Sly Cooper’s Best Game Released 22 Years Ago and It Still Holds Up Amazingly Today
There is something special about the PlayStation 2 era of platformers. Games like Jak and Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus gave players colorful worlds, memorable characters, and adventures that felt different from one another. I’d always loved platforming games, but Sly Cooper has been one of my favorites for a long time. It combined stealth, action, and platforming to create a unique experience on the PlayStation 2. Now, more than two decades later, one entry still stands out in the series as the best Sucker Punch Productions has given fans.
September 14, 2026, marks the 22nd anniversary of Sly 2: Band of Thieves, easily the best game in the Sly Cooper series. It was released in 2004 and expanded on the original game with a larger focus on team-based heists, interactive environments, and playable characters with different abilities. Players could now play as the whole gang, and it almost felt like a more polished version of Donkey Kong 64, and I loved it. Looking back today, Sly 2 remains one of the best examples of how a sequel can improve on an already enjoyable game without losing what made the original appealing.
Sly 2: Band of Thieves Is Still the Best Game in the Series
The biggest reason Sly 2: Band of Thieves remains so enjoyable is how it perfectly combines the pillars of the first game: platforming, stealth, exploration, and storytelling. The first game established the foundation, but the sequel gave players more freedom in how they approached missions. Instead of moving through a straightforward series of levels, players explore larger environments, complete jobs, and work toward elaborate heists. Even though it was single-player, it felt like a team-based game.
The cast is one of the main reasons it worked so well. Sly, Bentley, and Murray each bring different abilities and approaches to the adventure. Sly is the agile thief, Bentley handles technology and gadgets, while Murray provides strength and combat abilities. This variety gives missions a different rhythm depending on which character is being used. This is where the comparison to Donkey Kong 64 comes in, and it feels so natural here.
The story is also a massive improvement. The gang travels the world, visiting different places that build a larger narrative while offering different environments. Each episode builds toward the larger objective, creating a sense of progression that feels closer to a crime adventure than a traditional platformer. The comic-book presentation brings this to life and holds everything together throughout the experience.
Sly 2 Hit All the Right Parts
The original Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus was released for PlayStation 2 on September 23, 2002, and in just 2 years, Sucker Punch Productions shows how much it learned. The original introduced the Cooper Gang, the Thievius Raccoonus, and the stealth-platforming formula that made the series recognizable. It remains an important part of the franchise, but Sly 2 is where the series began to feel like a more complete adventure.
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time continued to expand the series, but it felt more give-and-take compared to the complete experience that Sly 2 offered. Don’t get me wrong, I love every game in the series, but the second entry just does everything right. Even when I boot up my old PS2 to replay it, it still holds up. This shows how much Sly 2 shaped the series.
Sly 2 stands the test of time, which is not something every game in the series does. The original feels dated when I recently replayed it on PS5, and even the latter two games don’t feel as good as I would expect. Comparing these to other platforming series, or even modern entries like Astro Bot, it truly is impressive how much fun Sly 2 is. There is no doubt that Sucker Punch Productions put everything it had into the sequel, and it shows.
Sly Still Has a Future On PlayStation
The series has been quiet for some time, but if Sucker Punch Productions ever returns to it, Sly 2 should be the example used. We’ve seen the games revisited through collections or ports to modern consoles, but there has been no word of new games. Once Sucker Punch Productions releases the complete edition of Ghost of Yotei, I see no reason why it can’t return to Sly and his gang of thieves, especially in today’s day and age.
Astro Bot’s success has shown that platformers still have immense interest in 2026. We’ve seen Nintendo continue to prove this to be true, even announcing a full 3D Kirby game. That is what I want to see from Sony. Sly Cooper has the name and image to lead a modern AAA that can compete with Nintendo. Whether it leans more into platforming, stealth, or exploration, Sucker Punch Productions has the opportunity to continue Astro Bot’s glory.
Until then, Sly 2 remains the pinnacle of the series, and any new game has to be weighed against it. A new Sly Cooper game could build on the series’ stealth-platforming mechanics, team-based missions, and comic-book presentation while introducing modern features and fresh locations. Even a remake of Sly 2 would be welcome. The series does not need to abandon its identity to return, but simply lean into the strengths that the second game established.