Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced review roundup: 'an impressive rework'
Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a pirate’s life for me
🤔 Reviews for the Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remaster are now live
👍 The game has garnered a score of 84 from 75 reviews on Metacritic
👏 Reviewers have praised the excellent visuals and overhauled combat mechanics
🤷♂️ Some critics think that the story still isn’t as strong as other Assassin’s Creed titles, though
Reviews for the remake of the classic Assassin’s Creed Black Flag title are coming in, and it seems like Ubisoft’s pirate adventure still holds up well.
According to the game’s Metacritic page, the average score sits at 84 after 75 reviews from the media, which is an impressive overall score. It’s worth noting that the original Black Flag achieved a Metacritic score of 88 when it was released.
Here’s what the critics made of the long-awaited glow up of one of the best Assassin’s Creed games.
Wccftech gave it a score of 8.6/10, praising its graphics, the new expanded story content, and wholly overhauled combat that make for a more enticing variant against the original. However, it had reservations about the basic parkour mechanics and repetitive open-world mechanics:
“Historically, Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag was my favorite Assassin’s Creed title almost solely because it felt the least like an Assassin’s Creed game in terms of structure and felt more like a pirate adventure in the West Indies. That much still holds true in 2026, even with other titles perhaps nailing that feel of being a pirate more naturally, whether it’s Ubisoft’s other title, Skull and Bones, or the unexpected Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. Everything from the way story missions play out to the melee and ship combats feels like a natural evolution of what Ubisoft Montreal brought to the world more than a decade ago. If you aren’t one to let the omission of Black Flag’s adventures of Aveline and Adéwalé sour the experience, you’ll find that Black Flag Resynced has aged like a fine Caribbean rum.”
Game Informer gave the Black Flag remake an 8.25/10 score, similarly praising the game’s lovely graphics and simply the vast quantity of things to do. It maintains the story of Edward Kenway, with improvements like re-recorded dialogue. However, the story isn’t as strong as other Assassin’s Creed titles:
“For me, a lot of the joy and excitement of Assassin’s Creed comes from visiting a new era in history and rediscovering the series’ conflict through the lens of that time and place. This return to a familiar locale lacks that, but it should still offer it for newer players who never experienced the game more than a decade ago. But even without that sense of newness, Black Flag Resynced is an impressive rework, setting a high bar for how to return to an older action game and make it relevant once more. I’d prefer to sail to new horizons, but I’m also happy to rediscover a journey that reminds me why I embraced the franchise in the first place.”
In a 4/5 star review, VGC praised Edward Kenway as a protagonist, plus the game’s excellent ship-to-ship combat and its graphical overhaul, although felt the combat remained too easy and the mission design was overly simple:
“Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a great remake of a game that probably didn’t need to be remade. Of all the games in the AC franchise, Black Flag holds up better than many, but that doesn’t change the fact that I had a wonderful time going back. The cast, setting and atmosphere are still some of the best ever realised in the series, and the new content feels right at home.”
TechRadar Gaming also gave it a 4/5 review, echoing similar sentiments over how great the game looks and the detailed map, although notes this new version of the game cuts content against the original:
“Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a great remake of a classic game and does a great job of walking the tightrope between respecting the original source material and introducing new content and modernizing aged features. Cut content is a shame, and the game’s more repetitive elements don’t age well, but there’s a lot to love here for new and returning players. The overhauled combat, beautiful world, and chock-full map truly got the game’s hooks in me — all over again.”
The Eurogamer review is one of the few middle-of-the-road verdicts on this new Assassin’s Creed remaster, noting that sometimes the new, rejuvenated content sits at odds with the original game, such as with the way some cutscenes play out and the classic mission style:
“Kenway’s story is somewhat timeless: the moral tale of a man forsaking his previous life and identity in search of gold and glory. I’m not sure it will ever get old. But I can’t help but think of the background tragedy of his life being something of a mirror for Ubisoft here in 2026. Restless, agitated, unable to let a legacy rest, striking out in search of something greater: a retread of a highest ebb, a victory lap after a finest hour. Black Flag is a great modern video game, and that history is proudly on show in this remake, which is - when all’s said and done - a perfectly fine way of experiencing this tale. I enjoyed reliving it. But the additions Resynced tries so hard to cram into the experience are not universally positive, and as a result it leaves the original feeling misshapen, wonky, a bit rogue. Maybe that’s fitting for a tale about a man pretending to be something he’s not, but it makes Resynced something of a vainglorious expedition: there’s no plunder to be had here, we’re just plotting a course we’ve sailed before.”
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is available for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on July 9, 2026, for $59.99.
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Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.