AC Black Flag Resynced review: the best-looking, not the most solid

If you have a PS5 Pro, a high-end PC, and lingering nostalgia for Edward Kenway, dive right in. For everyone else: the game is worth checking out, but with expectations calibrated to what it actually is - an ambitious remaster, not a gameplay overhaul.

For those discovering the universe: Black Flag follows Edward Kenway, a Welsh pirate thrust into the eighteenth-century Caribbean. The experience blends melee combat (parry/riposte), island exploration, and above all naval battles at the helm of the Jackdaw. This Resynced edition is rebuilt on the Anvil Engine from Shadows, with new hunting systems, reworked loot, brand-new naval officers, and Rifts sections that replace the original passages. Now that the stage is set, let's take a look at TheGamer's analysis.

What really holds up

Visually, it's stunning. The underwater environments rival Horizon Forbidden West, the modeling of secondary characters has been completely reworked, and ray tracing on PS5 Pro does its job without any noticeable compromise even in the middle of a naval battle. The day/night cycle and the new weather system transform the Caribbean before your eyes - sometimes even too quickly it seems, but we'll get back to that later.

Naval combat remains the beating heart of the experience. The Jackdaw has real heft, the more imposing waves create genuine resistance, and the three new officers - Lucy Baldwin, The Padre, Deadman Smith - bring concrete abilities to the table. Their narrative quests, written by Darby McDevitt, integrate without feeling forced. And the new chapters exploring the relationship between Edward and Caroline give welcome depth to a protagonist who was already one of the franchise's best, according to the journalist.

The inherited limitations the remaster doesn't fix

Ground combat, on the other hand, hasn't been fixed - just repainted. The parry window is so generous that the game basically plays itself on autopilot: parry, riposte, and repeat. The gadgets don't visibly change the tactical equation. The new loot is appealing on paper, but with a difficulty curve that never rises, legendary weapons fall flat. Side activities, without voice acting and often uninspired, reinforce the impression that Resynced poured all its energy into the art direction.

The weather cycle can also glitch: storms appearing out of nowhere, instant day/night transitions. A problem that could be fixed with a patch, but it's visible as things currently stand.

Verdict

TheGamer gives it a 4/5, and that seems entirely fair. Black Flag Resynced is the best-looking Assassin's Creed to date, the new content is generous, and the naval loop remains one of the best in the genre. Taken all together, that's already worth the trip. But if you were hoping for ground combat to match the engine, look elsewhere. If you loved Skull and Bones for the seas and want real storytelling layered on top, or if Shadows made you want to return to the franchise's roots, this is without question your game of the summer.