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Cluttered menus and HUDs are an increasingly common source of headache in games. Thankfully, Ubisoft is avoiding the problem entirely by letting players hide every single part of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced's HUD, and you might not miss it as much as you'd expect since enemies themselves will basically tell you when they're ready for your hidden blades.
Ubisoft recently elaborated on Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced's reworked combat, one that has a more familiar staggering system. Each enemy now has a defense meter that'll crumble after some pressure – weaker enemies are easily broken, bigger brutes need a little coaxing – and at that point you can go in for a final takedown.
The publisher explains that the remake's depth, at least in terms of combat, comes from its clearer readability. "Making enemy behaviors and vulnerabilities clearer and rewarding players who adapt their approach rather than repeating a single tactic" is part of what sets this Black Flag apart from the original game.
"But this is also where more experienced players can begin to push themselves further," Ubisoft's post goes on. "Once you're familiar with enemy archetypes, combat moves, and the rhythm of defense and takedowns, reducing or removing visual feedback can turn combat into a more instinct driven challenge."
Players can even hide health bars and defense indicators without a problem because the developers "added a visual tell for you: an enemy's defense is broken when their hat or headpiece falls off."
Black Flag Resynced is gorgeous and comes with new storylines, but enemies that keep losing their hats to the wind is maybe my favorite new feature because of how damn silly it is. Is losing your hat shorthand for defeat all over the pirate world? Or is it akin to the Dothraki and their long braids, where pirates can't in good faith keep their bandanas on after being disgraced in battle? Maybe exposing their unwashed, probably sunburned hair to the world is punishment enough.
Doing a HUD-less run of the game will probably reveal all sorts of similar diegetic clues, as well, as Ubisoft says that disabling things like health bars will offer "a tougher, more cinematic experience" and require a deeper focus on the game's animations and timing.
