Summary
- Sly 2, arguably the crown jewel of the series, introduced stealth attacks, vent crawls, pickpocketing, and expanded open worlds.
- The Sly Trilogy remastered the original games, maintaining timeless cel-shaded graphics and 60fps gameplay with minimal changes.
- Bentley's Hackpack, an unremarkable minigame compilation, provides expanded arcade games but lacks depth and complete experiences.
The Sly Cooper series, a beloved mainstay of the PS2 era, follows a thieving raccoon and his band of technicolour animal mates as they pull off a host of daring heists. The brainchild of Sucker Punch Entertainment (and later, co-developed by Sanzaru Games), Sly occupies a place in the holy trinity of Sony platformers; shared by Jak, Daxter, Ratchet, and Clank. Unlike those series, which prioritise frenetic combat and explosive action, Sly's adventures favour stealth and puzzle-solving.
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PostsThe games' whip-smart writing and tense burgling have won them a place in the industry as critical darlings, and to this day Sly enjoys a vibrant, dedicated fanbase. Yet, with four mainline adventures under his cane-toting belt, which one is the best? And how do they fare against one another? Slap on your thief masks – it's time to find out.
Updated on April 11, 2025 by Bobby Mills: Despite Sly Cooper now being older than two decades, the venerable raccoon that he is, he continues to attract new fans with his unique blend of stellar character design, heart-pumping stealth action, and stylized visuals. There really is no other series like it – so we thought we'd honour its legacy by adding the remaining games outstanding from this list, and generally jazzing it up. Enjoy, Cooper Clan!
6 Bentley's Hackpack
Ain't No Party Like A Cooper Gang Party
Thanks to a delay in the release schedule of Sly 4, Sanzaru found itself with extra time on its hands. "How to fill it?" it pondered; until some clever individual landed on the idea of a minigame compilation starring everyone's favourite tech-whizz turtle, Bentley. Obvious moneymaker in hindsight, right?
Bentley's Hackpack, however, is utterly unremarkable. It's a collection of rote arcade games that are expanded versions of the ones you can find in the Cooper Gang HQ in Sly 4. System Cracker is a Galaga-style topdown shooter; Alter Ego brings 2D combat action that reimagines Bentley as a ripped athlete; and Spark Runner is a reaction-based marble maze that makes use of the PS3's rudimentary motion controls.
Individually, they're fine enough, but you can tell they were always meant to be part of a bigger whole rather than complete experiences in their own right. Beat the high score on all of them, and you unlock the secret fourth arcade machine... which just lets you listen to various music tracks. Hackpack will pass a lazy afternoon, but little more than that.
5 Sly Cooper And The Thievius Raccoonus
Sly Stumbles Out Of The Gate
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Platformer Stealth Systems Released September 23, 2002 ESRB E For Everyone // Mild Fantasy Violence, Tobacco Reference Developer(s) Sucker Punch Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment Engine Kinetica Franchise Sly Cooper PS5 Release Date June 11, 2024WHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONSly Cooper shuffled his ring-tailed way onto the world stage in 2002 with the series' first title, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. That's a mouthful and a half, to start. While it's by no means a bad game, and laid a rock-solid foundation in terms of characterisation and artstyle (it positively drips with a cel-shaded, Saturday morning cartoon vibe), it's so vastly and clunkily different to its fantastic successors that it can't really be judged in the same league.
The Thievius Raccoonus is an ancient familial Cooper text, used to guide up n' coming thieves in the ways of all things pilfering. Before young Sly can receive the book, his father is murdered by 'The Fiendish Five,' villains led by the mechanical bird Clockwerk, who rip the tome into multiple parts. Not the best childhood for our protagonist, all things considered.
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PostsYour journey, then, begins ten years later. Sly assembles his friends - Bentley, the hyper-intelligent turtle, and Murray, the brawny (but not so bright) hippo - and heads off on a globetrotting quest to recover the pages. All the way, he's pursued by the hotheaded Inspector Carmelita Fox, who he has a bit of a crush on – not that he'd ever admit it.
You'll match wits with the likes of Sir Raleigh Frog and The Panda King, which is all well and good; the trouble is, it's in service of a mediocre Crash Bandicoot clone. In contrast to the open worlds the series would become known for, these stages are linear corridors with floaty physics and a one-hit-kill health system. Difficulty spikes, and thus frustration, abound.
4 Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time
Racc To The Future
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Platformer Stealth Adventure Fighting Puzzle Systems Released February 5, 2013 ESRB E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Alcohol Reference, Cartoon Violence, Suggestive Themes, Use of Tobacco Developer(s) Sanzaru Games Publisher(s) Sanzaru Games Engine havok Franchise Sly CooperWHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONFor Sly's first foray into the HD era, Sucker Punch handed the reins to Sanzaru Games, as it was too caught up in developing the latest Infamous instalment. Sanzaru had previously worked on the series in an assistive capacity, and had headed the remasters of the first three PS2 titles for The Sly Collection on PS3 and Vita. Hence, it was no stranger to the universe, and picked up the slack most admirably.
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time hit shelves a whopping eight years after the previous mainline entry, Sly 3; but the wait was, more or less, worth it. As the title would perhaps indicate, Sly and the gang face a threat from across the temporal plane. Bentley has been spending the time since Sly 3 constructing a time machine, only for its plans to be stolen by one Cyrille Le Paradox, curator of a famous Parisian museum.
Le Paradox's grandfather, it transpires, was once humiliated by one of Sly's ancestors during a big heist – and so Cyrille intends to travel back to steal all the Cooper family's canes. In doing so, he'll render them a laughingstock and ensure the Thievius Raccoonus is never written. Obviously, Sly and company can't have that, so it's off to the races to travel to various time periods and thwart Le Paradox's goons.
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PostsGameplay-wise, this is every bit as competent a follow-up as you could ask for. Sly and his compatriots handle like a dream, and for the first time, Carmelita (up until now an occasional novelty in scripted segments) is a fully-fledged selectable character. Likewise, the Cooper ancestors you meet are a blast to play as – special mention goes to the Western Tennessee Cooper, who rocks a shotgun in his cane.
Sly 4 is sadly let down by some narrative and character failings, however. Murray seems to have forgotten all of his maturation since the trilogy, regressing to the brainless overeater he was in Sly 1. Bentley's squeeze Penelope is revealed to be working for Le Paradox, which not only undoes Bentley's (well-earned) happy ending but is justified only very flimsily. And, worst of all, the game ends on a tragic cliffhanger that has yet to be resolved, as Sly is lost in a time vortex and wakes up in Ancient Egypt.
3 Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
He's Putting Together A Team
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Platformer Stealth Systems Released September 26, 2005 ESRB Everyone 10+ // Alcohol Reference, Mild Fantasy Violence, Use of Tobacco Developer(s) Sucker Punch Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment Multiplayer Local Multiplayer Prequel(s) Sly 2: Band of Thieves Franchise Sly Cooper Number of Players 1-2WHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONIt's a very close race between Sly 2 and 3. So perfect was the formula that the second game established that the threequel does very little to iterate on it. It's the very definition of 'more of the same'; the uninitiated would have a difficult time telling 2 and 3 apart from screenshots. But hey, like they say, if it ain't broke...
Sly 3 deals with Sly finally discovering his family's wealth, locked away in a vault on an isolated island. Only trouble is, he's been beaten to it by the dastardly Dr. M, who believes he has a right to the treasure (by technicality) and spends the majority of the game attempting to blast his way in. To no avail; Sly's cane is the only key that can unlock the vault. It's up to the raccoon and his mates to assemble a larger team good enough to infiltrate the island.
As in Sly 2, you'll once again be navigating sumptuously-designed open worlds and completing jobs that are dizzying in their variety. Will you be impersonating guards with a hilariously awful Italian accent? Knocking over a ferris wheel? Steering an RC car through a labyrinth of lasers? Or - in a standout stage - inciting violence amongst a rival team of pilots to ensure a win in a dogfighting tournament?
The expanded cast is also welcome. Murray's Aboriginal guide, The Guru, lends spiritual assistance; while tech whizz Penelope, still eight years away from her character assassination, brings a range of gadgetry to the table. You never know what wacky mission is around the corner, and Sly 3 excels at keeping your eyes riveted to it for its 20-hour duration. About the only criticism one could muster is that, well, it isn't Sly 2.
2 Sly 2: Band Of Thieves
Cooper's Creed
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Like Follow FollowedSly 2: Band of Thieves
Platformer Stealth Adventure Systems Released September 14, 2004 ESRB E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Alcohol Reference, Mild Fantasy Violence, Use of Tobacco Developer(s) Sucker Punch Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment Engine unreal engine 3 Prequel(s) Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus Sequel(s) Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves Franchise Sly CooperWHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONNo doubt about it: Sly 2: Band of Thieves is the crown jewel of the series, and cemented its place in the hallowed halls of platforming greatness. Sly 1 was a passable attempt, but this sequel fully realises the concept of being a thief, hopping across rooftops and vanishing without a trace.
Major additions to the formula include stealth attacks, vent crawls, and pickpocketing. After all, how are you to afford the (absurdly expensive) upgrades in the new in-game shop without lightening a few guards' loads?
This time around, Sly's friends are more than just set dressing. Both Bentley and Murray are playable, and deliver wholly unique gameplay experiences. Bentley utilises a ranged dart rifle to put his foes to sleep (and can hack computers), while Murray is best for those times you just don't feel like being stealthy. Guns - and fists - blazing, every time.
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PostsThe environments, too, are drastically more extensive than they were in the previous title. Gone are the restrictive, A-to-B maps of yesteryear – replaced by open worlds teeming with nooks and crannies to explore, cliffs to swing from, and treasures to squirrel away. Uh, raccoon away...?
It cannot be overstated how much Sly 2's dramatic leap in quality really set it apart from not only the first game, but a lot of its platforming peers. With critical adulation heaped upon it, and highly respectable sales, it was clear that the sticky-fingered procyonid wouldn't be going anywhere. Just don't mention that one mission with the sleeping bears.
1 The Sly Trilogy
Three Times The Thievery
To get modern audiences pumped and primed for Sly 4, it was decided to trot out the original trilogy anew for contemporary systems, as it was pushing a decade at the time since Sly had first appeared. The Sly Trilogy was Sanzaru's first punt in the Cooper sandbox, as previously mentioned – so how did they fare?
Compared to similar HD port jobs of the 2010s like the Ratchet and Jak trilogies, Sly and co. make it out in pretty fine fettle. The graphics for all three games have been upscaled, and thanks to the timeless cel-shaded visuals, they really pop, even on fancy flatscreen TVs. They also now run at a rock-solid 60fps at all times (the originals could sometimes dip), which allows the stealth sections to be a hair less frustrating.
Gameplay-wise, nothing's really changed. They could have taken the opportunity to sand the edges off some of the more infamous missions, but hey-ho, it's all part of the challenge. To round out the package, the PlayStation Move controller is supported; and we can't go without mentioning the gorgeous, sleek UI that hangs it all together. Lovely little hand-drawn animations accompany the title screen as you pick which adventure to go on.
There are even a few Move-exclusive minigames tossed in, a la Bentley's Hackpack, to get you more value out of your expensive lightbulb on a stick!
Overall, if you're looking to play three of the greatest games the PS2 ever spawned, this is probably the best way to do it. They look better, run better, and you just can't beat the convenience factor of having them all on one disc. Top marks, Sanzaru!
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