I've played three hours of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced - there's one thing I can't get enough of

Revisiting something so beloved can go one of two ways.

It can either have you missing how things used to be or have you thinking 'this isn't how I remembered it at all'.

Having played Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced for around three hours playing a few different missions and free roaming, I'm pleased to say so far, Ubisoft's remake very much falls into the first category.

That's because Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has been faithfully remade as an action game and not a RPG.

And - wow - how much have I missed that.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced being faithfully remade as an action game and not a RPG feels so refreshing / Ubisoft

I got to play three different sections of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced. The first was the game's opening, where Captain Edward Kenway has to destroy enemy ships in battle before chasing after a rogue assassin.

The second took place in Havana with a free roam section where I travelled between different islands and completed different side quests using the Jackdaw. The final section was of new content featuring quests with one of the new naval officers Lucy and new Blackbeard quests.

The PC build I played was a work in progress and not the final one. With it being a WIP build, I did encounter the odd technical hiccup here and there but I'll wait to reserve judgment on that until the final build.

The first thing that immediately jumps out is just how good this game looks in motion. A Caribbean setting on modern hardware is simply a sight to behold and Ubisoft has nailed it with the vivid colours and lighting. Underwater sections in particular are breathtaking.

As the game has been built in Ubisoft's Anvil Engine, the same one used for Assassin's Creed Shadows, some elements from that game do carry over, particularly around the HUD and menus.

Captain Kenway's movement feels similar to Shadows too. It's much more fast and fluid than the original Black Flag, complete with simple quality of life improvements such as a manual jump button or a crouch button which feel like a given now in gaming but were not when the original game released in 2013.

Underwater sections are absolutely breathtaking visually / Ubisoft

With it being an action game, there aren't any skill trees to be found here - you can earn upgrades for your Jackdaw and unlock new equipment and moves along the way but there are no skills to upgrade.

It requires you to be skillful and tactical in gameplay and it's so much fun just enjoying Assassin's Creed in this way without ever feeling under levelled or under equipped in certain areas.

AI enemies actively learn how you play so you can't keep performing the same moves to take them down. This forces you to master Captain Kenway's skillset and it's incredibly satisfying doing so as you'll be chaining amazing combos in no time.

Captain Kenway can now dive anywhere and there are loads of new collectibles and secrets to discover. There are modern activities too along with new locations, world building narrative and hideout content.

There are different alt fire options available for the Jackdaw's arsenal of weapons too.

In the final section with new quests, a glimpse of a storyline involving a new naval officer called Lucy looks very intriguing with a lot of character depth to it and new Blackbeard quests are incredibly fun too.

New characters have their own quest lines and there seems to be strong character depth to them / Ubisoft

There's just something about an Assassin's Creed game being a true action game that feels so right. So far, it feels as though Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has nailed it in that respect.

That's not to say more recent Assassin's Creed games aren't as good or anything like that, they just feel different when compared to past games of pure action. Revisiting these origins feels so refreshing.

There are no skill trees or areas you'll go where you're woefully under levelled or ill equipped with little chance of survival and I love that. If I want to go off the beaten path a bit, potentially ending up somewhere I shouldn't be yet, I won't be punished for it.

The three hours I've spent with the game so far point to Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced being a fantastic remake, truly taking players back to the golden age of Assassin's Creed games with key modern quality of life updates.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced releases on 9 July on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Elsewhere from Indy100:

• Ubisoft slams new Assassin's Creed project 'leak' - but leaker hits back
• Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced revealed: Everything announced so far

How to join the Indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the Indy100 rankings.