This Black Flag Resynced comparison to the original perfectly shows just how far graphics have come since 2013

Even though the reveal of Ubisoft's worst-kept secret, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, was met with a generally positive response from fans and newcomers alike, many of the "before and after" images simply didn't do the remake justice. General improvements were obvious from the start, but we mostly didn't get a true look at just how much the graphics had improved over the last almost decade and a half.

But this direct screenshot comparison, posted on the Black Flag Resynced subreddit, is the clearest representation of how much the remake surpasses the original in sheer graphical fidelity. Both screenshots are of the same bay, with Edward in exactly the same position in both, overlooking said area. The difference in lighting, shaders, and texture quality is literally night and day, as the water looks like little more than mud from that distance and position in the original, whereas it appears to have genuine liquid qualities and colors in the remake.

Furthermore, the remake has a significantly improved draw distance that shows additional landmasses in the distance, makes use of volumetric fog and clouds to make the weather and sea a lot more atmospheric, has significantly denser foliage, and shadows that are just out of this world. While the original is still a remarkable game for its time, and one that doesn't really feel outdated even today, the remake simply proves that graphics have evolved by orders of magnitude in just 13 years, despite our often complaining about how games have become stagnant in the last decade or so.

It also serves as a great reminder that Ubisoft, of all companies, is sitting on one of the best game engines ever created, i.e., Anvil. The graphical fidelity this engine is capable of producing is astounding, and it's a damn shame that no blockbuster, successful titles are being produced using it. It's a great counterweight to the expansionist Unreal Engine that'll inevitably cause the entire AAA gaming industry to have the same look and feel, and I cannot express how sad I am that we aren't seeing this fantastic piece of software applied in more great or even good games.

I recently commented about how For Honor tends to remind me of what Ubisoft used to be. That game, released in 2017, mind you, looks so good even today that it could easily pass for a 2026 title. The remake could finally inaugurate a new era of flashy Ubisoft games, but we'll have to first try it out to know whether the company has managed to turn the tide at least in some areas.

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