A sneaky crew of thieves sets out to reclaim Sly Cooper's family tome—The Thievius Raccoonus. Slink and steal your way across the globe against a colorful cast of animal characters in this captivating 3D platformer. You ain't ever heard a bass line like those in the game.

Warning

Spoilers below!

Stats

Started Playing: 7/3/26
Beat: 7/6/26
Total Playtime: 7~8 hours

Legacy

Unique, suave, bold, and the birth of my favorite PS2 mascot 3D platformer. A series with a strong fanbase, but never the attention Sony ought to have given it. Although, as we would go on to see, they do give it a change that only Ratchet ever got.

Overall

So clean, snappy and simple.

Graphics/Performance

It looks so stunning on my CRT. Striking
Man, it is an unstable game though. Snow in particular drops the framerate instantly

Gameplay

Press the Circle button!
Great rhythm with the buttons and commands. Jump, square. Jump, circle. So smooth.
So many modern game complaints of “follow the yellow paint.” Sly’s environmental instruction fits so well. Hooks, ladders, and spliced wire. We explain blue sparkles with a goofy line. It all gels in this cartoon world.
The special moves feel tacked on. I never find myself using them, besides the falling in water recovery.
There are themed, off shoot levels, like racing, twin stick shooters, police chases, etc. A bygone era of game design to shake it up with small, different modes inside the game.
One hit for Sly feels wrong. Clearly they agree because of 2-4.
- Combined with no boss checkpoints and you got yourself a very old design, like it was cemented in the PS1 or earlier.
I love the bottle collecting system; always have. I think finding pages is fun and incentivizing.
- On the flip side, I am just not drawn into these sprint/time trial achievements. Never have and never done them. It feels unnecessary and not really stealth-y.
Boss fights are always different. Rhythm games, “Flame-Fu,” or dodging bullets. This is good I think. Each feels distinct and memorable. Perhaps they are memorable because of my 8-year-old brain soaking up the challenge.
I do not love the final push into Clockwerk’s lair being a smattering of mini-games. While I get the idea for escalation, it is rushed and not satisfying. I could see a rushed dev time being the reason for this decision or a push to be extra cinematic. It throws away the thrill and joy of pulling off and planning a heist.

Music/Sound Design

Thumping bass lines and slinky xylophone notes and thick synth chords.
Any time a cricket chirps, Sly snaps to a direction on high alert.
All sound fades low when using “super sneaky master thief moves” in one of the great slinking bass lines ever made.

World

I love Murray sitting in front of the next map. A slight comedic tease for the next chapter.
I don’t know if I love Clockwerk’s world being one level after another.

Story

Sly comes from a great long line of thieves. As a young boy, his father was murdered and the family’s book stolen. He teams up with Bentley and Murray from the orphanage and they vow to steal the book and honor back.
I love the vignettes.
Each chapter starts and ends with great videos. Dripping with style and character. Each villain’s backstory is fun.
I like the idea of Clockwerk being this age old adversary, but this time, I don’t think the reveal pays off. If we could have explored a world, we could have learned about the family rivalry. Very rushed/cramped.