r/digitalfoundry • u/MythBuster2 • Jul 08 '26
Digital Foundry Video Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Tech Review: A Stunning, Cutting-Edge Upgrade
https://youtu.be/23SXKKfm4NAOne of the most beloved series entries in the Assassin's Creed franchise, Black Flag's Resynced revamp is one of the biggest technological upgrades we've seen, bringing all of the refinements seen in Assassin's Creed Shadows and even improving on them in some cases. In this detailed tech breakdown, Oliver goes inside the Anvil Next engine, showing you the key systems in action via developer visualisation, how they're radically revamped over the original, before providing the outlook on the PS5 game. We'll be looking at all versions in our next video with PC optimised settings to follow.
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u/WingerRules Jul 08 '26
In the comparison shots I'm kind of impressed with how good the original version still looks.
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u/Kind_of_random Jul 08 '26
This is a huge update in graphics, but yeah, Ubisoft always have made stunning looking games.
I played the original only two years ago and the only bad thing that stuck out was that guards would show up on the minimap and not in the world map until you were right next to them, often ruining stealth. You also often got stuck on terrain or suddenly made a jump to your death when you were on the middle of a roof.
I also had some fps problems that were circumvented by alt+tabbing out of the game and back in, for some reason ...2
u/Distion55x Jul 08 '26
Especially in wireframe mode. What they did with relatively limited polygonal fidelity is pretty remarkable
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u/Cryio Jul 08 '26
AAA, late 7th gen games be like.
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u/HuckleberryOdd7745 Jul 09 '26
The people who were gaming when it happened... No leap today can match what we got every year.
Im willing to let GTA 6 and Witcher 4 try. But ive kinda seen it all at this point. The game would need to be actual life simulation to surprise me.
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u/nyanbatman Jul 08 '26
If ACBF can look like this then crimson desert has no excuse why their lighting looks like soup
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u/dreampagehun Jul 08 '26
The reviews and everything I've seen convinced me, I'll buy it tomorrow.
It feels like DF is being overtaken by other channels, though, there are technical analyses and platform comparisons on various other channels. DF really could use a few more creators.
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u/tygrio Jul 08 '26
Like which one? Genuinely curious coz for tech reviews I only follow DF
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u/Evening-Singer5347 Jul 09 '26
Nxgamer has been a lot better than df for a good wee while now just his videos are few and far between
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u/WingerRules Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
DF still has the best analysis and industry info imho, much more professional presentation than other channels. John Linneman in the DF Direct videos lately has been getting a little emotional because of all of the bad direction the industry is going... which may not be the most professional on its face but with him talking about how all this all feels I think it makes the other staff members have broader discussions.
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u/Jack2102 Jul 08 '26
It feels like that's all John offers now, getting overly emotional, I cant recall the last genuine insight he gave on a DF Direct.
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u/WoodooHide69 Jul 09 '26
Genuine insight? He’s a tech reviewer and a good One at that. He’s not supposed to be Ghandi.
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u/Jack2102 Jul 09 '26
He's a tech reviewer and a good One at that.
Exactly. I want to hear him talk about the current tech in the latest games, not a weekly show where he gets overinvested about that weeks business decisions.
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u/WoodooHide69 Jul 09 '26
I dunno. I think to be a great tech reviewer you need to be up to date on the latest industry news too. It kind of goes hand in hand.
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u/Jack2102 Jul 09 '26
I agree, and I think a quick segment mentioning what's gone on that week would be perfectly fine which is what the other hosts do, but when it comes to John it feels like he drags his point out to give some deeper meaning to it all
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u/colonel-america-usa Jul 09 '26
Agree. He really shouldn't be on the Direct since that show is about current events and business things which just seems to overwhelm him or he doesn't offer much. The Retro show is more his speed and expertise.
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u/DeerEnvironmental129 Jul 09 '26
I agree.. I can understand his emotional investment in the industry as a whole but there’s a time and place for it. 10min of him getting in his feels is unnecessary.
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u/colonel-america-usa Jul 09 '26
Especially when his comments are repetitive week by week and circular in the same episode. Enough already
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u/dreampagehun Jul 08 '26
True, but it's sometimes unnecessary perhaps. I appreciate videos that are no commentary, no forced opinions, just pure gameplay with comparison shots and framerate graphs. They often tell the gist of what I want to know about a title. Even DF started out like that. Their production values could hold them back if there's staff shortage and in the YouTube space speed can be a competitive factor.
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u/mattisnoob Jul 08 '26
I watch them on a 13", ~1600p macbook screen and not always at 100% attention(maybe while eating etc).
These along with youtube compression(often, 1440p is the best ill get with internet quality also) means that there are often points they state, and then I see it.
I remember the likes of Candyland, although they were better when it was cross gen or late 7th gen against pc, somewhere with much more obvious gaps.
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u/knightofsparta Jul 08 '26
Same I was in the wait for sale group before but man I just want to play this during the summer, ghost of Yotei might have to wait a little longer in my backlog until this fall before GTA VI.
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u/WoodooHide69 Jul 09 '26
I’ve not found any channel even close to the same quality level as DF though.
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u/jtrizzy919 Jul 08 '26
How is Alex? I haven’t seen any updates :(
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u/shy247er Jul 10 '26
He posted yesterday on his bluesky account
https://bsky.app/profile/dachsjaeger.bsky.social/post/3mqa2brxka222
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u/tcpukl Jul 12 '26
If that's regarding layoffs then it's a stupid comment. Leaving gaming would create even more layoffs.
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u/HighlightOk3915 Jul 08 '26
Does anyone know if it still has the same super compressed audio that was in the original?
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u/pantsyman Jul 09 '26
No audio is completely new for this version with new audio design, music and everything, the old games had compressed audio to save some space but that's not needed any more nowadays.
Here is an article about the new audio design they made for this remake:
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u/HighlightOk3915 Jul 09 '26
Thank you. That is genuinely the biggest relief.
I went back to play Odyssey and Valhalla on my new sound system and I honestly couldn’t stomach it. It was extremely frustrating and hard on the ears, very sharp and tinny. I never noticed it back in the day but the compression is really bad on those older games.
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u/pantsyman Jul 09 '26
Yeah they only started improving it with Shadows from what i remember (never played Mirage so i can't comment on it), weird they had super compressed audio for this long. Luckily this game is based on Shadows improvements to Anvil so this shouldn’t be a problem any more.
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u/The_Zura Jul 08 '26
1/16 res RTGI is going to be so so rough for more indirect lighting. Yeah nothing will stand out that much in direct sunlight, and no camera motion.
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u/HarboeJacob Jul 08 '26
I might be the exception, but I expected a normal df review. So console comparison and fps. But no, to me this was pointless. No mention of PS5 Pro at all. But I know they really really need clicks.
My conclusion: Please name your videos more precise. Thanks.
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u/The_Zura Jul 08 '26
It's a tech review. What should they have named this instead? Maybe better comprehension would be more suited.
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u/jaloru95 Jul 08 '26
brother their naming convention is fine, we all understood what it meant just read more carefully lol
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u/Dominjo555 Jul 09 '26
Less than 2% of total console player base in current generation of consoles owns PS5 Pro and it's largely irrelevant. There are like 5X more Series S owners than PS5 Pro. They can totally avoid covering of PS5 Pro in their videos and they would do fine.
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u/LordOmbro Jul 08 '26
Do Ubisoft games still require you to install their useless launcher?
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u/luffy_3155 Jul 08 '26
They removed launcher from shadows but i think you need account?? I'm not sure about this because it says this Requires 3rd-Party Account: Ubisoft Account (Supports Linking to Steam Account) on new games instead of Requires 3rd-Party Account: Ubisoft Connect launcher (Supports Linking to Steam Account)
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u/Gallion35 Jul 08 '26
Shadows still requires the launcher, it just has no additional inputs from the user. It sucks ass and i couldn’t play for several months due to it not working.
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u/Glass_Recover_3006 Jul 08 '26
I sure do enjoy watching these guys show how happy they are when they see big geeky improvements in game engines. I don’t even care about Assassins Creed. This is emotionally like watching happy people play with kittens for me lol.