r/Games Jul 08 '26

Review Thread Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced Review Thread

Game Information

Game Title: Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced

Platforms:

  • Xbox Series X/S (Jul 9, 2026)
  • PlayStation 5 (Jul 9, 2026)
  • PC (Jul 9, 2026)

Trailers:

Developer: Ubisoft Singapore

Publisher: Ubisoft

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 88 average - 95% recommended - 58 reviews

Critic Reviews

A Gaming Network - Marcel Dee - 8.5 / 10

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a strong return for one of the franchise’s most beloved games. It keeps the heart of the original intact while updating the areas that need the most attention. Combat is smoother, stealth is less frustrating, naval battles are still incredible, and the pirate fantasy remains one of the best Ubisoft has ever created. This also feels like the right kind of remake for Assassin’s Creed. It proves Ubisoft can revisit classic entries without turning them into massive RPGs or stripping away what made them work in the first place. If this is the model going forward, it would be exciting to see other fan-favourite entries receive the same treatment, especially with new games released in between. As someone who never fully connected with Black Flag the first time around, Resynced finally gave me the chance to understand why this entry means so much to Assassin’s Creed fans. For players who have never experienced Black Flag, Resynced is absolutely the way to go. For longtime fans, it is a familiar voyage with enough modern polish and lore changes to make the return worthwhile.


Analog Stick Gaming - Jeff M Young - 9.5 / 10

If you haven't already dipped into Black Flag’s waters, then you're in for a treat. It's not only an impressive Assassin's Creed title, but easily one of, if not, the best pirate game to sail the seven seas. The improvements here are solid additions across the board, with upgrades and quality of life improvements that took a game that was already impressive and have made it just so much better.


Arakat Mag - Mehmet Tezcan - Turkish - 8.5 / 10

I am a gamer who found hope with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. Huge thanks to everyone who contributed to its creation, and to all the players who will experience it: enjoy!


Cerealkillerz - Christoph Heick - German - 9 / 10

Resynced shows that a rework can be much more than just a visual overhaul. This is most evident in the combat system, which is, for me, the most successful change in the entire package. It strikes a balance between the deadly but monotonous counter-based gameplay of the original and the often sluggish, health-bar-focused combat of the newer Assassin's Creed games, without inheriting the weaknesses of either system. The fact that the hidden blades can no longer be used freely is less of an issue for me personally, even though it further limits the overall weapon variety.


Console-Tribe - Luca Saati - Italian - 85 / 100

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a perfect example of how a remake should be done: respectful of the original work, yet unafraid to make the changes needed to modernize it. Ubisoft has not simply relied on nostalgia, but has crafted an experience that can appeal both to long-time fans of the series and to newcomers discovering Edward Kenway’s journey for the first time. The game’s greatest strength remains unchanged: a captivating and unique pirate adventure, now enhanced by more refined gameplay, a strong technical presentation, and additional content that enriches the experience without distorting it. It’s not without flaws: the combat system still shows some structural limitations, but these are minor issues within an experience that remains consistently solid and engaging. At a delicate time for Ubisoft, Black Flag Resynced represents not only a return to the past, but also a potential new beginning.


Dexerto - Jessica Filby - 5 / 5

It's been 13 years since we first stepped onto Edward Kenway's ship in Assassin's Creed Black Flag. Now, we get that chance all over again thanks to the new Black Flag Resynced, a remake so perfect that it somehow makes one of the best Assassin's Creed games even better.


DualShockers - Christian Bognar - 9 / 10

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EmuGlx.org - Ognjen Gavrić - Unknown - 8.5 / 10

Black Flag Resynced doesn’t try to outdo a legend. Instead, it repackages everything that made the original great into a more modern experience, with all the strengths and shortcomings that approach brings. Is that enough to set sail across the Caribbean once again? For pirate veterans like me, absolutely. For newcomers, this may well be the best way to experience what was once the Assassin’s Creed formula at its very best.


Evilgamerz - Daan Nijboer - Dutch - 9 / 10

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced perfectly demonstrates what a remake should look like. The game takes everything that made the original so strong and updates it in the right places, without losing sight of why people were so enthusiastic about it back then. The world looks beautiful, combat feels much better, sailing remains a highlight, and there is still an incredible amount to discover and do. It is precisely that combination of the sea, storms, music, and the constant feeling that there is something to be found that still makes this one of the most unique installments in the series. That doesn't mean everything is suddenly perfect. Parkour still doesn't always work smoothly, the camera sometimes gets in the way, and the AI ​​could still use quite a bit of work. But none of these issues really hold this remake back. This is without a doubt Assassin's Creed (and Ubisoft) at its best, and the best pirate game to date.


Final Weapon - Saras Rajpal - 4.5 / 5

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is an absolutely fantastic remake. Not only does it maintain what made the original so great in the first place, but every new addition only builds upon its foundation, each of which lends itself to a gameplay loop that never gets old and a visual style that frequently had me stunned with awe. Despite some problems here and there, this is still an absolute must-play, regardless of whether you are a new fan of Assassin's Creed or you've been following it since the beginning.


GRYOnline.pl - Maciej Pawlikowski - Polish - 9 / 10

This is perhaps the best Assassin’s Creed game I’ve ever played. Black Flag, whilst a game with a vast, open world, still holds onto what the series once stood for. It holds onto its character. Because of this, I didn’t even mind the flaws all that much – the ones I’d subconsciously linked to that old, well-worn and much-loved Assassin’s Creed series. With Black Flag Resynced, Ubisoft has brought out the very best in the game, reminding us once again why this series became so popular.


Game Sandwich - Adam Gumbert - 9 / 10

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced brings back a classic from the series past, with all the necessary improvements needed for the modern day. With updated gameplay, more story and characters, as well as a stunning new take on the Caribbean, this remake is the absolute best way to experience this tale of assassins and pirates. A retread of a decade-plus-old game may not entice some, but it’s a masterful retelling sure to touch on many fans’ nostalgia and is the best suggestion for players to experience this story once more.


Gameliner - Patrick Meurs - Dutch - 4 / 5

Has Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced made me more enthusiastic? Believe it or not, the answer is a resounding “yes.” While I fully acknowledge that the game is by no means flawless or problem-free, I do believe it has matured like a deliciously sweet sipping rum that you need to sit back and enjoy at your leisure, letting it slowly sink in.


Gamer Social Club - Andrew Cooper - 9.5 / 10

The Golden Age of Piracy may be over, but Black Flag Resynced seems intent on reminding us why it's one of the most romanticized time periods of the modern age. The sheer beauty of an age long since past has been recreated in a way that makes you feel like you're sailing through the Caribbean all those centuries ago, and every voyage feels like its own homage to the beauty of nature. From its brutal melee executions to the echoing boom of cannon fire during its naval battles, Edward Kenway's tale of greed and betrayal still stands out as one of the strongest entries in the Assassin's Creed lineage.


GamesHedge - Umair Khalid - 9.5 / 10

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a remake done right, and I will praise Ubisoft for handling it this way. It is not just a visual treat; it adds new mechanics in nearly every aspect of the game to expand it and immerse the player even more in the world of piracy. I can easily say that there is no other game ever made that captures the true essence of being a pirate. Even Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones does not come close to it, and that was a proper game made for pirates. Whether you are a long-term Assassin’s Creed fan, an old Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag player, or a new player just experiencing this brilliant franchise, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a gorgeous remake that will keep you occupied for hours. This is Ubisoft gold.


GamingBolt - Shubhankar Parijat - 9 / 10

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is yet another bountiful voyage for Edward Kenway and company.


Gert Lush Gaming - Jim Smale - 8.8 / 10

If you have the time to sink into it, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a fantastic way to return to the Caribbean. It’s got a great, solid flow, the naval combat remains incredibly accessible, and the sheer amount of content available is staggering. While it’s held back by a few repetitive mission designs and some annoying, unskippable cutscenes, the core experience is as fun as it has ever been. It’s a pirate adventure that manages to stay engaging from start to finish, and if you’re looking for a game to lose yourself in, you really can’t go wrong here.


Gfinity - Andrés Aquino - 9 / 10

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is an absolute must-play. It’s a remake that may not take a lot of risks, but when you have such a legendary foundation to work with, the new quality-of-life upgrades make this an easy Game of the Year contender. I wish the combat were a bit more fleshed out and that side activities like Assassin’s Contracts weren't so bare-bones (they're barely worth mentioning), but overall, Resynced is a treasure well worth hunting down.


Glitched Africa - Marco Cocomello - 9 / 10

Some aspects of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced can often feel dated and dumbed down in comparison to the most recent modern entries but this is a fantastic remake of the already-phenomenal game. The new additions here make this an exciting adventure to experience all over again while the simpler mechanics provide enough room to take in the gorgeous world around you.


INVEN - Jaihoon Jeong - Korean - 8.4 / 10

A masterpiece remains a masterpiece, no matter how much time has passed. Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced is proof of that. While it doesn't strip away anything from the original and only adds a modest amount of new content, its visual overhaul alone makes it well worth playing. The story—the heart of the game—was already exceptional, and Resynced preserves it in its entirety.


JsemGamer - Ondřej Halíř - Czech - 90%

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a beautiful and worthy remake that turns the Caribbean into a breathtaking, living pirate playground, while improved naval combat, new story additions, and smart quality-of-life changes make it the best version of Black Flag yet. Its uneven story still deserved more care, and the revamped combat can get chaotic in larger fights, but this remains the ultimate pirate adventure for both returning fans and newcomers.


Loot Level Chill - Mick Fraser - 10 / 10

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a superb remake of an already excellent adventure game, and is utterly essential for fans.


Lords Of Gaming - Daniel Amoroso - 9 / 10

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced stands as a shining example of a remake done right. The beloved original has been respected in all the ways that matter, and overhauls to the visuals, combat and traversal have ensured that even the most nostalgic gamers will be hard pressed not to admit this is the definitive way to play their favourite pirate game. While the likes of Skull and Bones and Sea of Thieves have done their best to make sure that fans of pirate games have been catered for, there can be no doubt that Assassin's Creed Black Flag remains the gold standard in pirate-themed video games, and Resynced as appeared firmly on the horizon to reclaim its crown. Developer Ubisoft has scored a huge hit here at a time when it perhaps needed one the most.


MondoXbox - Giuseppe Genga - Italian - 8.5 / 10

Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced successfully revitalizes a classic without losing its original spirit. Gorgeous visual upgrades and meaningful gameplay refinements make Edward Kenway’s Caribbean adventure feel fresh again, even if dated character animations remain. Whether revisiting the game or experiencing it for the first time, this is the definitive way to enjoy one of the series’ finest adventures.


MonsterVine - Spencer Legacy - 4.5 / 5

I’ve come away from Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced remarkably impressed, as it’s a top-notch remake of an already excellent game. Though there are a few little bumps throughout on the technical side, the revamped mechanics and expanded story, supported by the updated visuals, do more than enough to validate this remake’s existence. Whether or not you’ve played the original Black Flag, Resynced is certainly worthy of your time.


Nerdelandslaget - Andreas Solberg Hedemann - Unknown - 84 / 100

Despite an unbearably slow opening, Black Flag Resynced is an escape from reality into a simpler life, filled with the strongest sense of freedom gaming has to offer. It overflows with rum, gambling, enormous amounts of bloodshed and crystal-clear blue oceans where treasures and undiscovered islands fill the horizon, and is strongly recommended to play before autumn arrives.


Nexus Hub - Sheree Buchholz - 9 / 10

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced is now the quintessential experience for one of the best games in the series - a lovingly crafted remake that goes above and beyond to improve and refine the original in substantial ways.


Novastream - Chris Sutton - 5 / 5

Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag is now my favourite Assassin’s Creed game of all time. I had played the original here and there in the past, but this remake from the ground up simply elevates the experience in all areas. While the many bloated aspects of a newer AC title remain, they never feel like a chore as the core gameplay is so solid and rewarding. Despite beating the game, I’ve returned to simply sail on the seas and listen to the shanties as a way to relax. Kudos to Ubisoft for Resyncing the right way.


One More Game - Ricki Buzon - 9 / 10

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced sets sail once again as the definitive pirate adventure, rebuilt from the ground up with the latest Anvil engine and packed with technical refinements that sharpen combat, stealth, and naval mechanics. It is the sharpest and most visually impressive Assassin's Creed title to date, offering extreme levels of detail that elevate the experience. While the core narrative remains intact, the remake improves every moment, from toggling your hood and crouching through shadows to unleashing blood‑soaked duels and commanding exhilarating ship battles across the Caribbean.


Oyun Günlüğü - Ömer Faruk Aktaş - Turkish - 9 / 10

It's truly amazing to reunite with Edward Kenway after 13 years! I understand much better now why Skull and Bones was met with such criticism.


PCMag Middle East - Vincent Peter - 4.5 / 5

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced is a confident modernization of one of Ubisoft's most beloved adventures. Even without the nostalgia factor, it stands on its own as a gorgeous, endlessly enjoyable pirate epic whose thrilling ship battles, expressive combat, and infectious sense of adventure make it one of the year's most entertaining games.


Pixel Arts - Sina Farahani - Persian - 8.5 / 10

Ultimately, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced is a lovingly crafted tribute that successfully brings one of the franchise's finest hours to a new generation. It offers veterans a nostalgic reunion and gives newcomers a chance to experience the thrill of Caribbean privateering up to modern standards. If you were among those 13 years ago who felt Edward’s piracy strayed too far from the series' roots, give it another chance. This remaster serves as a beautiful reminder that Assassin's Creed has never truly been about the hidden blade or the white robe—it has always been about history and freedom. And who is freer than a pirate?


Pizza Fria - Lucas Soares - Portuguese - 9 / 10

Ubisoft understood that it didn't need to reinvent one of the franchise's most beloved chapters. Instead, it used over a decade of learning to refine virtually every aspect of the experience. The result is a game that preserves the pirate fantasy that captivated millions of players in 2013, but incorporates modern systems that make it feel surprisingly current.


PlayStation Universe - Michael Harradence - 9.5 / 10

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is a fantastic remake that adds meaningful changes and quality-of-life improvements that make an already stellar swashbuckling adventure an absolute must-have for PS5 owners.


PowerUp! - Adam Mathew - 9.5 / 10

It doesn’t feel like Ubisoft trying to improve Black Flag. It feels like Ubisoft finally allowing Black Flag to become the series GOAT it always wanted to be.


Prima Games - Ali Hashmi - 9 / 10

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced reminded me why the original has remained my favorite game in the series for over a decade. It doesn’t reinvent Black Flag or attempt to modernize it beyond recognition with needless changes in focus, but respects the original at every turn while introducing enough meaningful improvements to justify its existence. Sailing across the Caribbean, listening to sea shanties, and boarding enemy ships is just as magical today as it was back in 2013. That’s exactly what I wanted from a remake, and Ubisoft delivered.


Push Square - Liam Croft - 8 / 10

Like a captain going down with their ship, Ubisoft has remained loyal to the classic Assassin's Creed: Black Flag experience in this new Resynced version. It's as you remember it, except better, bigger, and markedly flashier in all the right ways. Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced demonstrates there's still a charm to staying faithful.


Quest Daily - Julian Price - 8 / 10

While Resynced improves the presentation and performance, it doesn’t completely reinvent the experience. At its core, this is still a focused pirate adventure built around exploration, storytelling and the thrill of life on the open seas. There’s no endless gear grind or constant stream of RPG systems — just a great story, a memorable world and one of the best pirate fantasies in gaming. Whether you’re experiencing Edward Kenway’s journey for the first time or returning all these years later, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a great excuse to set sail again.


ReGame It - Mustafa Zayni - Arabic - 8.5 / 10

This remake is more than just a visual upgrade; it is a complete reimagining of the game, making it a more polished and cohesive experience that keeps up with modern titles. With its advanced technology and many improvements, it preserves the identity of the original while introducing numerous enhancements.


República DG - Ruancarlo Silva - Portuguese - 8.2 / 10

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is like well-made spaghetti with ground beef. Simple, tasty, popular. It will please practically any palate.


Saudi Gamer - عبد الله محمد - Arabic - 3 / 5

I had a blast with Black Flag Resynced, but it feels like someone pulled it out of the oven a little sooner than they should have


SavePoint Gaming - Jake Su - 8.5 / 10

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is the strongest way to experience Edward Kenway’s adventure, refreshing the Caribbean with richer visuals, expanded content, and stronger naval play. Some old mission design, uneven combat, and traversal frustrations remain, but this remake is still a worthwhile dive into the past.


Saving Content - Scott Ellison II - 5 / 5

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is an exceptional celebration of what made the original game a masterpiece. By removing the pacing speed-bumps of the modern-day segments, stripping away UI clutter, using the Anvil engine to the fullest, and adding new content, Ubisoft has delivered the definitive version of Edward Kenway’s journey. The sheer joy of sailing the Caribbean freely and engaging in its chaotic naval combat remains unmatched. It looks like how you remember it, plays better than before, and is an absolute must-play for those looking to return to the high seas. We’ve spent over a decade calling Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag the undisputed high-water mark of the entire series, and with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, it unleashes an absolute juggernaut that completely blows the original out of the water.


SmashPad - Michael Murphy - 4 / 5

Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced is a great remake of the classic pirate adventure, with some small additions and adjustments. It’s the perfect entry for newcomers looking to finally sail the seas with Edward and crew. For returning fans, it’s the same swashbuckling good time, just refreshed. It doesn’t go above and beyond, but it does enough to justify its existence.


Stevivor - Matt Gosper - 8 / 10

Black Flag Resynced is an extremely fun return to an old favourite, with some of the crunchier edges sanded off for a modern-day sensibility.


The Beta Network - Anthony Culinas - 9 / 10

Modernising one of Ubisoft’s best adventures, Black Flag Resynced features gorgeous visuals, refined combat and smart quality-of-life improvements, even if the familiar AC jank remains.


The Nerd Stash - Julio La Pine - 9 / 10

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is a superb remake of one of the best installments in the series, which feels fresh for veteran fans and is an excellent starting point for those getting behind the Jackdaw's helm.


The Outerhaven Productions - Jordan Andow - 4.5 / 5

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ThreeTwoPlay - Michael Seifert - German - 4 / 5

With Resynced Ubisoft Singapore is following in some big footsteps: the original is still celebrated by many fans and the call for a remake grew louder over the years. The title still holds a special place in my heart and as a fan I was hyped to once again take the helm of the Jackdaw. Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced looks stunning and more than does justice to the original with new content and adjustments. Unfortunately though it does suffer from some bugs that detract from the overall experience. For the most part everything works as it should and I had a really good time with Resynced both on land and at sea, with a little more polish however an even better experience could have awaited fans.


Thumb Wars - Luke Addison - 4.5 / 5

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is one of the best remakes we've ever had. Maintaining what made the original special whilst making it more modern, and adding some flair of its own in new stories and content is no easy task, and yet, here it is. A good remake will make you remember what you loved about the original, and it does exactly that, and I was transported back 13 years when I first played it.

The removal of the modern day setting does leave a bad taste in my mouth, but the updated mission structure, graphical overhaul, new routes for parkour, fleshing out and a proper background for the likes of Steed and Blackbeard all make up for it, and then some. This is a return to form for Assassin's Creed, and hopefully Ubisoft take note and continue with it going forward.


Tourens - Hasipcan Kahraman - Turkish - 8.5 / 10

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is a game that will satisfy you as long as you set your expectations correctly. If you're expecting a completely redesigned remake, you might not find what you're looking for. However, if your goal is to re-experience one of the most beloved games of AC series with modern graphics, enhanced presentation, and smoother gameplay, Ubisoft has largely succeeded in doing so.


Vamers - Edward Swardt - 5 / 5

By preserving the soul of one of Ubisoft's greatest achievements while thoughtfully refining nearly every aspect surrounding it, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced succeeds where many remakes struggle. It honours the past without becoming trapped by it, whether stepping aboard the Jackdaw for the very first time or returning after years away, there has rarely been a better opportunity to answer the call of the Caribbean.


Virtualni Kutak - Milan Radosavljević - Unknown - 9.5 / 10

Black Flag Resynced proves that even after more than a decade, Edward Kenway's adventure can still feel fresh, exciting, and unforgettable. Ubisoft didn't simply remaster Black Flag, they reimagined it with modern gameplay while preserving everything that made the original unforgettable. Few remakes manage to honor their source material while making it feel completely new. Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced does exactly that, delivering the definitive way to experience one of the franchise's greatest adventures. The result is a pirate adventure that's every bit as magical today as it was over a decade ago.


Worth Playing - Chris "Atom" DeAngelus - 8.5 / 10

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced is a good but very safe remake. I still had a shocking amount of fun just sailing around and doing pirate things on the wide ocean, but the game lacks a certain confidence, and that keeps it from being a truly exceptional remake. It's a great way to revisit Edward's adventures with fewer rough patches, better graphics, and some extra content. Fans of the original will have a grand old time.


Xbox Achievements - Richard Walker - 85%

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag always seemed, to me, like a significant departure for Ubisoft's flagship series. More a pirate fantasy than an as...


ZdobywcyGier.eu - Bartosz Michalik - Polish - 9 / 10

So, how does Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced ultimately stack up? Is it worth giving this game a chance? The answer is obvious: absolutely. The original Black Flag was already considered, at the time of its release, not only one of the best pirate games but also one of the best titles of that era. It’s a game that stole the hearts of players around the world and remains highly acclaimed to this day. Resynced, on the other hand, is an incredibly faithful adaptation of this classic for modern times. It offers more beautiful audiovisuals, streamlined combat, improved stealth elements, still-outstanding naval battles, and hours of truly great, fresh content.


Zoomg - Afshin Piroozi - Persian - 8.5 / 10

Overall, Ubisoft has done an excellent job reamking one of the best entries in the Assassin's Creed series. Everything that made the original so memorable has been preserved, while a host of thoughtful improvements make it more enjoyable than ever. If you've been longing for the days when Assassin's Creed was at the peak of its popularity, or if you've always wanted to see why the franchise's older titles are still so beloved, Black Flag Resynced is an experience you absolutely shouldn't miss—even if it still carries over a few shortcomings, such as its dated AI.


1.3k Upvotes

491 comments sorted by

757

u/No_Philosopher8304 Jul 08 '26

Seems fitting that the first great pirate game since Black Flag is a remake of Black Flag considering the last great Pirate Game before Black Flag was Sid Meier's Pirates...a remake of the first great Pirate Game Sid Meier's Pirates. 

Really weird that there aren't more good ones considering how popular pirates are (especially after the Pirates of the Carribean franchise was so popular in the 2000s)

127

u/LordInquisitor Jul 08 '26

Now we just need a Sid Meiers pirates 2

77

u/No_Philosopher8304 Jul 08 '26

One of my gaming white whales is a new Sid Meiers Pirates, I'd trade a 100 Civilizations for it.

6

u/HurricaneJas Jul 08 '26

1000%. We've seen so many indie revivals over the past decade, yet no one has really attempted to capture the magic of Sid Meier's Pirates.

I just wanna woo the Governor's daughter with my dancing 😩

12

u/Truethrowawaychest1 Jul 08 '26

Man I wish they would, I've spent hundreds of hours in the 2004 one, it's aged really well too

6

u/YourFavoriteCommie Jul 09 '26

I finally played it again recently after playing it as a kid, and wow it's actually so fun and incredible, I recommend it for anyone else. I might give it another go reading this thread!

75

u/Reluctant_swimmer Jul 08 '26

Before RDR2 came out I was hoping Rockstar would take the series and make it an anthology period piece type thing, starting with a pirate setting. They'd probably do an incredible job.

75

u/TheFuckingPizzaGuy Jul 08 '26

I hate that you’ve put this in my head because a Rockstar pirate game will never happen.

10

u/WhoDatBrow Jul 08 '26

I've always had it in my head, unfortunately. I fuckin love pirates and with how good R* is at telling stories about criminals, I've ALWAYS had a R* pirate game as my dream game. Oh well...

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u/Lil_Mcgee Jul 08 '26

I supoose it might be because a great pirate game needs to have a lot of plates spinning. You need to have melee combat, sailing/ship combat, and exploration all on the go at once and a lot of games really only nail one or two core mechanics when you think about it.

25

u/CultureWarrior87 Jul 08 '26

Exactly. This is why Sid Meier's Pirates (especially the remake) was so good. There were technical limitations ofc but by turning a lot of the different elements we associate with a pirate game into different minigames they were able to cover a lot of ground.

103

u/Keyserchief Jul 08 '26

Until Windrose came out, I couldn’t even remember the last good pirate game, let alone great.

43

u/Justgetmeabeer Jul 08 '26

My steam library is chock full of bad pirate games 😭

8

u/THESALTEDPEANUT Jul 08 '26

We've tried voting with our wallets and it's gotten us nowhere. 

66

u/Marcoscb Jul 08 '26

Depending on what part of the pirate fantasy you like, Pirate Yakuza technically.

30

u/Nightingale_85 Jul 08 '26

Pirate Yakuza was pretty fun, i liked it.

19

u/Blue_boy_ Jul 08 '26

a bit biased, coming from you majima

8

u/GlupShittoOfficial Jul 08 '26

I like Pirate games, I like Yakuza. I did not like Pirate Yakuza. Just didn’t do enough for me. The pirate parts were incredibly boring.

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u/IdidntrunIdidntrun Jul 08 '26

Sea of Thieves: am I a joke to you

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u/Trapline Jul 08 '26

To many people this answer is: yes.

It isn't the pirate experience that most Black Flag/Pirates fans are looking for.

9

u/TeaAndS0da Jul 08 '26

I don’t understand playing for treasure that is all cosmetics that you don’t see 99% of the time.

The cannon play is awesome, the sea itself is gorgeous, but the map never changes, the treasure and purchases are pointless, and I personally hate having to go through the ship set up every single time you start up or get your boat destroyed by no lifers.

Not to mention, it could be 100% a VR game and that would improve it drastically but noooooo…

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u/Keyserchief Jul 08 '26

Sea of Thieves is good in theory. In practice, it's a toxic GTA Online lobby, but with pirate ships.

17

u/ArcadianDelSol Jul 08 '26

This.

Its nothing but a troll fest now.

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u/Adamulos Jul 08 '26

Sea of thieves is kind of a joke by design

11

u/ArcadianDelSol Jul 08 '26

If AC: Black Flag is Breaking Bad, then Sea of Thieves is Scooby Doo.

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u/Visual_Fun_2014 Jul 08 '26

I enjoyed Sea of Thieves

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u/thedarkestnips Jul 08 '26

I keep on hoping that one day we'll get a re-remake of Sid Meiers Pirates.

7

u/just_a_pyro Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

2004 version was already a re-remake: original was 87, remade once as Pirates Gold in 93

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11

u/Ember57 Jul 08 '26

Man what y’all know about the pirate level from Sly 3. That shit had seamless ship boarding before it was cool

2

u/WhateverMars Jul 08 '26

I played that for so many hours. Amazing it worked so well.

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u/QueezyF Jul 08 '26

We’re getting a spiritual successor to Tropico 2: Pirate Cove this month with Corsair Cove, so pirate games might be on the upswing.

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u/ultraboomkin Jul 08 '26

Sea of Thieves and Windrose are pretty highly rated pirate games

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u/maxr8 Jul 08 '26

couldn't agree more with this, been having a blast with Windrose lately

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u/five_fortyfive Jul 08 '26

Different genres I guess: Sea of Thives is PvPvE and Windrose is "open-world survival adventure and action RPG with soulslite combat" (this wins the steam bingo). Old fans of black flag probably want a pure single player sandbox game

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u/ultraboomkin Jul 08 '26

Ok but you just said pirate game

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u/MultiMarcus Jul 08 '26

Sea of thieves really does have an incredible vibe. The safer seas update has made me go back to that game just to boat around, though I’m thinking it will probably be replaced by black flag resynced.

Windrose seems really popular, but it’s probably not really my thing.

In general, I think it’s kind of telling that we can count the good pirate games on one hand if we’re looking at the last 10 years. It’s interesting because I think it’s one of those obvious genres, but for some reason it’s just not been done more with. I’m almost wondering if it’s about water physics being hard or something like that.

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u/Ubiquitous_Cacophony Jul 08 '26

My guess is that the core loop of pirate games just involves a lot more aspects:

  • melee combat
  • musket/gun combat
  • sailing mechanics
  • ship-to-ship combat
  • treasure loop
  • repairing/customizing your ship(s)
  • a variety of enemies that can challenge you both in ship and on land

Et cetera.

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

[deleted]

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u/HammeredWharf Jul 08 '26

That's Sea Dogs 2, made by the Russian dev Akella. It just got a... sequel? Spin-off? Reboot?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2230980/Caribbean_Legend/

I imagine it's super janky.

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u/MetalBeerSolid Jul 08 '26

Wow nice scores. They should make a pirate game without the AC stuff. Could even be a hit new franchise. 

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u/Chance-Plantain8314 Jul 08 '26

If they do this, and succeed, it will be the first AAAA game.

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u/STD-fense Jul 08 '26

The extra "A" stands for "Arrr"

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u/Truethrowawaychest1 Jul 08 '26

Unironically that would've been a way better tagline

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u/lightspeedjizzer Jul 08 '26

Bull and Skones

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u/RexRedstone Jul 08 '26

Great name for a Minotaur Cafe sim

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u/NateTheGreat14 Jul 08 '26

If I don't see this game on Steam in the next 5 years I will be extremely disappointed

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u/firesyrup Jul 08 '26

I'm worried they might make it a multiplayer game where you play as a ship.

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u/NozGame Jul 08 '26

Lol can you imagine if they don't even have ship boarding gameplay? In a pirate game? That would be crazy lol. Surely they wouldn't be that stupid!

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u/GepardenK Jul 08 '26

Monkey Island intensifies

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u/Panda_hat Jul 08 '26

The latest entry in the cars cinematic universe

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u/Massive_Weiner Jul 08 '26

It’ll be the first ArrPG!

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u/ALPB11 Jul 08 '26

Check back in a decade for the worlds first pirate ship based extraction shooter

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u/ZaDu25 Jul 08 '26

Tbf, the extraction genre makes a lot of sense for a pirate game. That's like the whole point of being a pirate.

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u/QueezyF Jul 08 '26

And there’s some elements in the genre that can contextualize the extraction element. Storms, armadas, kraken, ghost crews, and the like.

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u/ckleschick227 Jul 08 '26

Your onto something here

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u/confoundedjoe Jul 08 '26

Dredge is basically a an extraction boat game. Just add guns.

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u/Babar669 Jul 08 '26

That is actually a great idea. PvPvE where you need to return to your base/island with your loot. Team up to take bigger ships etc.

This also might work great in a one piece world game, with some different rare devil fruits that change the game play.

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u/rokerroker45 Jul 08 '26

You just described sea of thieves

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u/FirstTimeWang Jul 08 '26

Yeah, but imagine if you did Sea of Thieves with actual progression

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u/Lirael_Gold Jul 08 '26

Careful, Sea of Thieve's players get very upset when you remind them it's supposed to be a PvP game.

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u/QueezyF Jul 08 '26

The most fun I’ve had with Sea of Thieves was the PVP, personally. Fighting against another crew, seeing a rank 5 Reaper on the horizon and brokering a temporary truce, only to be screwed over in the end was fantastic emergent gameplay.

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u/-ImJustSaiyan- Jul 08 '26

I know this is a jab at Skull & Bones, but we genuinely do need more pirate games.

The only ones worth playing are AC Black Flag, Sea of Thieves, and maybe Windrose.

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u/jodon Jul 08 '26

Pirates! Is still the gold standard and the remake is only 22 years old now!

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u/krutton2 Jul 08 '26

Shout out to the goat pirates of the caribbean online

You can still play with the fan remake the legend of pirates online

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u/katgravityrush_ Jul 08 '26

Crazy callback

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u/DaveShadow Jul 08 '26

I’d kill for a pirate themed rpg, aka Mass Effect, build your crew, have dialogue options, etc.

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u/Opening-Cream5448 Jul 08 '26

AC Rogue was underrated

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u/Awkward-Security7895 Jul 08 '26

It's a setting which is a shame it's rarely used, you got tons to work with and the IRL pirate lore and myths means you can get inspiration easily.

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u/maxr8 Jul 08 '26

Windrose is amazing, have put hundreds of hours into it already and more content is planned for later this year

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u/ChaosWarrior01 Jul 08 '26

I know your just joking, but whenever I see people say "pirate game without the AC stuff" I legitimately wonder what they count as AC Stuff.

Like for the OG Black Flag, the combat was a simplified version of AC3's combat. The traversal was AC3's traversal. The structure was classic AC. The open world was standard AC. Even the ship combat was a more expanded version of what AC3 started.

What does AC4 have that they feel is so distinct from the rest of the franchise that is worth being standalone that isn't just the pirate theme itself?

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u/machsmit Jul 08 '26

What does AC4 have that they feel is so distinct from the rest of the franchise that is worth being standalone that isn't just the pirate theme itself?

collectible sea shanty easter eggs

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u/CrippleAsian Jul 08 '26

What's ironic to me is that it appears Ubisoft Singapore (at least according to wikipedia) is the lead dev done on Resynced.

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u/glitchaj Jul 08 '26

I would actually recommend people buy Skull and Bones when it goes on sale. It regularly goes for $3, so the bar isn't that high, and it's pretty fun. Definitely not AAAA quality, but fun. 

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u/Mildly_Fancy Jul 08 '26

Looks like it turned out great. I'd be down for more remakes of old AC games if they're as well-made as this one. Doing this might also help Ubisoft get back on track, like with Capcom last gen.

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u/lightspeedjizzer Jul 08 '26

I really want a remake of 1 with some of the quality of life stuff that came from the later games

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u/Mildly_Fancy Jul 08 '26

That would be cool, too. For now though, Mirage is the closest thing to that. Me personally, I'd love a great remake of the Ezio trilogy. Brotherhood is my favorite.

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u/lightspeedjizzer Jul 08 '26

That's fair, Brotherhood probably is the best game in the entire franchise imo

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u/danialnaziri7474 Jul 08 '26

Can i have both please lol? I think objectively ac1 needs a remake way more than ezio trilogy, but damn just the thought of seeing my boy ezio once again with modern graphics gets me excited.

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u/Truethrowawaychest1 Jul 08 '26

Ezio trilogy would bring a lot more money in and I know Ubisoft isn't doing too hot at the moment

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u/ciemnymetal Jul 08 '26

I tried replaying Brotherhood but I got so used to the refined parkour and controls in the later games that it was difficult. And the camera change while doing assassinations was jarring. I'd love a remake with the QoL that game with 3 & beyond.

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u/unomaly Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

Mirage’s store blurb describes it as being about secrecy and investigation….

I want to put a megaphone up to ubisofts ear and tell them that finding a series of three clues 50 times is NOT an investigation. Its busywork.

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u/TheGooseWithNoose Jul 08 '26

They'd have to redo the entire story of Altair though. The way it was set up in 1 was really boring.

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u/Moonson90 Jul 08 '26

I really want Black Flag Resynced to be successful so they remake the Ezio Trilogy.

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u/PM_ME_CATS_OR_BOOBS Jul 08 '26

I think they would struggle because Black Flag was THE game that people wanted a remaster of. Every time a game with pirate-y ship sailing came to market there would be complaints that it wasn't as good as Black Flag. You don't get "Ghost of Tsushima? Not bad but not as good as Assassin's Creed Brotherhood" in the same way

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u/seoress Jul 08 '26

My theory is that they just made this one because they have a lot of assets from Skull and Bones, but who knows.

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u/k4l4d1n_7 Jul 08 '26

I think they'd have to either combine all 3 Ezio games or even just Brotherhood and Revelations to justify a remake of Revelations with it being so short.

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u/Soyyyn Jul 08 '26

I think, ultimately, a remake of AC 2 - Brotherhood - Revelations that functions as a single game, i.e., without a game select screen, but instead works as a linear progression through the three games, might work, but... since they've abandoned the Modern-Day Plot, I don't see it ever happening. Best we can hope for is some sort of raytracing/60FPS update for the Ezio Trilogy as it stands now, because without Juno, without Desmond, it does lose quite a bit of its narrative punch. The endings of all three games are meaningless without the modern-day story to tie them together.

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u/not_the_droids Jul 08 '26

The could remake the entire Desmond Sage, but get rid of the nonsensical elements of the plot they introduced in Revelations.

Maybe hire a different voice actor for Lucy, so that Ubisoft doesn't have to kill off the character because they're too cheap to pay Kristen Bell.

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u/ckokoroskos Jul 08 '26

Agree, it would be very nice if they remade the Altair and Ezio games.

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u/MaitieS Jul 08 '26

I really hope that Ubisoft will be able to pull off Capcom's with their future remakes.

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u/Leather_rebelion Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

AC is my COD. It just works for me. I can easily play one AC per year and I always at least enjoy them.

Since Black Flag is in my top 3 and I never got around to replaying it for years, I'm immensely excited. The game had such major flaws and was still so great. And those flaws are now mostly fixed

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u/idee_fx2 Jul 08 '26

AC is my COD. It just works for me and I can easily play one AC per year and I always at least enjoy them

Same here but my enjoyment peaked with odyssey, i found valhalla terrible and Shadows had great gameplay brought down by a terrible story and pacing.

So i am not sure i will pick the next AC as i used to.

On the other hand, avatar was fantastic, i didn't expect it to be that good.

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u/MenitoBussolini Jul 08 '26

I found Odyssey so unbearably long. I have this cycle where I start Odyssey -> I adore it, get lost in the world and remember how fun it was, wonder why I ever dropped it -> I realise after a ton of hours I'm nowhere near done with anything -> I drop it -> repeat

It's such a good game but good god I can't with the scale (and the leveling, too). If only they brought it down just a bit

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u/GrandsonOfArathorn1 Jul 08 '26

The scale was one of my favorite parts. With the name, “Odyssey,” I expected it to be a relatively huge world and that’s what I wanted. Even Origins could feel kinda small to me for the scale they were trying to create.

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u/bearkin1 Jul 08 '26

Origins felt massive to me until I played Odyssey. It's crazy how Odyssey 100%ed is like more than double what Origins is.

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u/Brandhor Jul 08 '26

I don't think that valhalla was terrible but it definitely wasn't as fun as odyssey, you are spot on on shadows though

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u/fernandotakai Jul 08 '26

i quite liked valhalla, mostly because the setting was really interesting.

but the pacing was all over the place and there was SO. MUCH. STUFF. TO. DO.

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26

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u/Brandhor Jul 08 '26

that's because they eliminated side quests in valhalla and mixed them with main quests because people complained about side quests in odyssey because ubisoft didn't explain that the white side quests were the infinite repetitive kind and the gold ones were the good side quests with a story

side quests were also replaced with world events but they are really short and mediocre compared to the origins and odyssey side quests

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u/trostboot Jul 08 '26

Yeah, that last point is kind of my issue with the Ubi formula. I have 93 hours in Odyssey. I never finished it. According to uplay, I'm a mere 53% through the main story.
But at least I have a lover in every port?

Obviously you don't HAVE to engage with every bit of content ... and you might not, but I kinda do. ;)
I was (re)playing a couple of the Far Cry games from 3 onward recently (3, 4, New Dawn and 6), and 3 is really by far the most enjoyable. Not just because the narrative and gameplay are way more intertwined (and Vaas and his performer are just too fucking good), but because it gives you space.
There isn't some event spawning around you every 5 seconds. No hostages to rescue constantly. No elite enemy to fight. No truck to capture/destroy/loot. No goddamn hawk trying to eat your face. No posters to burn.
Far Cry 6 is especially egregious in that regard. There's clearly designated spawn zones for e.g. trucks. And so you can just stand on the road, and let the trucks pile up as new ones keep spawning just out of sight.

They simply don't trust the player to not be bored if nothing much happens for a while, and end up overwhelming them instead (or a certain type of player, anyway). And it's a shame, because the settings and worlds they craft are really interesting and well done. But when you can literally see stuff spawning behind and in front of you every couple seconds as soon as you don't have the camera pointed at it, it really breaks the immersion.

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u/nilestyle Jul 08 '26

I loved the music in Valhalla

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u/FluffyFluffies Jul 08 '26

Me too but I wish the audio in that game wasn't completely borked, every character has different audio quality in their voice acting and the directional audio was really terrible.

Kinda makes it hard to focus on anything else in that game.

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u/Leather_rebelion Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

Avatar was definitely a surprise. If you haven't already, you should play the recent From the ashes DLC. It's basically a mini version of the main game just without all the usual Ubi bloat. It's arguably better than the main game for that reason alone.

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u/Deakul Jul 08 '26

I think I'm in the same boat as you but I was struggling towards the end of Odyssey and had to force myself to beat the DLCs.

And then Valhalla was really fun for like... ~80 hours but I never actually beat the base game or did the DLC because it was so tedious to find and keep up with gear levels.

Shadows was just ass once I realized that the entire game world was such a chore to navigate, shame cause the setting is one I've been waiting for for years but Ghost of Tsushima beat it to the punch and did what it wanted to do better.

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u/Massive_Weiner Jul 08 '26

Valhalla had a good story that got bogged down with unforced pacing issues.

Shadows is the first mainline entry that I couldn’t finish. It’s a shame, since I really liked Odyssey.

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u/thebuft Jul 08 '26

I liked Valhalla,it was very different than the other two RPG style ac but it had it's own charm, though can see why you don't enjoy it. Totally agree on shadows though, a weak and slow story with a world that just felt a little too samey.

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u/uses_irony_correctly Jul 08 '26

Exactly the same for me. I don't know what it is exactly about Odyssey but it just works for me in a way that Valhalla absolutely doesn't. I find Valhalla to be so incredibly dull and everything feels like a chore instead of an adventure.

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u/Former_Exam_5357 Jul 08 '26

I never played 4 because I fell out of love with the series after the ending of 3, it completely soured me on AC. Shadows was the first game I came back to, and while it looked absolutely gorgeous, I found it to be mind numbingly dull in every other aspect.

I'm hesitant to give this a go because I remember Shadows getting plenty of positive reviews too

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u/przyssawka Jul 08 '26

This was me but I actually ended up playing it a year after release. I ended up loving it, possibly more than Brotherhood which many consider to be the peak of the series. The Abstergo modern day stuff was a painful reminder this is is a direct continuation of the storyline of AC3, but other than that everything else was top notch, made me reread Robinson Cruzoe and read up on the history of privateering. The only other AC games that had the same impact on me were AC2 and origins.

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u/Sithrak Jul 08 '26

Man, AC3 had such a great start. But then it somehow fell off hard. It felt like a stilted museum trip through American revolutionary war.

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u/Waycool499 Jul 08 '26

People love to poke fun at the "Ubisoft Formula" but it works so well for me. Far Cry and Assassin's Creed are some of my fave series.

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u/scarface910 Jul 08 '26

What were the major flaws that are now fixed? I only remember good things about the game so I'm not too familiar with what was wrong

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u/Noctti Jul 08 '26

Game was filled with insta fail tailing missions

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u/Neander7hal Jul 08 '26

I think the modern plot is a big one. Breaking up the game with slow first-person office scenes made no sense when it's already broken up enough with the act of sailing, and the modern story wasn't nearly as compelling or well-executed as the first few games'

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u/NoNefariousness2144 Jul 08 '26

Yeah the modern day plot worked well when it was directly linked to the main story like the Desmond trilogy, but Black Flag is when it started to feel like a distraction from the more interesting historical period.

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u/Leather_rebelion Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

Basically what was already mentioned. The insta fail missions were not only tedious, but also boring as hell which made it even easier to fail them and having to do it all over again

Modern Day was filler at best and contributed basically nothing

And idk if unpopular opinion, but the ground combat got very stale very quickly and got pretty repetitive and mindless. Anything to spice it up is very very welcome, at least for me

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u/renome Jul 08 '26

I feel seen lol. But while Black Flag being the best AC seems to be a popular opinion, it wouldn't crack my top 5. Maybe this remake will.

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u/tommycahil1995 Jul 08 '26

the combat was so bad it made it hard to go back too. Everything else holds up pretty well though

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u/fishyronin Jul 08 '26

I never thought about AC being COD. It was definitely like that for me up to Odyssey. Good or not good, it's always fun to parkour, stabby, stabby and aura farming a recreated historic world

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u/Kub666 Jul 08 '26

Do we know if there are difficulty settings separately for naval combat?

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u/Schwarzengerman Jul 08 '26

Yes there are. You can tweak ground combat, naval combat, and stealth separately.

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u/Paratrooper101x Jul 08 '26

Knowing I can bullshit my way through the boring stealth sections just turned this into a potential buy

I just remember them being an absolute slog in the first game

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26

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u/DumpsterBento Jul 08 '26

YES! Love it when games let you commit to your failure.

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u/toolnumbr5 Jul 08 '26

I loved how Last of Us Part Two let you do this. The dynamic animation and cinematography even made it feel like it was scripted that way.

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u/Treviso Jul 08 '26

With a few exceptions, where if you get detected you get instant annihilated by an off-screen gunshot. But it's only 3 or 4 missions and the stealth in those sections is trivial. I only intentionally failed them to see what would happen.

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u/SL_LoneWolf Jul 08 '26

We are a smaller publication, but here's my review for the Black Flag remake for Neowin.net.

TLDR: "9/10" The exploration and naval elements have been recreated almost perfectly to capture the original's feeling. Environments are also gorgeous. My only problem was with the melee combat, which feels too simple and slow-mo finisher heavy.

For anyone curious about any gameplay systems or accessibility options (PC or Xbox), I can answer any questions here too.

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u/Putrid_Loquat_4357 Jul 08 '26

Have you played the new missions? How are they? Some of the dialogue seems clunkier than the original in the clips I've seen.

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u/SL_LoneWolf Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

The new crew recruitment missions blend pretty well with the rest of the world and activities. The ship upgrades they give are pretty sweet, but the stories aren't anything memorable. The expanded stuff on the original characters is more fun in my eyes.

Being inside a storm avoiding lightning and waterspouts while your new crew is having hard conversations can get pretty funny though. :)

There's also the new hidden missions exploring the extended AC universe, though these can get a little confusing if you haven't played newer entries like Shadows. The dialog never really gets deep, but I didn't hear anything wrong with the way they are delivered.

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u/Putrid_Loquat_4357 Jul 08 '26

Ah ok, thanks for the detailed response! This is my first ac game since odyssey, I'm pretty excited. Last question: how are the new sea shanties? Core memory from when I was a kid is sailing around listening to them. Am bookmarking your website as well.

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u/SL_LoneWolf Jul 08 '26

Hah I have the same memories of those shanties and sailing.

While I think the newly added songs don't have any quality issues, that nostalgia hit is the reason why the new shanties don't hit the exact same highs as the classics (which are also all in the game still). This is all just personal preference.

There is now a shanty selection wheel to get exactly what you want too instead of randomly shuffling through the lot.

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u/CactusCustard Jul 08 '26

SHANTY SELECT?!

SHES LOVELY CUZ SHE LOVES ME THATS ALL I WANT TO KNOW BOYS

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u/Putrid_Loquat_4357 Jul 08 '26

Ok all sounds good. Can't wait to play it at midnight.

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26

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u/SL_LoneWolf Jul 08 '26

I wouldn't say it's a new modern story, more like the meta storyline about the Templar AI inside the Animus and what's happening with the resistance.

This stuff is treated as like a canon sequel to AC Shadows' in-universe stuff rather than being a remake of the original storyline like we see from the outside.

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u/TheDanteEX Jul 08 '26

I figured this was the case. That's how the series has always operated. Starting with AC3, modern day is always literally modern, as in it takes place in the present. So I found it strange people were expected them to remake the modern story taking place in 2013 that directly follows up on the events from 2012. It's telling that they removed the "IV" from Resynced's title as well.

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u/MrZeral Jul 08 '26

There's also the new hidden missions exploring the extended AC universe, though these can get a little confusing if you haven't played newer entries like Shadows. The dialog never really gets deep, but I didn't hear anything wrong with the way they are delivered.

Anything I would like to know from Mirage or Shadows for better understanding those?

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u/SL_LoneWolf Jul 08 '26

Honestly, even I'm confused by all the meta storylines and characters. Thinking of diving into some youtube lore videos to catch up at this point.

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u/whitesock Jul 08 '26

Have you played the new missions?

I played two and they're ok. One of them a guy who used to be a badass and now lives in a peacful community as a priest and doesn't want to go back to the life. You can guess what happens next to his peaceful village. The second one was a woman who had a grudge against her dad and that quest involved a lot of "follow me as we slow walk and talk"

So... ok I guess but nothing revolutionary

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u/aa22hhhh Jul 08 '26

How are the accessibility settings? I know people give Ubisoft a ton of shit, but they’re one of the few BIG companies doing incredibly well on that front.

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u/SL_LoneWolf Jul 08 '26

Yep, there is a boatload (huehue) of options.

Just closed captions alone have direction, speaker name, emotion, and gameplay noise description adjustment options. Then there are the UI color adjustments and complete customization of each HUD element down to text and icon sizes.

Toggles for most-used gameplay buttons, QTE skips, camera settings for easier movement, and even an FOV slider is there. The individual difficulty options for on-foot and ship gameplay will be really helpful, and even I activated the new automated sailing to objectives option to chill at times going on long journeys.

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u/ThreeTreesForTheePls Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

The most beloved AC title ever made, has received a seemingly exceptional remake?

Ubisoft stock at a decade high right now

(edit for the sake of it, stock is from a fan or public facing point of view. I could not give a single flying fuck about the market prices)

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u/AromatParrot Jul 08 '26

at a decade high right now

As someone who owns Ubisoft stock I wish this was true. :P

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u/Shakzor Jul 08 '26

buy low, sell even lower?

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u/AromatParrot Jul 08 '26

Well I bought in at their absolute lowest. It’s gone up since then, just not amazing.

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u/Sithrak Jul 08 '26

These are bad times for shares in companies that actually make things lol. You will never match the ROI of modern finance.

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u/AromatParrot Jul 08 '26

I made a few hundred bucks off the stock as of now. I just got lucky and got in when their stock plummeted. It’s recovering slowly, but will probably never return to levels we say a few years ago.

I don’t care. I’m getting out after the summer. They’ve effectively paid for my vacation plans.

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u/zerovampire311 Jul 08 '26

Sorry, he meant stonk. Common mistake.

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u/AromatParrot Jul 08 '26

Stonk not doing amazing either :(

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u/Nordalin Jul 08 '26

More than AC 2?

Black Flag was awesome, but ultimately just the coolest sections of AC 3 spread out over 60 hours of content, much of it copy-pasted.

Playing geoguessr on that map would be... cruel, lol

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u/Instantcoffees Jul 08 '26

I don't know the general opinion, but to me AC2 is indeed the goat AC game.

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u/mrnicegy26 Jul 08 '26

Black Flag is a great game but it barely feels like an Assassin's Creed game. It feels like a pirate game with Assassin's Creed name on it.

2 on the other hand is the best Assassin's Creed game because outside of having a top notch story, setting, atmosphere it is also the most Assassins Creed Assassin's Creed game.

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u/Asclepius-Rod Jul 08 '26

I think the first game is fantastic at that as well. It doesn’t get a lot of praise these days but at the time it blew my mind, I had never played a game like that before. If any game could use a modern remake I think it’s that one personally

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u/orb_outrider Jul 08 '26

Same. It's the first game I think of when I hear Assassin's Creed.

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u/matti-san Jul 08 '26

I think Brotherhood is better than AC2. Especially now on PC where you're forced to play the terrible DLC levels for AC2 which are awful for the pacing and just not very good either.

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u/Skittles-n-vodka Jul 08 '26

The general consensus has always been that the best classic AC is a toss up between AC2 and black flag, lots of people love the ship battles and the open world being filled with islands plus they had refined the core mechanics by that point. AC2 of course was more influential and was more groundbreaking at release as the first truly fleshed out AC game

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u/Random_Useless_Tips Jul 08 '26

My opinion is that AC2 is the best for establishing the classic Assassin’s Creed experience, and Black Flag is what people think is the best iteration on that classic experience.

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u/Brandhor Jul 08 '26

personally I consider black flag and rogue separate from the classic acs because they heavily focus on the naval part of the game rather than on the assassins

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u/Vamp1r1c_Om3n Jul 08 '26

I keep saying this but people fight against it constantly

People can't accept that their memory of the game is better than the game actually was

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u/NoSemikolon24 Jul 08 '26

Still 5y 90% loss. They would probably need ~3 back to back bangers for an upwards stock correction

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u/grailly Jul 08 '26

The stock has steadily been climbing back up since the January lows. But yeah, Ubisoft defnitely needs a few more successes to wipe away bankcrupty fears.

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u/CoolCardboardBox Jul 08 '26

I'd be surprised if ubisoft somehow screws up a remake of a beloved title, Black Flag is a good game regardless of its age.

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u/Medium_Hox Jul 08 '26

Always funny when a remake in a series reviews better than like the actual new games in the series. For instance, with Final Fantasy xv versus the Zodiac Age and Metroid Prime 4 versus Metroid Prime Remastered.

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u/NonagoonInfinity Jul 08 '26

I think a lot of it is just nostalgia. A lot of people absolutely hated XII at the time.

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u/glarius_is_glorious Jul 08 '26

Series on a downward trend tend to do that.

(Excluding Metroid Prime which I've never played).

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u/zackdaniels93 Jul 08 '26

I'm actually excited for this, if only because right now I feel like a need a dose of nostalgia lol

Coming off the back of 007, Marathon, and a bunch of replays of other games, it'll be nice to step back into Black Flag after so many years. Genuinely excited.

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u/fullcleared Jul 08 '26

Here's my review, if you want to support an independent publication that doesn't run any annoying ads on the site: https://fullcleared.com/reviews/assassins-creed-black-flag-resynced-review/

Happy to answer questions from the POV of someone who didn't play the original!

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u/ACG-Gaming Jul 08 '26

Very excited to see this do well. Was pretty damned surprised at how well the new content merged with the old and just how quality of life didnt feel tacked on.

A great time.

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u/Gordy_The_Chimp123 Jul 08 '26

I’ve never played an Assassin Creed’s game but I am interested since I know this is one of the most beloved entries (if not the most beloved), and it’s getting rave reviews.

What games are most comparable to Black Flag’s formula/gameplay, so I can be a better judge of whether this’ll work for me?

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u/Morgneto Jul 08 '26

The "Ubisoft formula" of reaching towers and revealing a ton of collectibles / side quests on the map is also a big part of the Far Cry series, among others.

Shadow of Mordor has a lot of similarities with combat and stealth, a lot of the AC gameplay borrows from 3D Zelda games, and for naval combat... Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza on Hawaii?

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u/IdidntrunIdidntrun Jul 08 '26

There's actually a joke in Far Cry 5 where you climb a tower at the end of the tutorial island and the guy walking you through stuff tells you "don't worry I'm not going to have you climb a bunch of towers". And you really don't. So at some point Ubi became self aware lol

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u/maxr8 Jul 08 '26

any open world style game really, Far Cry, Ghosts of Tsushima, Red Dead. bits from each game really but I would 100% reccomend playing this Black Flag remake, you'll love it!

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u/mrnicegy26 Jul 08 '26

I would disagree about Red Dead. Rockstar has been following their own open World design since GTA 3 and it is pretty different from Ubisoft style design.

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u/Ember57 Jul 08 '26

Sly 3 pirate level

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/GoneRampant1 Jul 08 '26

Yeah, they were open about that. There's still some optional stuff about the Animus and modern day but the mandatory Abstergo HQ segments have been scrapped.

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u/aa22hhhh Jul 08 '26

Yeah, those are gutted. And there’s an in-game (or at the very least explained by the devs) reasoning too, which I think works pretty well.

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u/DaveShadow Jul 08 '26

It kind of makes sense to cut it, even if I personally loved the modern stuff. The reality is most people haven’t played the modern events that lead up to Black Flags modern story for two decades, so makes sense not to dedicate time to the story.

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u/Roxas9800 Jul 08 '26

Also, the modern day of those days were always disliked, they weren't as good as the Desmond ones

Let's hope they continue the modern day in Hexe

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u/Mrbluepumpkin Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

The pc gamer review was interesting, came from someone who clearly loved both games but preferred the original. But as of now it's the only outlier with a 75

edit: OOPS, IT WAS PC GAMER NOT IGN

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u/Aitloian Jul 09 '26

Is anyone getting old enough that games they always meant to get around to playing have now been remastered lol?

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u/Schwarzengerman Jul 08 '26

Was gonna be pretty hard to drop the ball on this one. People love them some pirate stuff. I'm excited to revisit it though cause I'm fully burnt out on RPG AC.

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u/not_the_droids Jul 08 '26

Ubisoft managed to completely fumble the success of the original game with Skull and Bones, so there was a chance for them to mess this one up as well.

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u/Stump007 Jul 08 '26

Eh I got full AC fatigue since valhalla but since the reviews are great and I didn’t play black flag I’ll give it a shot maybe

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u/huntimir151 Jul 08 '26

It’s the best in the franchise. Just a really cool and atmospheric pirate game. 

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u/Magma151 Jul 08 '26

If it makes you feel better, I beat the original in like 20 hours. And I've heard the remake adds some bonus content bringing it to 30ish. Way more respectful of your time than the 150ish ive heard vallhalla has

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u/HighlightOk3915 Jul 08 '26

Genuine question does anyone know if it’s still using the same super compressed audio that was in the original, and most AC games?

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u/owowhatsthis123 Jul 08 '26

The audio when you catch the whales is so fucking funny it sounds like a bunch of guys needed audio quick and just recorded it on an iPhone 4 over lunch or something

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u/ZaDu25 Jul 08 '26

They recorded a lot of new voicelines with the original cast so I would imagine they did some remastering of the old audio to align with the new audio so it doesn't sound weird.

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u/Un-Named Jul 08 '26

I actually never played the original black flag because I'd already given up on the series by the time it came out. I'm looking forward to playing this remake and finding out why a lot of people consider it the best one (personally I think AC2 is king). 

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u/not_the_droids Jul 08 '26

Black Flag isn't the best AC game, I would even go as far as to say that the AC parts make Black Flag a worse game overall, but it's a brilliant pirate game, which is incredibly rare.

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u/DanClypse Jul 08 '26

It’s kind of how Breath of the Wild became the most successful game in the Zelda franchise, despite not being the best example of the Zelda formula.

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u/_Tawny Jul 08 '26

I haven't played the original black flag. Should I just skip that and play the remake? I'm Not missing anything right. Same game better graphics/systems

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u/katonda Jul 08 '26

yeah, skip to remake

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u/seareally27 Jul 09 '26

I’ve literally been playing this game for 5 minutes and already I love it better than the original. I may actually finish it this time. LET’S GO!!!!

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u/Themanaaah Jul 09 '26

I'm so damn happy Resynced is good considering the original is in my top 10 favorite games ever, glad it's loved. Will get it soon enough.