Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is finally out this summer and "it is not an RPG"

Its existence has been known for a while, officially or otherwise, but Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced has finally been fully revealed. The remake of the fan-favorite game will be out on July 9, and it looks incredible. It’s more than a visual overhaul, though. Lots of changes have been made to modernize Black Flag, removing many of the original game’s issues and adding new content.

The open world game has been completely rebuilt from the ground up in Ubisoft’s modern Anvil engine – the same one that was used for Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. The combat has been overhauled to feel more like modern AC games, focusing on action and fluidity. Think parries, blocks, and brutal finishing moves. Black Flag Resynced’s Creative Director asserted that the game “is not an RPG,” which will be music to the ears of a lot of Assassin’s Creed fans.

The game’s iconic parkour has also been modernized. It still uses the classic style of movement, but everything is smoother and more fluid. You’ll be able to swing around corners on hanging baskets, leap from roof to roof, and clamber up walls without a second thought.

Many of the 2013 game’s more frustrating aspects have also been fixed for the remake. Thankfully, and I can’t quite believe I’m typing this, there are no more insta-fail tailing missions in Resynced. If you’re caught, there will be a way to continue the mission. Whether that be fighting your way out of trouble or talking your way out, the missions have been reworked to remove any of that original frustration. How it’ll work in action, we’ll have to see. The world will also be seamlessly open. You won’t find loading screens when docking at the game’s larger island, allowing you to simply park up and jump off.

Elsewhere, new content has been added to the game, and some other old content has been removed. Before we get to the good stuff, none of the original game’s DLC will be in the remade version, nor will the multiplayer content. Ubisoft wants to focus on the pirate-centric, single-player aspect of the game that most fans love.

There’ll be plenty of new additions to replace the missing stuff, though. Three new officers are being added to the game: Lucy Baldwin, The Padre, and Dead Man Smith. Each has their own questline and recruitment missions to round out their stories.

You’ll also be able to get a cat or monkey as a pet for your ship, there will be new shanties for you to get stuck in your head for hours on end, and Blackbeard will have new quests of his own.

Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced releases on Thursday, July 9, and you can preorder it now.