Ubisoft released Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced on July 9. The first wave of Black Flag Resynced reviews paints a consistent picture: a faithful, well-built remake that rarely takes real risks with the 2013 original, currently available on PC and PS5.
On Metacritic, both the PC and PS5 versions of the remake sit at 84. GameStar‘s own test, written by Jesko Buchs, awards 85 out of 100. Buchs praises the graphical overhaul, the new quests, and a trimmed-down collectible system. He flags land combat and stealth as too easy, even on higher difficulty settings, and sums up the remake as solid, though he thinks it could have pushed further.
What critics are saying about the remake
The remake rebuilds Edward Kenway’s pirate campaign with current-generation visuals, additional story content, and a reworked stealth system. Scores from other outlets cluster in a similar range. GamePro‘s Annika Bavendiek gives it 88, calling it “a worthy AC Black Flag remake that has plenty to offer fans of the original, too.”
IGN goes highest among major outlets at 90. Reviewer Jarrett Green writes that the remake “is more than just a polished version of the game you remember, it brings one of the series’ already-best entries fully up to date.” PCGamesN matches that score. Paul Kelly calls it worth a replay for players who exhausted the original. He adds that it is a strong entry point for newcomers to Edward Kenway’s story, with plenty of loot left to plunder.
PC Games lands at 85. Annika Menzel notes the new content integrates organically without overhauling every system. Insider Gaming‘s Charlie Champion scores it 80, citing refined combat and comfort improvements, though he notes the story changes don’t always add to the experience. GIGA‘s Christopher Bahner gives it 89, describing it as the best version yet of an already strong game. Game Informer‘s Matt Miller settles on 83. He points out that returning to a familiar setting loses some of the novelty a new Assassin’s Creed era usually brings. Miller still calls the update an impressive piece of work, one that sets a high bar for how an older action game can feel current again.
Where the Black Flag Resynced reviews disagree
PC Gamer is the outlier. Morgan Park scores the remake at 75, the lowest mark in the roundup. He describes it as “a well-made but unnecessary remake that loses more than it gains.” It’s the clearest dissent in an otherwise steady set of scores that mostly land between 83 and 90.
Console players were able to start playing at midnight on release day. PC players had to wait until 4 p.m. local time before the remake unlocked on that platform, a staggered rollout Ubisoft has used for previous Assassin’s Creed launches. Across nine outlets, only PC Gamer’s score dips below 80. None of the reviewers report technical problems with either version. For a series entry now well over a decade old, that level of agreement on stability and presentation is notable on its own. Averaged across all nine outlets in this roundup, the scores work out to almost exactly 85 out of 100, in line with GameStar’s own number.