Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced: 9 Biggest Changes We’re Most Excited About
Topics: Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft, Features, List
Featured Image Credit: Ubisoft
Topics: Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft, Features, List
The arrival of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is nearly upon us, and following a hands-on preview, we’re here to let you know some of the biggest changes we’re looking forward to most of all.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a remake of the beloved 2013 game, starring the charismatic Edward Kenway, which allowed players to live out a fantasy pirate life. Alongside Assassin’s Creed II and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, Black Flag is considered to be amongst the best in the series, so Ubisoft must hit a home run with this remake.
After spending a few hours with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, I noticed several improvements that made the remake a significant upgrade over the beloved original.
With that in mind, here are the nine biggest changes we were most excited about in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced.
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The biggest and most obvious improvements are the visuals and performance of this remake. Powered by the modern version of Ubisoft's Anvil Engine, the colours and shine of the Caribbean landscapes pop like never before, with the textures on the characters and worldly environments being a vast improvement. In fact, they're are on par with 2025’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows. While the preview did have some frame rate dips, for the most part, it ran at a smooth 60fps on a gaming PC. This is a very early build of the game, so hopefully the framerate kinks will be ironed out for launch.
As much as we love the original Assassin’s Creed Black Flag, the stealth sections could be very frustrating. There was no free crouch button, and if the NPCs that you're tailing saw you, it would be an instant game over. That's not an issue in the remake. You can crouch whenever you want and not just in stealth missions. Sure, this may seem like a small detail, but with it not being possible in the OG, this is one less thing to be annoyed about.
Now, if the NPCs spot you tailing them, rather than being greeted with an instant game over, you will be drawn into combat. It might be annoying that your stealth shenanigans have been ruined, but at least you don't have to restart the checkpoint to complete the mission. There is also a stealth meter, similar to Splinter Cell and more recent Assassin’s Creed games, to let you know how hidden in the dark you are.
One of the biggest aspects of the Assassin's Creed series, other than stealth, is the parkour. However, especially with older games, including Black Flag, they can feel rather clunky. In the remake, wall climbing, wall running, and traversing over environmental objects like boxes are a lot smoother. What’s more, you can now leap backwards and sideways when climbing structures. Again, this may seem like a small detail, but it makes a huge difference in moments of chase. For some reason, these abilities were removed from Assassin’s Creed Shadows before being added in a post-launch update. So hopefully, these basic gameplay mechanics are here to stay in the series.
The combat in the original Black Flag was decent enough, but it was quite limited, and when you knew how to spam certain counterattacks, it was very easy to take down even the larger enemies. The combat in the remake has been overhauled, and spamming attacks simply won't cut it here. You’ll rely heavily on encountering and dodging at the right moment; otherwise, you’ll take big damage. If you perform a successful parry, you can instantly take down an enemy with a brutal execution, and even chain up to four executions in a row, which is very satisfying.
The dynamic weather makes the world of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced feel more alive. Whether it's the blistering Caribbean sun or a thunderous storm, it's quite stunning to see the weather change on the fly in-game. Furthermore, when out at sea on the Jackdaw, the strong winds feel more impactful as you fight against the power of the waves, and if this happens during naval combat, it adds an unexpected, sudden challenge.
While Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced doesn't have the modern-day missions in the Abstergo Offices, Ubisoft says that the remake has about six hours of new story content, which includes new cinematics too, as well as eight endgame missions featuring a brand new character. Some of the other missions centre around the infamous Black Beard, and Edward’s wife Caroline.
I did get to play one of the new missions for Lucy Baldwin, one of the three new officers you can recruit for the Jackdaw. While I can’t talk about those story details in this preview, I am looking forward to learning more about her, along with the other two officers (Deadman Smith and The Padre). Speaking of the officers, when recruited with their unique story missions complete, you’ll unlock new abilities for the Jackdaw.
While I never got to acquire a pet for the Jackdaw during the preview, you can adopt a monkey or a cat now. I’m not sure what they bring as members of the crew in terms of abilities, but they at least bring plenty of cuteness, which is a good enough reason for me.
No longer can you only dive under the sea in select areas. In Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, you can anchor the Jackdaw anywhere and explore beneath the waters to look for treasure. Just be warned, however, because the sharks in this remake appear to be more deadly and intelligent than ever.
This might feel like a given, but this remake has not been turned into an RPG, like every game in the series since Assassin’s Creed Origins. I do like RPG-style games, but I also like the old-school formula of the series. If Black Flag Resynced were turned into an RPG, it might have lost much of its identity, which is why we loved the game to begin with.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced will be released on 9 July 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
READ MORE: Assassin’s Creed Dev Says This Underrated Game Deserves a Remake