassin turncoat Duncan Walpole. Ubisoft wastes no time in showing off Resynced's fresh coat of paint – while Black Flag looked the part in 2013, it can't hold a candle to the density and vibrancy plastered across this remake's world, buoyed by the Atmos system that most recently breathed life into Assassin's Creed Shadows' Japan. The climax of that chase – a frenetic and deadly scuffle in a shallow pool dappled in shade thrown down from the canopy above – is an enormous statement of intent. Resynced looks beautiful from its opening moments, whether out at sea or crawling through the undergrowth.

In Havana, Edward's first major destination and the only large settlement featured in my demo, that feeling of vitality doesn't let up. It's here that Resynced's more 'classic' Assassin's Creed DNA – the design borrowed from the era that culminated in 2015's Assassin's Creed Syndicate – shows through most clearly, but Cuba is brighter, more colorful, and more bustling with life than ever before. Despite the improvements in detail and parkour that lend Resynced its modern feel, being in Havana feels like stepping back into the series' history: When I start a fight, it's driven by a single enemy at a time, a tetchy back-and-forth of parries and counters; when I clamber over rooftops, there's a distant muscle memory of how each freerunning move should merge with the next; as I pass a posse of dancers, I consider throwing them a handful of coin purely for the novelty of that classic social stealth.

Bristol fashion

But for all that familiarity, where the changes do come they're welcome improvements. When I'm handed a tailing mission, I'm detected almost immediately. But, instead of instantly desynchronizing, I end up in a fight with the offended guards, and have to scurry away until the conversation restarts. When I eventually discover the location of my confiscated goods, the new free-crouch feature and detection UI borrowed from modern Assassin's Creed games give me the chance to make my way to the rooftop of the nearby Castillo entirely unseen by the garrison. Even with just two small changes, stealth immediately feels like a more viable option than simply carving my way through a horde of guards.

It's the same location, the same level design, the same quests as the original game, but while this collection of minor changes makes it clear there's a difference between Black Flag and Resynced, they're so seamlessly integrated that it's never entirely clear where the original game ends and its remake begins. Edward's Eagle Vision is massively improved by borrowing from Shadows. The ability to jump and crouch freely means new avenues and strategies are opened up in locations that might easily have felt exhaustingly familiar. In a straight fight, modern UI lets combat flow more naturally, and tools like the rope dart are unlocked earlier to give players more chance to play with their prey before dispatching it. And all these changes are felt before Edward even takes his first true steps on the deck of the Jackdaw.

Fair winds

When I do finally get my hands on the ship's wheel, Resynced's improvement over Black Flag is complete. Sailing directly out of Havana without a loading screen in sight, I'm jetting across the bay towards the fort at Dry Tortuga within moments. It's an enormous transformation, not just because it allows Edwards to seamlessly depart major settlements, but because it allows him to seamlessly enter them too. It goes a long way towards glueing together what always felt like an open world that craved the freedom of the sea, and being able sail right from a major port and within minutes of actual sailing be able to leap straight from the gunwales of the Jackdaw to begin an attack on a fort or an assault on a Spanish plantation catapults Resynced into the open-world territory of modern Assassin's Creed.

Add the ability to free-dive anywhere below the water, hand-crafted islands each with a unique reason to explore, and mini-narratives woven nearly throughout the world, Resynced genuinely feels like a modern series entry, but without the sheer scale that weighs down games like Valhalla and Shadows. It's even better that Resynced accomplishes this without feeling like an unrecognizable overhaul. With a ship, a crew, and a litany of map icons to uncover across the Caribbean, the winds were already blowing in this direction. In many respects, Black Flag was already the treasure map that would lead the way, several iterations later, to the modern era of Assassin's Creed.

When a fight breaks out on the open ocean, Resynced gets even better. While control of your ship remains much the same as Black Flag, it's another case of a few small improvements offering much more than the sum of their parts. The mortar is brought forward in the story, and alternate firing methods offer a tactical edge that means fights never feel like a simple exchange of broadsides. The addition of three new 'officer' NPCs should compound that feeling even further. In my demo, I only meet one of those, and while her introductory quest feels a little stiff, the 'Perfect Brace' ability she offers – the chance to further limit damage by preparing for impact at just the right moment – adds another level of skill expression to fights. With three of those officers eventually on deck, and additional narrative to frame their addition to the story, I can see late-game ship combat eclipsing even the gold standard set by Black Flag.

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That naval combat is one of Resynced highlights should come as little surprise. But it's the philosophy that marks those improvements over Black Flag that helps transform the rest of the game. This remake is an enormously additive experience. What is missing from the original – the Abstergo cutscenes, hidden blade combat – is either dramatically improved upon or replaced with so many other ideas that the absence is barely noticeable. Exploration is more free-form. Naval combat is more tactical. Stealth is more flexible and more rewarding. Tools that were once largely limited to the end-game playground are handed out earlier just for the fun of it.

'Modern' Assassin's Creed is absolutely still here, but it's the adjustment of the 'classic' feel of Black Flag, rather than overhauling entirely, that makes Resynced so interesting. This is Black Flag at its best, the flagship of the Assassin's Creed series' treasure fleet flying over the waves at full sail.

Tail our Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Big Preview to learn more about Ubisoft's iconic revival! Or, take a look at our best Assassin's Creed games ranking for what to play next.