Fresh from making “Rocket: Robot on Wheels” on the Nintendo 64, video game developer, Sucker Punch worked on their next project for Sony. A stealth platform game titled, “Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus.” The story follows the titular character and his two pals, Murray & Bentley. Their goal is to retrieve stolen pages from ancient book belonging to Sly’s ancestors who were thieves like him. Together, Sly and his pals embark on heist missions to snatch ‘em from a rival gang, The Fiendish Five. During his quest, Sly encounters Inspector Carmelita Fox who has a history with Sly.
Released in 2002 (same year Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man came out) on PlayStation 2, it received praise from critics and gamers alike. Plus, it was a commercial hit. Sly Cooper spawned three games in 2004-2013. Sucker Punch’s most recent game, “Ghost of Yōtei” is out on PS5. Anyway, Sony and Insomniac Games are working on a Wolverine game coming in Fall 2026.
Today’s review contains no SPOILERS.
Voice Actors all did a superb job for their respective voiceover performances.
Visual Designs emulates a cartoon with cel-shading bringing the world to life.
Random Thought: I used to play the Sly Cooper games growing up along with the “Jak and Daxter” series. I miss my childhood. Didn’t have to worry about grown up stuff.
Gameplay and Mechanics
- Presented as a third-person stealth platform game, you play as Sly (also play as Murray in two racing levels) sneaking his way through security including guards, disabling alarms or lasers and hopping from one place to the next.
- Sly relies on his cane to eliminate enemies with a single hit.
- A horseshoe acts as some sort of shield. If you get hit, you become a one hit target. Be on your guard. You get a horseshoe by collecting 100 coins or pick it up on the ground. If you already have a horseshoe, 100 coins will grant you an extra life.
- Collecting bottles will give you a code to crack a safe. Whenever Sly obtains a missing page within a safe, you unlock a new ability and handy dandy gadget. They really come in handy. Once you collect every single bottle, you unlock a bonus clip.
- If you lose a life, you’re back to the most recent checkpoint.
- Press the circle button to climb and shimmy on walls.
- Some levels switch to a rail shooter and racing sections.
- Bentley gives you pointers. In case you forget, his icon on the bottom left pops up. Press L1 to get up to speed.
- Like “Crash Bandicoot,” you will lose a life if you get hit or fall from height.
- Boss Fights are quite a challenge. All five of ‘em have interesting origin stories on how they became crooks. My favorite boss is the Panda King.
The game’s influenced by “Splinter Cell,” “Metal Gear Solid” & Crash Bandicoot.
Sly’s chemistry with Murray & Bentley serves as the main highlight.
It took me approximately 8 hours to beat the game and obtain all bottles. Not enough content to match a game’s full price at launch.
The race and time trials are frustrating. I can imagine Troglodyte, James Rolfe/AVGN losing his mind. Don’t bother completing all time trials to unlock audio commentary for every level. Look ‘em up on YouTube.
The Final Verdict: B, FOR BENEVOLENT!
Although a short game lacking additional content, Sly Cooper’s first game still holds up. I had pleasant memories playing the games as a kid. If you wanna introduce your kids to Sly Cooper, now’s the right time to do so. Which highly anticipated game of 2026 are you most looking forward to? Mine’s Wolverine.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 