Sly Cooper's Rumored Return Could Be a Mixed Bag

[Animous]

While the latest console generation is only beginning to kick into gear, rumors have indicated that PlayStation is looking to dive into its back-catalogue of classic franchises for the PlayStation 5. This has already begun thanks to titles like Astro's Playroom and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, as well as future sequels like Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and God of War: Ragnarok pushing beloved franchises forward. One classic franchise currently rumored to return is Sly Cooper, one of the PS2 generation's beloved 3D platformers.

Of the PlayStation franchises currently rumored to be making a comeback (including Twisted Metal and WipeOut,) Sly Cooper has repeatedly jumped in and out of relevance in the PlayStation community thanks to titles like the Sly Cooper HD Collection on PlayStation 3 and Vita, and also 2013's Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, which sought to continue the series under that collection's developer Sanzaru Games. The return of this franchise may come at a cost as, for more reasons than one, the Sly Cooper series and its fanbase have seen major changes throughout the years.

RELATED:Why It's Time For Sly Cooper 5

Who Could Develop Sly Cooper 5?

One of the biggest issues the return of Sly Cooper would bring revolves around the question of who would develop the next entry. While Sly Cooper was created by InFamous and Ghost of Tsushima developer Sucker Punch Productions, the 2013 revival was handled by self-proclaimed fans Sanzaru Games. While Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time ended on a cliffhanger, with Sly going missing and waking up in Egypt, Sanzaru was unable to continue this ending and the developer was bought by Facebook's Oculus Studios 2020.

Given Sucker Punch is likely hard at work at a follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima, this means a new Sly Cooper game would have to come from a diferent studio. This understandably comes with a lot of caution, as fan reception toward Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time was more mixed than the game's critical reception. A new studio would also have to decide if it wants to continue the cliffhanger left by Sanzaru in Thieves in Time, with a hypothetical Sly 5 opening in Egypt, which could confuse and alienate newcomers.

While a new developer could opt to remake or reboot the Sly Cooper franchise, this may also be met with backlash. The Sly Cooper series is regarded by many to have some of the most replayable and best-aging 3D platformers of the PlayStation 2 era. It seems like a paradoxical scenario in which half of the Sly Cooper fanbase will be left disappointed regardless.

RELATED:Sly Cooper 5: Which Studios Could Be Making The Game?

The Problems With Thieves in Time

As previously mentioned, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time was met with positive critical reception, but the game became a point of contention within its series fanbase. Many criticized the characterization of its main cast and antagonists, claiming the game's story undid a lot of the themes and character arcs from the original trilogy. For example, Sly's personality was criticized for being more over-the-top compared to his more calm and focused nature in the original trilogy. The character had a tendency for theatrics when it came to playing cat and mouse with Inspector Carmelita Fox, but these scenes were often framed as him acting uncharacteristic to throw her off.

Another character many fans were frustrated with in Thieves in Time was Bently's love interest, Penelope, who after appearing as a kind and introverted character in Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves returns as a villain responsible for attempting to erase Sly's family history. While Penelope is not a major focus of Sly 3's story, fans were quickly endeared toward the character, and her betrayal in Thieves in Time came as a complete shock. It appeared as though the new writers wanted to create a villain out of a returning character regardless of how they fit into past entries.

Finally, there is the ending. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time was supposed to receive story DLC that would follow Sly as he tried to return home from Egypt. This was the plan until the game released to sales, which forced Sony to cancel Sanzaru's plans and the studio's pitch for a Sly 5. This has left a lot of fans frustrated with Thieves in Time's placement in the series, as it took a fine conclusion to the series in Sly 3 and created another entry with a cliffhanger that is unlikely to be resolved.

It's for these reasons that a possible Sly Cooper return could just do even more damage to the series, as sticking with Thieves in Time's ending could frustrate returning fans and alienate newcomers, but rebooting the series would do nothing to move it forward. Ultimately, this creates a situation that might be better left alone, even if it leaves Sly Cooper's fans out to dry.

[Silent Watcher]

Avoid unnecessary posts such as 'Thank you', 'Welcome', etc. Such posts will be deleted and user will be warned if it happens again. If caught spamming, the following actions are applicable -

• First time - Warning
• Second time - 5000 Points will be deducted
• Third time - Ban for 7 days
• Fourth time - Permanent Ban

If the post helped you, reward the user by reacting to the post like this -