Last updated on July 14, 2026
I finally got my hands on the newest entry in the Assassin’s Creed series, and while it is technically not a brand new game, it certainly feels like one in more ways than you would expect.
Right off the bat, I have to say this is probably the safest remake Ubisoft could have made. Black Flag was and still is one of the finest open world games the studio ever put out, and the remake we are looking at today wears the same shoes without stumbling once.
A Fantastic Remake Running on a Much Better Engine
Before booting the game up, I had a long list of questions in my head. Would it lean harder into the RPG side of the franchise? How different would it actually feel compared to the original? After dozens of hours in the world, I can confidently say the answer to both is no, and that is exactly why it works so well.
The story, the world, and the character designs all feel stronger than ever. The one real change worth mentioning is the total number of collectibles scattered around the open world. Ubisoft clearly trimmed a good chunk of them, likely to keep the platinum grind from becoming exhausting and bloated the way some of their older titles were.
Kenway Reawakened
On the pure gameplay side, this game did not disappoint me at all. It is just as satisfying whether you want to play it stealthy or go full berserker and cut down everyone in your path. Personally, I leaned heavily toward the second option, skipping most of the dialogue options and taking my time with every single target.
The combat is still parry based, so fans of the original will feel right at home, though everything here is far more polished. Guns and secondary tools finally feel like real options instead of gimmicks.
Stealth also received some welcome additions, including a new rope assisted tree assassination and a handful of other tricks I am still discovering even now.
For players who came into the franchise through its RPG era, entire outfits pulled straight out of an MMO have been added, granting special perks. Some boost combat, some boost defense, and a few even affect naval battles.
I also want to spend a moment on the part of this game I love the most, the naval combat. Ubisoft clearly understood that the system they nailed back in 2013 did not need to be touched, and maybe the disappointment of Skull and Bones a few years back reinforced that lesson.
Instead of reinventing the wheel, the developers added small but meaningful tweaks, my favorite being the new shanty wheel that lets you swap the crew’s sea song on the fly, similar in spirit to the radio wheel in Grand Theft Auto V.
Your ship can now carry cute little companions too, from a cat with an eyepatch to a monkey wearing tiny shorts. Ubisoft clearly decided the Caribbean needed a bit more charm and a bit less blood and skulls.
One mechanic I leaned on constantly throughout my playthrough was the familiar follow destination option that Ubisoft games have offered for years. Here it feels more refined and genuinely more useful than ever before.
Blackbeard Has Never Looked This Good
Is this the most visually striking title Ubisoft has ever released? I would say so without hesitation. The studio has always had a strong eye for visuals, even in stylized series like Rayman where art direction carried half the experience. Here the art style stays true to the original, but the added fidelity and detail make the whole game feel brand new.
The moments that impressed me most were the naval battles, especially when the weather turned. Hurricanes, massive lightning storms, and the occasional smaller tsunami all showed up during my time at sea.
Every single time the sky turned that deep shade of blue and black, I genuinely expected Davy Jones himself to rise from the waves.
Structures, ambient lighting, and environmental detail are all top tier for this generation. Very few open world games manage this level of polish across such a massive map.
Glad This Is Not Skull and Bones
On the audio side, I did run into a few bugs, though nothing severe enough to notice right away. It took roughly 10 to 15 hours before I picked up on a slight delay in the parry sound cue and in enemy death screams.
The soundtrack itself is the same beloved collection from 2013, with a handful of new tracks added on top. There are so many sea shanties to unlock that keeping track of all of them becomes a task on its own. Even pirates apparently need something relaxing to listen to while their ship slowly sinks after a cannonball barrage.
The Closest Thing to Ezio Since Ezio
Since this is a ground up remake of a 2013 game that already had a fantastic story, there is not much new to praise on the writing side, but that is not a bad thing at all.
Dialogue and plot remain untouched, though Ubisoft leaned into a more cinematic presentation with new cutscenes and, finally, the removal of the modern day segments that have always been the weakest link in the entire Assassin’s Creed franchise for me.
Across my roughly 25 plus hours with the game, facial animation and lip sync were noticeably sharper than in other recent entries, including Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Not a New Experience, But a Complete One
By the end of it all, this remake scratched the exact nostalgic itch I was hoping for, taking me right back to being a kid rushing home from school just to sail the seas and explore every island.
After spending time with this remake, I feel a lot more confident that Ubisoft can handle the rest of the franchise’s upcoming games and remakes just as well, for the most part.
I would recommend this to longtime fans and to anyone who has never touched a single game in this long running series. Yes, it can get repetitive after a while, but it never overwhelms you with overly complicated systems or souls like combat.
It is an honest game, with a great story and visuals good enough that you will happily lose track of time just watching the ship’s monkey or the parrots hiding in the palm trees.
Final Score 9.2/10
I’m passionate about books and video games. These two great passions represent, for me, a boundless universe where I can “escape” from reality whenever I need or want to. There are so many stories, worlds, and landscapes where I can instantly teleport that I don’t think a whole lifetime would be enough to explore them all (though it would be my greatest dream to be able to).
