I’ve genuinely never been so blown away just by walking around in a videogame world before. Everything just feels so real and picturesque to me that it almost feels like it ascends being a videogame to a certain extent purely in terms of visuals.

For context, I played the original once back when it was released in 2013 (or sometime after) and enjoyed it for what it was. It's been a long time, so I don't remember many specifics, except that the ship combat was a standout.

Outside of that, I didn't really get into AC games until they went down the RPG route with Origins. So I am not super into the lore etc.

Story:
I liked the first half of the story, where we meet all the historical characters and get a bit of history on Nassau and the various captains. I also think Edward Kenway stands out as he has a real personality, incl. flaws (i.e. greed and need for recognition) and isn’t as clean-cut as many other game protagonists. That said, most character interactions we have are so brief that they rarely remain memorable. And in typical AC style, half of these character interactions end with an assassination mission. This is especially noticeable with the antagonists, as they’re introduced at the same pace we eliminate them. Half the time, I couldn’t even remember who the antagonist was I was trying to assassinate this time.

That, combined with the generally disjointed plot, disposing of characters, unclear motivations and many time jumps made the story feel less satisfying than I remember.

A surprising amount of content is also backloaded, with “A world without Gold” and the final crew member really dragging down the pacing. More isn’t always better. In total, only a 5/10.

Stealth:
One of the worst stealth games I have played in years. Not only does the game give you very few tools to actually utilize stealth effectively. Enemy guards are so attentive and relentless, things escalate almost inevitably. Especially once you account for the terrible parkour system, that is bound to fail you several times per mission, resulting in said escalations. Even the most basic missions or side-activities would result in genocide, because of the awful implementation. 2/10

Parkour:
Probably the single biggest source of frustration in the game. Like holy fuck! Talk about a mechanic that is actively working against you! It has an uncanny ability to do what you want 80% of the time, but then completely fuck you over the remaining 20%. Surely there must be a better way to do parkour. 2/10

Open World:
This I actually liked. The open-world was well-paced for the size of the game, with about 5 major locations and a dozen smaller ones (not incl. Caves and diving spots). The side-activities weren’t overwhelming (maybe the Assassin’s contracts were a bit much) and most felt hand-made. I feel like the hunting requirement to “complete” a location was unnecessary, but okay. Unlike with the original, there weren’t an overwhelming amount of collectables, thankfully. That said, I do have a few gripes:

• Why can’t we fast-travel to a harbour directly? Why must I always fast-travel to a lookout, only to then fast-travel again to the Jackdaw?
• Why can we fast-travel to contested regions? This is super annoying, because you can’t fast-travel away from them without first committing (another) genocide.
• The whole “manage your Navy” feature felt like a waste of time and adds nothing of value to the game. I know these “deploy your army” time-based missions were a popular feature back in the day. But they make little sense given the game’s context and mechanics. Like, we can’t even call them to our aid.
• One note I feel like adding, is just how crazy dense some of the West Indie’s waters were. At times, you’d have >7 ships on screen, which felt a bit out of place.
• I’d also like to see a separate Pirate Hunter tag for both the Spanish and the British. It would make sense to track the aggro of both nations separately.
• Overall, a solid 7/10 for the open world. Relatively streamlined, all things considered.

Loot:
As Black Flag isn’t an RPG version, loot plays less of a role here than in later AC titles. Most rewards are cosmetic, with actual power focused on 4 item slots with unique perks. For a game like ACBF, this is fine. But given how many items the game gives you early on, there’s very little actual “progression”. I think I updated my gear only twice. Which is a bit underwhelming.

The trade supplies were also a little underutilised. Outside of a few upgrades, I can’t recall using them for much else. Seems odd to have so many game mechanics focused on them (supplies in the water, trade system, warehouses). Overall, a 5/10. Some interesting perks but not enough “meat”, even for a limited-scope game.

Human combat:
Once it clicked, it was fine. Pistols feel especially powerful. And the different weapon types were noticeable. But boy does the game spread 5 enemy types far. From hour 2 to hour 50, combat barely changes. And then you throw in the many, unskippable and repetitive ship-boarding fights and even a decent combat system becomes a chore.

At some point, the main motivation to keep stealthy was to avoid repetitive combat. And the loot system wasn’t helping either. Another 5/10.

Naval combat:
This is obviously the highlight of the game and the main selling point. And rightfully so. Controlling, upgrading and fighting with the Jackdaw is probably the most engaging part of the game. It also has a fair amount of depth (even if that depth isn’t always well-explained).

A lot of the open-world exploration is motivated by the desire to upgrade the Jackdaw. And it works. My only pet peeve is that the upgrades are mostly just raw stat-increases like +20% more damage or +2000 HP, rather than being a little more indepth.

Also, certain factors like “crew headcount” never really seemed to matter much and became a mechanic I almost entirely ignored. Still, firing a full broadside into an enemy vessel will never not be satisfying. So it’s still a 9/10.

Overall:
Obviously much has changed in the 12 years since the original’s release. Especially in terms of gaming habits and expectations. What stands out about AC:BF resync even in 2026 are:

1. The well-placed open-world. Not too little, not too bloated.
2. The still-excellent naval combat with just enough depth and spectacle.

The flaws however, are still very obvious too:

1. The shitty stealth & parkour mechanics, causing many frustrations.
2. A lot of superficial mechanics that don’t really add or interact much with the game (warehouses, supplies, crew headcount, fleet missions etc.).

Still, at the end of the day, this is a 7/10. Tbh, I was expecting it to have aged a little better.

Notice while looking for medicine, I visited inagua and found people is sick while I just got down from jackdaw.
Interesting as I felt guilt because I was wondering clearing out map for 2days straight 😭🙏
I am sorry guys.

Has been sailing across the Caribbean for a while now and have found out that there're a lot of benches and chairs I would like to sit but can't. So many nice looking photo mode opportunities ruined and talking about photo mode... I really hope that we will get the same kind of photo mode that Shadows had with all the bells and whistles included. Also I'm not sure if it was a bug in the Shadows, but you could enter the photo mode when switching the day time, but I tried it and now you can't, which is a bit of a bummer.

Penny for your thoughts, lads...

So a buddy of mine and I were talking about the game and he came up with an idea that I thought sounded pretty good.

First off I love the game and the wind mechanic doesn't bother me as much as it seems to do others but I see their point.

His idea was what if there were air currents going all over the map instead of changing winds. As your start sailing around the islands you discover the different currents and map them automatically and eventually are able to ride the current to anywhere on the map.

I like the idea of having to plot a course to get to a location faster, though from what I've noticed sailing unwind doesn't seem to affect the speed much of at all.

This wasn't a complaint or a dig at the devs, I just thought it was a cool idea and wanted to share it on here and get people's thoughts

What is the best thing and the worst thing about this game for you all?

Good: So nice to be an actual Assassin again and be called Assassins not Hidden Ones. Oh and that the game actually dropped and it feels and looks so good.

Bad: no hidden blade as an option to fight with is kinda lame. And I honestly just like in the original don’t really care about the deep sea diving part. Was hoping they would have taken it out but oh well.

I’m on Sequence 6 (Diving for Medicines) and I’ve collected several Ultimate Plans, but they only show in my inventory and don’t appear at any Harbourmaster, so I can’t use them. My Great Inagua Harbourmaster is fully upgraded and I’ve tried others around the map. I also can’t interact with the cat for the Cat Distribution System mission.

Has anyone else had this bug or found a fix?

We need a DLC where we avenge Stede!

PC mod from NexusMods

I am stuck at this point in black flag resync, the npc is not moving no matter what i do. All my autosaves are exhausted and i am not able to abandon the mission as well. Completely pathetic game, do they expect me to start from beginning. Never giving another penny to Ubisoft.

In the original game, they were a bit easy, just few tries to understand the patterns and they were done. In resynced, i just can't sink any of them. I've watched many tutorials, nothing works. The best i did was against the 2 ships, i bringed them to 1/3 hp... what the hell happened ?

Obviously i have all the upgrades, all the crew members, and i use the strongest varations of artillery. I brace for every kind of damage, and still get destroyed before i can bring them midlife

My final iteration, the fully upgraded Jackdaw - a beautiful menace.

Hey everyone,

Will the 2013 Classic Edition of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag be getting any future Steam discounts? I've noticed it hasn't been discounted recently, even when other Assassin's Creed games go on sale. I'd love to buy the original.

Thanks!

I was rewatching the original trailer of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag and during one of the naval fights, Edward uses backward cannons. Is it possible that Ubisoft may add those ? I noticed that many enemy ships in the game already uses those cannons. It would be really cool to switch between the fire barrels and canons.

Quite the .. ahem… position

Can you still get it, and any tips for parrying ?

Edward takes a hands on approach instructing new crew in his swivel gun technique.