Black Flag Resynced: beautiful world, successful story – but too much on board
The remake Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced gives Edward Kenway’s pirate epic a brilliant visual makeover. Strong story and fantastic locations aside, the game suffers from old Ubisoft weaknesses.
Clothes make the man, even if they’re stolen. You, the pirate Edward Kenway, have just been shipwrecked and you’ve only managed to scramble ashore with rags on your back. The only other survivor’s panicking because the Governor of Havana is urgently awaiting him. As a pirate, you recognise an opportunity when you see one, and the poor guy’s going to bite the dust sand. Besides the fancy clothes you’re taking from him, he’s also got a valuable relic that the Governor should kindly sell you. After all, money’s all you care about. Yo-ho!
But the skinflint – who also happens to be an important figure in the mysterious Templar Order – doesn’t pay as well as you expected. That makes you angry, and from now on the Templars aren’t just on your personal death list; you’re even cooperating with their arch enemies, the Order of Assassins.
That’s roughly how your assassin career begins as cocky Captain Kenway in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. Originally, Black Flag – which charts the heyday of Caribbean piracy at the beginning of the 18th century – was released back in 2013. I missed it back then. But now it’s being re-released as a «resynced» remake with additional content, and I’m catching up on what I missed the first time around.
Ubisoft easily creates atmosphere
Visually, Black Flag Resynced could easily be mistaken for a new title in the Assassin’s Creed series. Fans will love the bustling Caribbean cities just as much as Black Flag veterans, who’ll be delighted by the significantly enhanced graphics and numerous new details. I’m always amazed to see the hats fly off the heads of British and Spanish soldiers during combat.
Ubisoft creates breathtaking worlds unlike virtually any other developer. In Havana, drunken redcoats throw up in the gutter, while someone urinates against a wall three streets away. Monks gawk at sex workers dressed up to the nines and looking for customers, and merchants and ladies in crinolines parade through the winding alleys between colourful facades. There’s always something happening, and I can’t get enough of the vibrant setting.
So, you’re likely to stumble into fights because, in your excitement over the beautiful ray-traced effects in the puddles, you accidentally wander into a forbidden zone. Kenway’s skilled in stealth attacks as well as with swords and pistols. He also knows dirty tricks to knock his opponents off-balance.
Like the rest of the series, Black Flag makes you feel like you’re truly immersed in the game world. I particularly enjoy the melting pot feel with people from almost every corner of the globe. On the streets, you mainly hear Spanish and English, but there’s also French and even a few bits of German.
As is typical for Assassin’s Creed, there’s plenty to discover in the settlements: from small in-game extras – such as new sea shanties for your ship’s crew – to knowledge points that tell you more about certain historical buildings or customs. There's also a wealth of items in treasure chests, plus treasure maps leading to more chests. Unfortunately, there aren’t many interesting side quests from a narrative point of view.
If the hustle and bustle gets too much, you can go to the beach, where crystal-clear, turquoise water laps gently and coconut palm fronds cast intricate shadows on the sand. You’ll feel like you’re on holiday. Just a few metres from the shore, colourful corals shimmer underwater. And at the quay, your pirate ship – the Jackdaw – bobs around gently. It serves you as both a means of transport around the Caribbean islands and as a tool to raid other ships and harbour fortresses.
A hunt for loot with unpredictable weather
As soon as you leave Havana for the first time and set sail like a real pirate, boredom sets in. A lot of the world consists of expanses of water. In between, there are numerous tiny islands and potential ships to loot. At the helm of the initially poorly equipped Jackdaw, I only dare to engage in naval battles against simple opponents at first.
You can fire broadsides from the cannons on the port and starboard sides. You can launch chain shot over the bow to slow down enemy ships. You can throw exploding barrels over the stern into the water to impede pursuers. You board disabled opponents with your crew, plunder their cargo and decide whether to add their ship to your fleet or release the survivors to enhance your reputation as a terror of the seas. You can send the ships in your fleet on trading and privateering voyages, which yield further plunder.
You can sell the stolen goods later or use them to improve your ship. New weapons and ammunition – as well as a more robust hull – make battles significantly easier.
One of the new features in Resynced is «dynamic weather effects». Subtle flashes in the clouds indicate an approaching storm. This can mean huge waves, lightning and tornadoes. None of this is good for your ship if you can’t manage to steer clear in time. Sudden gusts of wind, however, can hit even in the best of weather and force the ship sideways.
The unpredictable weather adds some excitement to lengthy journeys across open water, but it doesn’t change the fact that Black Flag takes place on a huge map that’s mostly empty.
Not much side activity variety
I also noticed the lack of variety when I tried out some side activities, such as looting plantations. You murder your way through the guards until you find the key to the storeroom. It doesn’t seem to bother the working slaves that a murderer’s prowling around the fields, stabbing the guards. I did this on two or three plantations, then skipped over other plantation islands as I sailed past. Smuggler’s caves just draw a weary smile. It’s basically the same activity: grab a key, open a chest and leave. Yawn.
The military harbour fortresses are a different story. They don’t take any messing, as I discovered on my first attempt. I cautiously approached a fortress island on the Jackdaw, unaware of what awaited. The Spaniards stationed there don’t take kindly to pirates and immediately readied their cannons. My ship stood no chance against nine defence towers and mortar: the damned island sent me and all my belongings to the bottom of the sea in no time. And this happened several times – because I gritted my teeth and kept trying until I realised that maybe I should upgrade the Jackdaw first.
With the exception of this fatal attempt, the numerous side activities in my first few hours of gameplay felt like they’d send me to sleep. It could have been different if I’d just followed the main story. However, I’d have needed to sail across the entire map. That was a misunderstanding on my part: my brain’s been conditioned by countless other games to explore the map areas close to me before gradually venturing further afield.
«Nothing is true; everything is permitted»
After a dozen hours of gameplay, I finally set course for the distant quest – and that’s where things got interesting. I’m a latecomer to Assassin’s Creed: I only strapped on the blade for the first time in Origins. The more recent instalments in the series don’t place much importance on re-explaining the game’s lore. What’s the story behind the two warring orders – the Assassins and the Templars? What make an Assassin different? What’s the Animus? The main plot of Black Flag finally gives me access to the story.
As pirate captain Kenway, you have no interest in Templars, Assassins or any ideals whatsoever. When a young Assassin first tells you about his order’s motto, «Nothing is true; everything is permitted», you don’t understand him. Everything is permitted? Fine! Then you can carry on plundering and looting. This means the members of the order reject you, even though you help them. You’re tolerated but not welcomed.
As a player still in the middle of the main story, this is refreshing. I’m not familiar with this type of character development from the newer Assassin’s Creed games I’ve played. Admittedly, I’ve never had the patience to complete any of those games and stick with their stories. But Black Flag’s story has intrigued me.
The many video sequences the game weaves into quests – and the dialogue in general – are as good as ever. The voice actors are excellent – Ubisoft brought back most of the originals.
These sequences make me laugh often enough. Whether it’s Kenway’s bewildered expression, a harsh insult or just well-executed situational comedy, they noticeably lighten the gameplay. For example, when a defeated Spanish ship’s crew doesn’t understand your pirate colleague’s flowery, triumphant speech in English, he tries to find an interpreter.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is available from 9 July for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Ubisoft provided me with a PC copy of the game for review purposes.
In a nutshell
Some good quests in a pretty world that’s too big
«Everything is permitted» seems to be the motto of the game – and the entire series – from pointless fetch quests and somewhat interesting side missions to gripping, cinematic story twists. Black Flag Resynced excels at its speciality: creating an authentic atmosphere that sparks interest in the era of Caribbean pirates. The game also demonstrates Ubisoft’s ability to write decent quests and dialogue.
The problem lies in the world between the inhabited settlements. You just sail past most of the islands: it’s not worth the effort to steer the ship there, swim to the beach, climb the obligatory viewpoint and then search for a few chests and a treasure map.
That said, I still feel there’s too much going on in Black Flag. Are you playing through your character’s personal story? Or is it more of a platformer? Is it a stealth game or a naval combat game? Or is it actually fleet management? Ubisoft’s just thrown everything at the game to create variety – but in doing so, it loses focus.
Pro
- Vibrant, atmospheric settlements
- Humorous dialogue interludes
- Understandable, concrete main story
- Varied combat system
Contra
- The world’s too empty
- Too many distracting, repetitive side activities
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
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