Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced sees players control Captain Kenway who is a Welsh pirate looking to get rich as quick as he can in search of a better life, but he quickly becomes entangled in the ancient war between the assassins and the templars. Both sides are hunting for something known as ‘The Observatory’.Captain Kenway sails and explores his way across the Caribbean, navigating his way across the huge number of islands while commanding his ship, the Jackdaw, and his faithful crew while exploring the secrets of each of these islands. In terms of gameplay, that classic Assassin's Creed feel is immediately familiar, with parkour, tall structures to climb where synchronising reveals the surrounding area, plus lots of collectibles, including treasure and quests to complete.With it being a faithful remake, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is not like other modern Assassin’s Creed games in that it is an action adventure title, and not a role-playing game. There are no stats to upgrade for Captain Kenway; you can upgrade his weapons, gear and his ship but there are no skill trees, placing more of an emphasis on skill and mastering the controls.Captain Edward Kenway does not have a skill tree but more powerful weapons and gear can be equipped (Ubisoft)And this for me is quintessential Assassin’s Creed. Mastering combat is incredibly satisfying because of Captain Kenway’s set of moves, including attacks, heavy blows and parries with perfect windows where enemies can then be taken out in one blow. His arsenal of weapons includes swords and guns, offering a range of engaging ways to take out all different kinds of foes. It’s so refreshing stumbling across an area and not being frustratingly under levelled; it really helps to give that sense of freedom and that you explore on your own terms, just like a pirate, instead of being told you can or cannot go to certain areas yet.Exploration was arguably the best part about the original, and that stands true with Resynced for me too. It’s so fun crossing the seas, exploring every little island you come across for hidden treasure. The main story has been improved, but it's that sense of exploration that makes Resynced stand out. Those were the parts of the game I had the most fun with because they truly fulfil the fantasy of being a pirate.Captain Kenway’s movement is good on the whole, but you may encounter some frustrating moments. I found his movement to be quite unrealistic fairly frequently, jumping higher than a human could ever possibly do, and him moving or jumping in directions I definitely didn't intend.Having said that, the original didn't even have dedicated jump or crouch buttons, and they've been added here. It sounds crazy now, but these additions have a hugely positive impact on both exploration and the main missions.Further quality of life features include very welcome improvements to missions, where Captain Kenway still has to follow as quietly as he can, but they can now usually be fought instead of the mission failing if spotted. They feel much less tedious than the original, and it actually helps with the overall story pacing too.The moment enemies failed to acknowledge my partner even existed when trying to stealthily take them out (Ubisoft)There were some stealth sections of gameplay that left me scratching my head – and even laughing. When escaping capture alongside someone else, I was in cover waiting to stealthily take down an enemy, all while my comrade was just stood in front of them, oblivious. Neither of the enemies was programmed to acknowledge his existence. As I took one down, he scythed down the other. I also had moments where I’d hide behind a banister, clearly visible, but the game thought I was hiding behind something more substantial and opaque – meaning I could still lure enemies and take them out without being spotted.As well as on foot, a large portion of the game takes place across the Caribbean, where Captain Kenway commands the Jackdaw. Players can explore, take down ships for loot and crew, attack huge fortresses, hunt animals and, later on, use a dive bell to search for underwater treasure.Naval combat is thrilling and exploring can be as easy or as detailed as you want. If you want to set a marker, you can push a button and the ship will sail to that destination. If you’d rather be in control to take out other ships on the way, you can do that easily too. The Jackdaw has arguably received the most amount of changes compared to the original. Every weapon has a new alt fire mode, adding different dimensions to naval combat, including thrilling new ways to take down bigger boats.In terms of visuals and performance, starting with how the game looks, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is simply stunning and is one of the best looking games I’ve ever played. It looks great in cutscenes but looks even better in motion, out on the open seas and especially underwater.The underwater sections where Captain Kenway can dive deep below the surface (which he is free to do wherever water is deep enough now) are absolutely astonishing. The colour palette used here is vibrant and I was often left stunned at just how good the game looks in these sections.I found character models to be strong across the board - except for Captain Kenway’s. Maybe it's because of the amount of customisation options for him, such as being able to choose different outfits and equipment appearances whereas pretty much everyone else’s look is prescribed, but this does stand out.Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is, quite simply, stunning (Ubisoft)New content has been added to the game, too. This importantly gives more to do without it ever feeling like filler or just something else to check off. There are some brilliant additional quests to the main story and some really engaging side quests, including with new naval officers, where you meet new characters which have their own story arcs.With performance, even on a PS5 Pro, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced has Fidelity and Performance modes. Whichever you choose, cutscenes are rendered at 30fps.As someone that prefers to play in Performance mode, this felt jarring at first, but I quickly got used to it and it became less of an issue as I progressed. Both modes look fantastic and PSSR, the AI upscaling tech in the PS5 Pro, does a fantastic job while maintaining smooth frame rates.There is the occasional bit of clipping here and there, plus some infrequent flickering, but in a big open world game this can be expected to some extent. Resynced has been built in Ubisoft's Anvil engine, which was used for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and some elements from that do carry over, such as the HUD and menus.The sound is superb too. There are more sea shanties than ever before, and the game’s soundtrack is fantastic – just the overall sound of the world as you explore is stellar too.