It has been over a decade since the Cooper Gang last pulled a heist, and the dust still hasn't quite settled on the legacy of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. For many fans, the 2013 release was a miracle. Sucker Punch Productions had moved on to the gritty, electrical streets of InFamous, leaving the world's most charming raccoon in a state of indefinite hiatus. When Sanzaru Games stepped up to the plate, they weren't just making a sequel; they were trying to capture lightning in a bottle that had been corked for seven years.
They succeeded in some ways. They failed in others. Honestly, the game is a weird, beautiful, and sometimes frustrating time capsule of the early 2010s "revival" era. It took the core DNA of the original trilogy—stealth, platforming, and snappy dialogue—and inflated it with the power of the PlayStation 3. But it also introduced narrative choices that still spark heated debates on Reddit and Discord today.
Why Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time Felt So Different
The jump from the PS2 to the PS3 was massive. If you go back and play Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, the environments are stylistically gorgeous but technically constrained. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time blew the doors off those constraints. The hubs became sprawling playgrounds. Each era—from Feudal Japan to the Ice Age—felt like a distinct ecosystem. Sanzaru didn't just want you to sneak; they wanted you to explore.
But tech isn't everything. The art style shifted. The characters looked "squishier," more expressive, yet somehow less "cool" to the hardcore veterans. Bentley’s wheelchair became a mobile tank. Murray remained the lovable muscle, though his personality leaned harder into the "goofy" territory than the "pathologically loyal" territory seen in the earlier games. It was a tonal shift that felt like moving from a late-night animated series to a Saturday morning cartoon.
✨ Don't miss: Why Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration is Still the Best Way to Play Lara’s Modern Journey
The biggest mechanical hook was, of course, the ancestors. We finally got to play as the legends mentioned in the Thievius Raccoonus. Rioichi Cooper could leap across massive gaps with his Ninja Spire Jump. "Tennessee" Kid Cooper turned the game into a third-person shooter with his "Crackshot" ability. Sir Galleth brought a verticality that the series had never seen before. Each ancestor felt unique, but it meant Sly himself sometimes felt like a secondary character in his own game.
The Writing and the Penelope Problem
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. Or rather, the mouse.
Penelope's character arc in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time remains one of the most polarizing decisions in platforming history. In Sly 3, she was Bentley's intellectual equal and romantic interest. In Thieves in Time, she becomes a villain. The justification? She believed Bentley was wasting his genius on the Cooper Gang. She wanted power.
For a lot of fans, this felt like a betrayal of the character's core. It wasn't just that she turned "evil"—it’s that it felt rushed. It lacked the slow-burn tension that made the betrayal of General Tsao or the complexity of Panda King work so well in the past. It felt like drama for the sake of drama. Even today, if you bring up Penelope in a Sly fan forum, you're going to get an earful.
Then there's the humor. It's... subjective. Sanzaru leaned heavily into puns and slapstick. Sometimes it landed perfectly. Other times, it felt a bit like it was trying too hard to be "extreeeme." But you can't deny the passion. The game is packed with Easter eggs and deep-cut references that only a true fan would include. They cared. They really did.
The Cliffhanger That Refuses to Die
The ending of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is the stuff of nightmares for completionists. If you managed to collect every single trophy and unlock the secret ending, you saw it: Sly, stranded in Ancient Egypt.
It was a blatant setup for Sly 5.
And then? Silence.
👉 See also: Dragon Age Veilguard The Treasure of Sharksmouth Mountain: How to Solve It Without Losing Your Mind
Sony hasn't touched the franchise since. We had rumors of a movie that turned into rumors of a TV show, both of which seemingly vanished into the ether. Because the game ended on such a massive "to be continued," it has left the community in a permanent state of limbo. Is Sly still stuck in the desert? Does Carmelita ever find him? We’ve been waiting over a decade for an answer that might never come.
It's a tough pill to swallow. Usually, a franchise ends with a sense of closure, even if it's a quiet one. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time ended with a scream into the void.
Technical Performance and the Vita Factor
One thing people forget is that this was a "cross-buy" title. If you bought the PS3 version, you got the Vita version for free. This was a huge deal at the time. Playing a full-scale Sly adventure on a handheld was a dream come true for many.
- PS3 Version: 30fps (mostly), vibrant colors, great lighting.
- Vita Version: Lower resolution, but incredible for on-the-go play.
- AR Features: Using the Vita as a "second screen" to find hidden treasures was a neat, if slightly gimmicky, touch.
The game also utilized the "Cross-Save" feature, allowing you to move your progress between consoles. It was a pioneer in the way we think about modern cloud gaming, even if the hardware was a bit clunky.
Is It Still Worth Playing?
Absolutely. Despite the narrative hiccups and the frustrating cliffhanger, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is a masterclass in varied gameplay. You’re never doing the same thing for too long. One minute you’re pickpocketing guards in a medieval circus, the next you’re engaged in a high-stakes rhythm game or a hacking mini-game that pays homage to classic twin-stick shooters.
The boss fights are a particular highlight. Each one feels like a spectacle. El Jefe, the cigar-chomping tiger mercenary, provides a multi-stage battle that tests your platforming and timing. Grizz, the ice-skating bear who wants to be an artist, is both hilarious and surprisingly challenging. The creative energy in the villain design is top-tier.
💡 You might also like: List Street Fighter Characters: Who You Should Actually Main in 2026
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you're looking to revisit the series or dive in for the first time, don't just rush through the story. The real magic of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is in the details.
- Hunt the Masks: There are 60 hidden Sly masks spread across the five time periods. Finding them unlocks cool extras and cheats, like the "Mega-Jump" or the "Slow-Mo" mode.
- Play the Ancestors: Don't just use them when the game forces you to. Go back to completed hubs and see how their unique abilities can reach areas Sly can't.
- Check the Thievius Raccoonus: Read the entries in the menu. There is a ton of lore tucked away in the text that fills in the gaps between games.
- Emulate or Stream: If you don't have a PS3 or Vita, the game is frequently available on PlayStation Plus Premium. If you have a decent PC, the RPCS3 emulator has made massive strides in running the game at 4K resolutions with 60fps patches, which honestly makes it look like a modern PS5 title.
The legacy of the Cooper clan is currently resting on the shoulders of a game that dared to be different. It might not be the perfect conclusion we wanted, but it remains a vibrant, imaginative, and mechanically sound entry in one of gaming's most beloved trilogies... that turned into a "tetralogy." Until Sony decides to bring the master thief back, this is the final chapter we have. Make the most of it.
Focus on mastering the "Leap of Faith" mechanics and the varied costumes—like the Jailbird suit or the Archer outfit—as they are essential for 100% completion and offer the most creative ways to bypass the game's many security systems.