A large part of my experience with the Xbox 360 consisted of my back-to-back full playthroughs of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. See, before I even went on to play Ezio’s games, I wholeheartedly treasured my time with Edward Kenway and his Jackdaw crew. I guess you could say a Pirate’s Life was for me during my pre-teens.
And ever since the game’s remake, AC Black Flag Resynced was announced, my expectations were like a rollercoaster, knowing Ubisoft’s questionable modern rep, but also fearing how much they would deviate from the original. Yet finally, after the reveal and the initial preview events, I can now safely conclude that I’m still in disbelief at how I immediately placed a pre-order for a Ubisoft title.
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But just how much is improved and added upon here? Well, while I won’t be telling you everything that’s on offer here, I’ll share a list of the most anticipated features and changes we’re excited to see in Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced, based on what we’ve learned so far.
8 You Can Now Toggle Edward’s Hood
To Match the Vibe, of Course
We’re starting things with a very small addition that some may skim over, but as someone who adores any minor amount of heightened immersion in his games, this one’s for us.
AC Black Flag Resynced will allow you to manually toggle Edward’s Assassin’s Hood during gameplay, so if you want to act really mysterious whilst exploring a new island or just take in the scenery without anything covering Edward’s dastardly handsome face, you can choose to do so.
Keep in mind that it’s currently unclear whether this feature will be at launch. Rest assured, one of the devs confirmed the feature during a Reddit AMA.
7 Pets on the Jackdaw
But Not the Parrot Stereotype
Much like the small additions of the hood/cow being a toggle option, another one of the more unexpected additions in AC Black Flag Resynced is the brand-new pet system aboard the Jackdaw. And as much as it sounds like a small novelty to many, it just fits the vibe so darn well, especially if you’ve seen the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Previously, the in-game fauna was mainly treated as a means of getting rare resource materials for Edward’s utility upgrades, but this time, you can now have a personalized animal companion that lives aboard the ship’s helm while sailing the bright blue seas.
You can choose between a monkey and a cat, with additional cosmetic options if you want a different breed/furcoat type. And if you get the game’s Deluxe Edition, you also receive this black and gold striped cat in the Master Assassin Naval Pack.
6 Modernized Visuals and Water Tech
By Ubisoft’s Standards, It Looks Insanely Good
And I say this as someone who’s had absolute disdain for what they’ve become. Ubisoft has surprisingly done a fantastic job remaking Black Flag’s visuals from the ground up, with revamped facial details, RTGI-enhanced lighting, and high-tech fidelity, all powered by their ambitious in-house Anvil Engine. Like seriously, Edward’s model almost looks like the one from his E3 2013 CGI trailer for the original game.
Most importantly, they’ve also brilliantly enhanced one of the game’s core details: the rich cobalt Caribbean seas. The new water tech is astoundingly miles higher than what the original showcased. Don’t get me wrong, the original has a superb visual direction for the ocean, but underneath that spectacle, water surfaces repeated patterns, and ships often looked like they were gliding across a beautifully animated texture rather than fighting real physical waves.
But now Resynced seems to push that idea much further, with waves now appearing to have far more physical depth and density, especially when you’re exploring the sandy beaches of an island. And the cherry on top is the dynamic weather system that now affects the ocean’s new visual identity, making it feel fiercer than ever.
5 New and Improved Action Combat
No More Simple Counter Play Galore
Don’t take this as me taking a stab at the combat in the older games or at people wearing their rose-tinted nostalgia goggles, but c’mon, let’s be real: it was way too simple. Most fights in the OG Assassin’s Creed 4 boiled down to waiting for a counter prompt, pressing one button, then chaining instant kills until (eventually) the entire group of enemies collapsed around Kenway.
That’s seemingly the biggest thing Resynced is trying to fix, at least according to the deep dives and previews we’ve gotten to see so far. The remake completely reworks combat, making it more action-oriented and demanding. You’ve got parrying, weapon/tool quick-swapping, breakable objects in the environment, dynamic enemy AI, and even brutes with larger health bars to chew through. There’s also a noticeable effort to make combat transitions more natural from stealth and parkour.
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The only major downside that’s become a talking point is how you can no longer use Edward’s dual hidden blades in combat anymore, as they’re reserved for takedowns. Should they possibly add this in a later update? Hopefully, but then again, it doesn’t detract from my enjoyment of the upcoming remake.
4 Reworked Tailing Missions
They’re Not As Restrictive Anymore
One of the biggest complaints about AC4: Black Flag was how often it forced players into slow, overly strict tailing missions. They became infamous for turning a game built around high-seas naval exploration and pirate fantasy into something oddly restrictive.
Guards could spot you from unrealistic distances, targets moved at a snail’s pace of scripted speeds, and many sequences demanded that players stay within a very narrow range.
And now the reworked tailing missions in Black Flag Resynced seem designed specifically to address that criticism without completely removing the stealth aspect from the experience.
Because now, if you’re detected, it won’t result in an immediate desynchronization; instead, you can quickly adapt to the situation or find an alternative route to the target if they’ve spotted you.
Whether it is clearing nearby enemies or chasing them down, you will get to find this out in full depth with the game’s release, since that’s pretty much the details so far we have of the readjusted tailing missions in this remake.
3 Accessibility Additions
Wouldn’t be a Remake Without ’em
Despite the original Black Flag from 2013 aging well enough, the accessibility spotlight to Resynced is shaping up to be one of the biggest unsung upgrades, given how Ubisoft wants everyone to feasibly enjoy this game. You can now tweak HUD elements via the provided presets and adjust gameplay visual modifiers like the parrying effects or even the aiming arc on the Jackdaw.
Even the Gameplay itself has been adjusted in ways that feel surprisingly thoughtful; Difficulty settings can now be tuned separately for stealth, naval combat, and general gameplay when playing as Edward. Certain QTEs can be skipped entirely, and you can also tone down the intensity of the underwater diving sections, like disabling oxygen limits and shark attacks, which is especially great for someone like me who suffers from Thalassophobia.
Honestly, the most encouraging part is how comprehensive the effort sounds, given that it’s, well, Ubisoft. The devs described it as the “most substantial accessibility upgrade” they’ve ever given to one of their older titles, and based on the feature list alone, yeah, that claim doesn’t seem exaggerated if I’m being honest.
2 New Story Arcs
Intriguing Yet Slightly Concerning
Now, look, I understand that a majority are displeased with how Ubisoft has seemingly removed the real-world/Abstergo sections from Resynced, but this isn’t about that. Because, depending on how you look at it, at least we’re getting a slew of new story arcs to flesh out Edward, Blackbeard, and Stede Bonnet.
Blackbeard was already one of the emotional highlights in the OG entry, but he disappeared relatively quickly despite how much impact he had on Edward. Ubisoft appears to be correcting that by giving him additional scenes and narrative material. And on top of that, we’re getting an extension of Stede Bonnet, I mean, who doesn’t want more of that jolly fellow, right?
Most importantly, we may see more of Edward’s inner turmoil fleshed out with the replaced modern-day sections now letting us explore Animus Rifts of Edward’s thoughts. That, and we also have a new scene developed from the ground up featuring Edward’s wife, Caroline Scott Kenway, from the OG’s lead writer, Darby McDevitt. Pretty much everything that we’ve seen so far points to Ubisoft positively aiming to focus on emotional continuity rather than franchise setup.
1 Naval Combat Improvements
The Jackdaw’s Full Might Unleashed
One of the biggest upgrades for Black Flag Resynced is the expansion of the Jackdaw’s arsenal. Ubisoft has confirmed that the ship now has multiple secondary weapons and alternate firing modes, which should make naval battles far less repetitive than the OG entry’s broadside-and-brace rhythm that we all knew.
Furthermore, the enemy ship AI behavior has also been overhauled in a surprisingly ambitious way, with different factions now reportedly forming alliances and rivalries that affect how they engage in naval battles, as well as unique loadouts and behaviors.
And finally, you can now also recruit three unique officers through side quests, and each one grants gameplay advantages pertaining to the Jackdaw. We haven’t gotten the exact layout of every perk yet, but early information suggests these officers meaningfully alter how your ship performs in battle instead of functioning as simple cosmetic crew members.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
