Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
It’s Sucker Punch’s 20th anniversary this year! Their official birthday is this month, and we want to do a little celebrating by looking back at five of their finest over the past two decades.
Sucker Punch made its PlayStation debut with the release of stealth platformer Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus on the PlayStation 2 in 2002, joining the likes of Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter as one of the console’s signature franchises. It’s not too hard to see how the title earned the distinction, as it perfectly melds together meticulous stealth gameplay with the frantic nature of a cartoon-inspired world that harkens back to Sony’s own video game debut. Evoking memories of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon.
The game holds up even today in terms of its mechanics, with smooth animation and fluid movement. Controls are incredibly responsive and easy to master, and though at times Sly may appear to be difficult to manipulate due to his cane and tail taking up a lot of the screen, players will find that the character’s features don’t come in the way of them being able to jump freely over enemies or bop them over the head. What’s more impressive is that the game was made to be enjoyed by kids and adults alike, which is something is still true in 2017.