What's changed in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is considered by many to be one of the best in Ubisoft's ongoing chronicle of Assassins versus Templars, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a pirate-loving fan of this franchise who didn't enjoy swashbuckling as Edward Kenway in the original 2013 release.

After many months of rumours swirling about the remaster, we've finally had a chance to sink our anchors into Black Flag Resynced, and can lay out the biggest differences that immediately caught our eye.

If you've been on the fence about whether to check out this update, or are simply wondering what's changed, this guide's for you. We'll outline all the major differences between Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced and the original game, starting with the fresh coat of paint that Edward is sporting and ending with some of the more notable omissions to the game's overarching plot.

In this guide:

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Graphical upgrades via Ubisoft's Anvil engine

Technically speaking, Resynced is far beyond what the original Black Flag was able to offer, as it's been rebuilt via Ubisoft's Anvil engine, which was previously used for Assassin's Creed Shadows. As a whole, the game looks much brighter and less brown/yellow and full of bloom than the original, which came out at the height of the 2010s trend for desaturated and sepia art direction.

This is most noticeable when it comes to lighting and water, and there's a new dynamic weather system in play that changes over time, making the storms that Edward sails through all the more potent. The weather system isn't just cosmetic either, as it'll introduce obstacles while sailing, such as waterspouts and lightning strikes that can deal damage to Edward's ship.

Visually, character models have also been redone and have substantially more detail, especially in cutscenes and during main story missions. NPCs are noticeably less defined, but this was the case in the original game as well.

Old Edward Kenway (left) versus his new look (right). Note the improved lighting and more detailed facial and clothing features. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

Resynced is similar to other recent remasters (for instance, last year's Oblivion Remastered) that dramatically change the visuals of a game but retain the core gameplay. Some might prefer the original's grittier look, but Resynced undeniably makes Black Flag look much less like an early 2010s game and more like a modern product.

Seamless open world, with the ability to dive everywhere

Black Flag is renowned for giving players the experience of sailing around the Caribbean and living their best pirate life, and Resynced removes the loading screens of the original for a seamless open world. Now, you've got a smooth transition between piloting your boat and sailing into, say, Havana. There are also more islands to explore, as opposed to the original Black Flag, which had dozens of areas that were blocked away, giving the illusion of a larger world but not the reality.

There's treasure to find down in those depths, as long as you've got the Diving Bell. And occasional shark attacks are back, as well. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

Diving has also been revamped to go hand-in-hand with the open world. As long as he's uncovered the Diving Bell in the main story, Edward can dive anywhere to explore the great blue unknown and all its secret treasure chests. This is a stark change from the original game, where you were only allowed to dive in specific areas and during underwater missions.

Revamped combat, reminiscent of Assassin's Creed Shadows

Combat has been upgraded and is similar to Assassin's Creed Shadows, with a parry system that allows for perfect parries, which let you cut through an enemy's posture and immediately bring them down.

You can no longer pick up enemy weapons in battle, which is a shame. But the ability to dual wield makes up for this, and you've got several new combat moves imported over from Shadows. These include a Hidden Blade Takedown, which can instantly sever an enemy, and Heavy Strikes, which can serve as good ways to finish a combo.

Parrying enemies feels more satisfying now, though you shouldn't expect anything resembling Soulslike mechanics. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

Notably, Edward's Rope Dart - a fan-favourite weapon from the original game that saw Edward stabbing opponents from afar and pulling them towards him, like Scorpion in Mortal Kombat - is available much earlier than before. While this was a late-game acquisition back in the day, in Resynced the Rope Dart is obtainable in Sequence 3, which is much earlier.

Ship combat also feels more dynamic than the original, with new Secondary Fire modes added to Edward's vessel, the Jackdaw, such as Shrapnel Barrels and Swivel Guns, which can be manually aimed in a fashion reminiscent of Assassin's Creed Rogue. There are also three new officers that you can recruit for the Jackdaw, which we'll highlight in the new story content section below.

Revamped stealth and traversal options

On the stealth side of things, there's finally a dedicated Crouch button, letting Edward sneak everywhere with ease - proof that it's truly the little things that matter. There's also been a Visibility Meter added to give players a better sense of how well hidden they are, and this bar will be affected by aspects of the environment such as time of day and weather - for instance, rain provides additional cover.

Edward crouches for the kill. It's hard to believe, but 2014's Assassin's Creed Unity was actually the first game in the series to have a dedicated crouch button. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

Players of the original Black Flag can also rejoice that the game's annoying Tailing sequences have been refined. No longer are you forced to start over if you're caught tailing someone; now the game dynamically reacts when you're caught, giving you options to fight enemies or find another way to navigate via stealth.

Edward also has a few more traversal options at his disposal, including quicker interrupts for parkour moves to make jumping across rooftops and ledges more seamless, and ziplines, which will really be useful when getting from a Viewpoint to ground level.

New story and side content

Edward's a fan-favourite Assassin, even if he did kinda get his duds illicitly. Now you can play more of him! | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

There's a sizeable amount of additional story content in Resynced. This includes the following:

• 3 new naval officers: Dubbed the Padre, Lucy Baldwin, and Tobias "Deadman" Smith, this trio serves as a Man-at-arms, Shipwright, and Weapon Master respectively. They each offer new quests.
• New side missions: These include Assassin's and Naval Contracts, along with Templar Hunts.
• 8 new endgame missions: Comprising an entire chapter that expands Edward's story, these missions required new voice work by Edward's actor, Matt Ryan, and are expansive enough to have probably been sold as DLC back in the old days of Assassin's Creed! (Don't worry, I'm sure that plenty of DLC for Black Flag Resynced is in store! A remaster of Freedom Cry, hopefully...?)

No modern day gameplay

Despite all of the new story content, Black Flag's original modern day segments are absent. These saw you playing a nameless Abstergo Entertainment employee and engaging in covert hacking to uncover secrets regarding the Templars. The overarching plot was related to Desmond Miles, the modern-day protagonist of the previous Assassin's Creed titles.

Ubisoft has de-emphasised the franchise's modern day stylings with every recent entry, and as was the case with Assassin's Creed Shadows, these bits will instead be told within the Animus Hub, an in-game launcher that not only serves as a central portal for all new AC games, but also contains the Vault, a collection of data files and videos that reveal modern day lore.

The Animus Hub remains a very interesting beast. Love it or hate it from AC: Shadows, it looks like it's here to stay. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Ubisoft

Black Flag Resynced offers up a new entry into the Animus Hub with Rifts, narrative-focused segments that will slowly unlock over the course of the game as long as you can find them within the world. These are basically "What If" segments that offer a glimpse into what might have happened to Edward if things had gone differently. (For instance, what if he had kept his promise to his wife Caroline?)

While not an exact replacement for the original modern-day scenes, Rifts are intended to remind the player that, thematically, they're reliving the memories of a former Assassin.

That wraps up the biggest differences between Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced and the original game. For more on Edward's mission to raise the black flag all across the Caribbean, stay tuned to Rock Paper Shotgun, as we'll have more guides coming soon with insight into all of the secrets in this remaster.