Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is an extremely faithful remake of Ubisoft's original 2013 open-world piracy adventure – except for the many ways in which it isn't. Returning to one of the best Assassin Creed games, and one of my all-timers, has been a treat – but it's also left me wrangling with where a full remake should start and stop. Like the sometimes sunny, sometimes stormy ocean on which protagonist Edward Kenway sails, what seems like a one-to-one remake has a lot more going on beneath the surface.
With no knowledge of the secret Assassin and Templar conflict running through the ages, Edward will take any opportunity for a leg up throughout Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced. A shipwreck after the battle that hurls us right into the action? A way to get into the Templars' good grace for coin. Meeting the shadowy Assassins? Side-mission contracts allow him to earn money even as an outsider. Imprisoned on a treasure ship? A chance to fight back, and steal a captainage for himself, putting him on a level field with Nassau's pirate greats – from Blackbeard to Hornigold.
