I'm surrounded by enemies in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, and I'm getting my ass kicked. Two swordsmen flank me either side, one heavy axe-wielding brute boxes me in dead ahead. I don't have enough room to swing my sword – but I do have one last smoke bomb.
Executing targets big or small with the hidden blade is immensely satisfying in any of the best Assassin's Creed games. But it feels especially welcome in Edward Kenway's slick new remake given how challenging regular melee combat can be. It's precise art, "modernized" compared to the original as Resynced's technical director told me in an interview, but with just enough of that hitbox-based hack and slash flair to remain faithful to its old school roots. But there's one game in particular it reminds me of most. I'm impressed to say that Assassin's Creed Unity has been unseated as the unofficial king of finicky combat in the series as a whole.
Down but never out
Edward Kenway is the biggest bastard in Assassin's Creed history (no, not including literal Templars)
As it turns out, a pirate's life is not always for me. It takes me a bit of practice to get comfortable with Edward's fighting style in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced: it's built around parrying, dodging, and timely hits in between, with the opportunity to counter after performing a perfect guard or dodge.
Now this is all well and good when I have just one foe to focus on. There's a skill and finesse to combat here, something best approached with nimble thumbs on the joysticks and a sharp eye watching for blue warning flashes, alerting me to an imminent attack. Edward's sneaky dodge-rolls over foes' backs, powerful heavy attacks with his double cutlasses, and general pirate panache reminds me of Arno Dorian's different yet equally stylish fighting style in Paris-set Unity.
But unless he's using enemies as human shields when confronted with a mob, a swarmed Edward certainly suffers for his art. Given that's exactly how boarding ships after naval combat plays out – that's an awful lot of cutlass moshpits. Which is where the privateering gets shoved to the wayside for a touch of sneaky assassin charm.
He plays dirty and mean because that's how a pirate rolls...
Deploying my last smoke bomb in the midst of a heavy close-quarters firefight, I'm able to walk around the obscured bubble and quickly dispatch any baddie while they're distracted. Meanwhile, throwing out the rope dart with the right button on my D-pad lets me interrupt even red-flashing power attacks and rain down some pain with my own blades instead.
Bar Yasuke from Assassin's Creed Shadows, who was no assassin and didn't have access to hidden blades, I can't recall the last time a non-RPG Creed protagonist's personal fighting style felt so distinct from their assassin moves. There's a graceful, almost feline way about Arno's that lends itself well to assassin-like stealth. Evie Frye of Assassin's Creed Syndicate wields her cane sword just as elegantly, and even her tankier brother Jacob knows when and where to reign in the brawn and take to the shadows. When Edward Kenway is boarding your ship after peppering it with non-so-subtle cannonballs, you know he's coming.
Edward, with all his rough edges and swashbuckling privateer moves, is by far the least graceful hero of the bunch, and it shows in how he fights. He plays dirty and mean because that's how a pirate rolls, not to mention he's not really an official assassin at all to start out with. He doesn't operate by the Creed; he writes his own to suit his own needs.
Where does the original Black Flag rank among the best Assassin's Creed maps in terms of aesthetics and utility? Go find out...
