I have fond memories of playing the original Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag. I barely remember the story, but I remember playing countless hours chasing other ships and trying to nuke fortresses off of the map.
Black Flag came at a time when I started to lose hope in the franchise. AC III was, well, AC III, and with the retirement of Ezio, and I really, really loved Ezio, I wondered what other protagonist could take over.
Edward Kenway is no Ezio, but he is also, thankfully, no Ratonhnhaké:ton. And while he is barely an assassin, he is a great protagonist. Definitely in my top 3 next to Ezio and Kassandra. Which is why Black Flag has always been one of my favorite games in the franchise. (And I played every one except Rogue.)
So, when I sat down to play Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag Resynced, the remake had only one job: give me a prettier Black Flag. And did it deliver!
Memory is a funny thing, but at first, I didn't think Resynced looked that much better. It basically looked the way I remembered the original looking. Until I compared screenshots, and nope, not at all, not even close.
Everything just looks better: the water, the foliage, the cities, the characters, Kenway. It simply is a prettier game. I'm still in awe of the landscapes of AC Shadows and this remake comes very close. And for context: I played on my home-brewed Steam Machine at max settings, 4K, and FSR set to quality. I was mostly around 90 frames per second, with the occasional drop.
But the game didn't just overhaul the visuals; it also improved the mechanics, bringing them much closer to newer releases in the franchise (without transforming it into an RPG-like game): better stealth, better combat, naval or close-quarter, and fewer loading screens.
And yes, there are in-app purchases, but frankly, just ignore them? If you don't open the menu, you don't see them, and I only ever opened the menu by mistake, like twice or so.
Ubisoft also added more content, while removing some. Here is a good comparison list, but in essence they've added more side-content (some very good ones) and removed the modern storyline. On the topic of the latter, I understand why they did it. Without the context of the previous games, these quests would feel very out of place, but I do miss them. I always liked the modern storyline in Assassin's Creed and to this day, I hope we might one day get a game set in the present day. I want to know what Abstergo and the assassins are up to, without the need to read comics or try to decipher it from random in-game collectibles.
The Animus storyline replaces the modern storyline with a sort of "what if" scenario. The name alone reminds me of Marvel, and I can't stand the Marvelification of media. But I digress.
Resynced is a great remake of an already great game. I really enjoyed my time, and I wish the Ezio trilogy would get the same remake treatment. I seem to have reached that age in my gamer life where I turn into a sucker for nostalgia, so brands, feel free to milk it.
I still have a ton of side content to explore, so despite being done with the main quest, I'll be playing this game for months to come.
