I loved the original Black Flag back in 2013. After the wobbly Assassin's Creed 3, it reminded me why I fell in love with the open-world, parkour-focused stealth series in the first place. While that nostalgia was enough to carry me through Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, the hundreds of hours of familiarity with the classic has also left me feeling like this ambitious remake – while good enough fun – missed the mark at truly living up to my memories, even while it tries very hard to be a faithful remake.
I detail some of this to what some might call an exhaustive degree in my full Assassin's Creed Black Resynced review – how removing some story and mechanical elements flatten aspects of the original, how the updated combat changes the pace of play, or how there's dissonance between enhanced stealth detection system and still very simplistic enemy AI. For the many ways it tries to remain as faithful as possible as a remake, it can trip over itself with what it changes, with each update that works for me matched by another that just feels off as a fan of the original.
It's alive!
The best thing about Black Flag Resynced is that it's forced me to consider what I even want from a video game 'remake'. It's a definition that can sometimes feel hazy among an industry filled with remasters, ports, and definitive editions – especially when there's little consensus over what can separate titling or marketing a release as a remaster or a remake between publishers. To me, a video game remake means a partial if not full rebuild of a core part of the game.
Black Flag Resynced skews so close to the 2013 original that I've already seen some confusion around whether it's a remake or a remaster, and at a quick glance I can't blame anyone. Ubisoft say it's definitely a remake, and that it's been "fully remade from scratch" – but, level geometry is often one-to-one, despite the huge graphical overhaul and some tweaks to density and elevation. Keep playing, though, and it becomes apparent that fights feel very different to swashbuckle through, that you can now crouch-walk anywhere, mission objectives can diverge when you mess up instead of resulting in instant failure, and much more (including the complete removal of the original's modern day story sections).
The differences hounded me throughout play – especially as I replayed chunks of the original to remind myself through the review process. Despite Black Flag Resynced definitely being prettier (if, at times, a bit too dark at night), I prefer the snappier combat of the original. And I don't like that some story content is removed. The more I played, the more I kept thinking about Ubisoft's promise for Black Resynced to be "faithful", and couldn't help but wonder if what that means to me compared to the developer is just not the same thing. More power to you if you never played the original and love this – I agree the foundations are solid – but I still think it's worth critically examining the differences. When the f-word is deployed, it naturally positions a remake as a sort of replacement, even if unintentionally.
The problem with pursuing a faithful remake is that there are fine degrees between pulling it off, and simply feeling off. To me, Demon's Souls on PS5 is close enough to the original thanks to leveraging the original code, and the dark fantasy visual overhaul is welcomed compared to the muddier PS3 source material. For others, that aesthetic shift undermines a gaming experience they hold dear. That's totally valid. Likewise, Black Flag Resynced's many changes, even small ones, alter moment-to-moment play enough where even with the same mission structure and map design, it doesn't feel faithful to me – at times this can be an improvement, at many others, I dislike it. Good game or not, it fails as a faithful remake when I end up feeling that way.
Even though I still love the likes of Demon's Souls or Metal Gear Solid Delta, the more remakes I play in a gaming generation inundated with them (with constantly inflating AAA gaming budgets, and more profits required than ever, why bother with risk?), I'm beginning to think I don't want remakes beholden to faithfulness. Too often, it can be a poison to the game's design.
I much prefer iteration. Just as I love me a spiritual successor to a gaming great, like Jet Set Radio being succeeded by the indie developed Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, I like to feel that same energy in a remake. Resident Evil 4 remake isn't simply redoing the 2004 original, it's using what made it great as a springboard to try something that's a fresh take on the same blueprints, being willing to accept stumbling in the process in the name of creativity. It's as much homage as it is a remake, and, in other mediums like film, that's very much the point.
There's a reason 1998's Psycho feels so strange as a short-for-shot remake. More often great movie remakes aren't simply for the sake of re-releasing the original, but a way of continuing the cinematic conversation. Sometimes the results can be diabolically bad (2024's The Crow jumps to mind), but it's still a creative swing – dialogue in the medium.
Resident Evil 4 remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are great examples of turning a remake into an opportunity to also try something new. In doing so, they've defined Capcom and Square Enix's successful approach to remakes while also reshaping how they approach brand new game development. It's doubtful Resident Evil Requiem would be the way it is without the connective tissue re-exploring star Leon Kennedy's past brought to the fore. They've brought fresh life into their long-running series that were otherwise treading water.
I can't help but wonder if Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced had taken a bigger swing, if Edward Kenway would have a better grasp of the rudder and be able to steer the franchise into a fairer wind. For now, the upcoming Assassin's Creed Hexe will have to do the job. But, for other series eyeing up remakes, I hope they're able to keep the conversation going rather than just end up repeating themselves.
Remake or not, our best Assassin's Creed games ranking will guide you to which historical adventure deserves your time next.
