Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

 PlayStation 3
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 470 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 358 out of 470
  2. Mixed: 79 out of 470
  3. Negative: 33 out of 470
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  1. Killerpummkin
    Aug 10, 2023
    9
    This game is very good, like the PS2 games, the control needs improvement but it is good, it has the essence of the original trilogy but there are things that should be improved, that's why the 9.
  2. JokesAfterDark
    Jul 28, 2023
    10
    i Grew up with this game and the others, im just sad it doesn't have the must play on it
  3. diealegend
    Apr 6, 2023
    10
    Legendary character that executes another great game. This new team really did a good job with sly cooper and his friends. We are still stuck on a cliff hanger but I hope we can come back from it. The game is one of the best in the entries and it lives up to franchise. The story and the way the game plays is excellent ! A great sly cooper game.
  4. Morados9
    Jan 3, 2023
    10
    Estoy sin palabras con lo increíble que ha resultado este juego y estoy muy feliz, a falta de una palabra mejor, con lo que acabo de experimentar.
  5. EvilPlayer
    Jul 10, 2022
    7
    Well, this part is weaker than trilogy. Developers ruined the plot and characters, you have less gadgets and abilities than in trilogy. Without these things I can't play this game and enjoy non-stop, but it's playable. Getting the platinum was some challenge, but I did it. Because of game flaws I spent there less time than in trilogy.
  6. HuevoAlce
    Jun 27, 2022
    8
    Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time recaptures the magic from the previous games. Hopefully a fifth one is on the way.
  7. Thejodjeremie
    Apr 26, 2022
    8
    As someone who grew up with the sly games, I really enjoyed this one. It took awhile for me to finish it but I enjoyed the story, characters, and gameplay alot.
  8. Gamepro3093
    May 10, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Plain awful! Why does this lazy trash exist? Sanzaru failed to make a worthy successor to Honor Among Thieves and just played it too safe and made a sequel that looks worse than the PS2 era games rather than either as good or better. They made the previously likable gang annoying and dense and after how bad this game was they left it om a cliffhanger. Please wipe this subpar garbage from the canon, Sucker Punch! Just make it a bad dream caused by Sly’s amnesia and make a worthy successor to the awesome HAT. Please don’t do anything atrocious like a mini game where Murray is dressed as a geisha or those absolutely terrible and the mandatory and poorly designed sixaxis minigames.… Expand
  9. Mellorates17
    Dec 2, 2021
    6
    Disappointed in this one my least favorite in the series but theirs fun to be had here.
  10. Elite_Soldier
    Jul 24, 2021
    5
    Dropped the game after the first 3 hours, the controls are janky and the dialogue just isn't that entertaining. Was bored out of my mind playing it, defo does not hold up to the original trilogy.
  11. Untitled94
    Jul 15, 2021
    8
    My feelings for this game are complicated. This really is a pretty good game, but some of the changes they made from the PS2 games weren't the best. Seeing some of Sly's ancestors was cool, but some of the writing wasn't as good. I am a bit mixed on the art style for the game. Overall, this is a good game, I just don't always know how I feel about it.
  12. Mhaaad
    May 12, 2021
    10
    I can't really see any negatives in this game, I love it, so does most people, a masterpiece in the platformer genre.
    I came back to give it a high score as apparently Sony only care about game scores on Metacritic, so I am here to support the game and hopefully help get the series to continue.
  13. Zalarc
    Nov 26, 2020
    0
    The story is poorly written, the familiar characters are no longer the same characters we knew in the original games, some of the character designs are just awful (like Carmelita and Murray + some guards), weak / bad villains, clumsy controls, operations are designed lazily, in places poor dialogue, humor is quite too much (and most of the humor doesn’t just work or are otherwise but bad)The story is poorly written, the familiar characters are no longer the same characters we knew in the original games, some of the character designs are just awful (like Carmelita and Murray + some guards), weak / bad villains, clumsy controls, operations are designed lazily, in places poor dialogue, humor is quite too much (and most of the humor doesn’t just work or are otherwise but bad) and a bad / anticlimatic ending.
    I have a lot more to say about this game, but otherwise my review would be way too long.
    Minus yet, this game doesn’t have Murray’s The Ball Form ability.
    I’ve never liked time travel. Time travel makes no sense to me and it doesn’t seem to belong in the Sly universe at all. Too bad there was no more going from the main menu directly to the game, it was a matter of Sly games.
    I doesn’t like Thieves in time 2d animation cutscenes, I don’t like their art style (the original games with animatio cutscenes were, I think, much more personal, fun, pretty and more detailed). I think Thieves in Time’s cutscene animations are too humorous.
    And I think Sly’s ancestors could have been kept in the shadows / unknown. I liked the original trilogy that the ancestors weren’t told everything and was partly mysterious, and that made Sly’s ancestors much more interesting, and in this game they had been made full of idiots / overwhelmed.

    But I still hope for a new Sly game, but I wish Sucker Punch would do it, or some other studio who understands what made the original trilogy so great. Sly spin off would be a good idea (a spin off that ranks between Sly 1 and Sly 2, + at the same time telling the Cooper gang about the Istanbul gig that Murray mentioned in Sly 2, Episode 7, Battle Club mission). Or completely forget about Thieves in timen and make Sly 4 completely rebuild + throw the time travel thing away, and Sly and his partners stay on their own time.    … Expand
  14. dggt
    Sep 11, 2020
    8
    The whole game is very smooth, smooth animations, interface, a lot of FPS.

    In general, game is not very different from the Sucker Punch trilogy, both in gameplay and plot, there is also a lot of boring long briefings between missions, in the end I could not watch it all and skipped these.

    That's a worthy sequel.
  15. StevePhilips
    Jun 21, 2020
    9
    Graphics looks amazing and gameplay is great. I highly recommend this game.
  16. Allu23
    Feb 11, 2020
    10
    I love charecters and music.
    Controls are AMAZING!
    And gameplay... I LOVE IT!
  17. LuisTaino
    Jan 16, 2020
    8
    With a world re-designed, but following the same good looking platform style of the last three games, Thieves in Time brings back a good story and some adventure vibes for the player at a generation where FPS are more important than a classic gamestyle presented by our master thief
  18. MazdoTechno
    Nov 19, 2019
    5
    This game had years of hype and expectations to live up to, and it really didn’t
    There’s not much to be found here apart from occasional funny moments
    The final boss is laughably easy and uninteresting
    They should have left the Sly trilogy alone and not made this teased and yet ultimately unnecessary game
  19. Dperks
    Mar 10, 2019
    6
    Sly 4 is such a very mix bag from begining to end. For starters the concept is good with traveling threw time and meetings sly's ancestors but it really doesn't amount to much and feels like wasted potential. the gameplay is still sly enjoyable platforming and minor puzzle solving but the games pacing lacks focus and the main antagonist doesn't help much. The new character designs lookSly 4 is such a very mix bag from begining to end. For starters the concept is good with traveling threw time and meetings sly's ancestors but it really doesn't amount to much and feels like wasted potential. the gameplay is still sly enjoyable platforming and minor puzzle solving but the games pacing lacks focus and the main antagonist doesn't help much. The new character designs look good in 2d but in 3d can kinda look off especially Carmalita. Some off the mini games are kinda meh as well although the inclusion of more hacking mini games was nice. But really the only 2 things I feel truly hold it back from being at least as good as the other games in the series is the ending and the character shift in there personality> Maybe these things could have been fixed in a sequel and I would be more forgiving but 6 years later and no sign of one coming leaves me with this ending and that really disappoints me.… Expand
  20. Hart3
    Dec 18, 2018
    7
    definitely the oddball of the sly games, thieves in time involves time travel, cuz that's never been used in a video game! sly meets his ancestors and overall, it's ok. it is a bit gimmicky, but the leveldesign is extremely fun, and the new art style sanzaru introduced is pretty nice. it's definitely not great, but it's not so awful that you'd give it to oj simpson for christmas! its alright.
  21. JaySimpson
    Sep 12, 2018
    2
    Sly cooper thieves in time is one of the most disappointing games i have ever played. The movement feels clunky and un smooth. The combat is bad because every enemy feels exactly the same. In sly 2 and 3 some enemies behaved differently, like some small enemies took more hits and some enemies you could hit multiple times before they counter attack you. In this game every enemy is the same,Sly cooper thieves in time is one of the most disappointing games i have ever played. The movement feels clunky and un smooth. The combat is bad because every enemy feels exactly the same. In sly 2 and 3 some enemies behaved differently, like some small enemies took more hits and some enemies you could hit multiple times before they counter attack you. In this game every enemy is the same, hit once then back off, rinse and repeat. The characters have less gadgets to purchase in this game, Sly only has a couple gadgets and the rest are costumes and most of them are tedious. Bentley has different bombs but most of them still behave like the original bombs making them almost useless. Murray has different fist power-ups and his throwing is feels worse than ever. The Cooper ancestors were marketed for being completely different to sly but they all are just worse version of Sly. They all have their unique ability but only 2 of them are useful or fun, those being Rioichi and Tennesee. The villains are bland, boring and dumb with the exception of El Jefe. All of the bosses are the same where you dodge attack, the boss gets stunned, you hit it and repeat the process over and over again. In previous games you had to learn the movement of the bosses and attack when the time is right. You could attack constantly but the boss would usually counter attack at some point. The final boss fight in this game is a quick time event! The levels are messy and all feel like a re-skin of the previous level. They are forgettable and lame. The character models look decent except Murray and Carmelita. They both look horrible. The story is dumb because most of it revolves around luck. They need specific items to travel to specific time periods and most of these the characters encounter on accident. Bentley's hacking now has more variety but they are nothing special. The motion controlled hacking is horrible. The game is also way easier than previous games. The things that i like about this game are that they brought the bottles back which is cool. Also that you can play as Carmelita after the main story is really cool. The collectibles are kinda cool. In the end this game is an unworthy sequel to Sly 3.… Expand
  22. FreedomFighters
    Mar 4, 2018
    8
    Almost eight long and tiring years later, the Sly Cooper franchise is finally back, this time in the hands of Sanzaru Games (as opposed to Sucker Punch Productions). Just who is Sanzaru? I don't know but I dig their logo! In all seriousness, Sanzaru Games, the company that remastered the previous 3 games for the PlayStation 3 with "The Sly Collection" was tasked with creating a brand-newAlmost eight long and tiring years later, the Sly Cooper franchise is finally back, this time in the hands of Sanzaru Games (as opposed to Sucker Punch Productions). Just who is Sanzaru? I don't know but I dig their logo! In all seriousness, Sanzaru Games, the company that remastered the previous 3 games for the PlayStation 3 with "The Sly Collection" was tasked with creating a brand-new Sly Cooper game, this one being known as "Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time." After eight years of waiting, how is the final game? Well, it's abundantly clear that Sanzaru knows what they are doing.
    "Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time" shows us just how much Sanzaru respects the Sly Cooper franchise, while also showing how much they care about making a great Sly game. The end result is a game that has a well-told story, wonderful protagonists, gorgeous visuals, very fun and considerably varied gameplay, and large open-worlds. Sanzaru took a huge gamble by taking on a franchise that has mostly laid dormant for eight years, but they did it, and what's more, they made the game good!
    Of course, it's not the perfect experience. The extremely long loading times really break the immersion, the game could've easily done without the shoehorned Sixaxis controls, and the villains are not as interesting as in previous games (let's not talk about The Grizz, please). Oh, and since everyone will bring it up, the big plot-twist that I don't want to spoil is terrible, too. You'll know what I'm talking about as soon as it happens.
    A point of contention that could go either way is the game's length. Outside of "Sly 2: Band of Thieves," which struck the perfect balance in length, length has been a problem with the series, as the first and third games felt a bit too short. Sanzaru took note of this game, and made it surprisingly beefy, adding a ton of collectibles that help increase the game's length. Whether or not this is a good thing is tough to decide, though: it's nice to see that it's not too short, but it feels like the game can feel a bit too beefy if you wanted to 100% the game like I did. Some may like that it has this much content, others may think it's overkill.
    Regardless, when all is said and done, "Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time" is a worthy successor to the original trilogy and a worthwhile addition to any PS3 collection.
    Final rating: 8 out of 10 "Great"    … Expand
  23. RedSithX
    Aug 26, 2017
    9
    After playing it it was not bad of a game in fact, the game has so much more in it then the other Sly games, well in a way, thankfully it is a sandbox game witch gives it more to do in the game, i hoping to see Sly Cooper again someday. but that movie though : ).
  24. SuperKevin
    Apr 25, 2017
    9
    I would’ve never thought that this would be my FAVOURITE sly game, even better than Sly 1. The story is not as good as the past 3 games, but the gameplay is at it’s best. The open world is for the first time not a problem for me since it’s full of collectibles like sly masks, clue bottles and treasures making it fun to explore. On top of that you get costumes that you use in missions andI would’ve never thought that this would be my FAVOURITE sly game, even better than Sly 1. The story is not as good as the past 3 games, but the gameplay is at it’s best. The open world is for the first time not a problem for me since it’s full of collectibles like sly masks, clue bottles and treasures making it fun to explore. On top of that you get costumes that you use in missions and to get to treasures in the open world. But it doesn’t stop there, you can also play as Sly’s ancestors, which play much like Sly but with a Special move. The bosses and mini games are as fun as always. And this game's upgrades are the most useful in the franchise, there’s even an upgrade that let you run on ropes. The only thing that I can complain about, are the load times, which are way to long and frequent. Overall I think that it's an amazing game and I’m very much hoping for a Sly 5 in the near future.
    SCORE: 9.3 / 10    … Expand
  25. HTGamer
    Apr 4, 2017
    7
    Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is a game created by Sanzaru Games, a studio which loved the series and took over development duties after Sucker Punch moved on to inFamous. It's good, but it's not progressed by anything since the 2nd game was released in 2004. I could even say Thieves in Time got just a bit worse than Sly 2 and 3.

    The story is meh (Sly travels back in time and encounters    Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is a game created by Sanzaru Games, a studio which loved the series and took over development duties after Sucker Punch moved on to inFamous. It's good, but it's not progressed by anything since the 2nd game was released in 2004. I could even say Thieves in Time got just a bit worse than Sly 2 and 3.

    The story is meh (Sly travels back in time and encounters several of his ancestors across the centuries), and most of the time you play as any other character other than the protagonist Sly. This particular structure of playing as another character, which debuted in Sly 2, has only gotten overblown in this game. Across the 6 chapters it's something like 2 missions for Sly, 2 for Bentley, 2 for Murray, and 1 for the guest star of each chapter (a Sly ancestor). It may sound as full of variety, but sadly most missions aren't as fun as on the previous games.

    The core gameplay is exactly the same as the old games, which isn't bad but there are few surprises, if at all. The art style has been updated for the modern age, but I like it less than the one in the PS2 games. Thankfully on PS3 it runs at 60 fps, which is important for a 3D platformer. There is even the cross-save feature to transfer your save data between the PS3 and Vita versions and play the game on whichever platform you want. If you have the choice though, play it on the PS3.

    I know that I may be overly critical about this game, but I played the PS2 games on the PS3/Vita remasters and they were better. I only wish a new Sly Cooper game will come out at some point. Until then, play The Sly Collection on PS3/Vita and then consider Thieves in Time.    … Expand
  26. Erosion
    Jan 27, 2017
    7
    Eh, not bad at all, but it has some flaws, It was pretty dang good, but, it feels very different, I don't really like the Voice acting for other characters except Bently, Murray and Sly, And also the fact that in Sly 2, The mechanics were outstanding, In this, 0.1% better.

    In conclusion, Sly 4 is amazing, but with average flaws
  27. XxJoseManuelxX
    Sep 4, 2016
    8
    Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is the fourth title of the Sly Cooper series of platform stealth video games. This game was developed by Sanzaru Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

    + Cross Buy/Save
    + Fun Gameplay
    + Great Voice Acting
    + Fun Characters
    + Mini Games
  28. LordCuppington
    Sep 2, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time is an action/adventure 3D platforming game, and is also my first Sly game I have ever played. I have played it from beginning to end, and am now currently in the process of working towards the platinum trophy. Needless to say, I have seen quite a bit of this game, and now I shall breakdown how I feel about it.

    Graphics: The look, colors, and overall presentation of the game are nice. Character models are fun, and animations/cutscenes are also fun to look at. It bears a cel-shaded look which reminds me of Wind Waker. Bottom line for the graphics is that they are just fine. It resembles a cartoon look, with cartoon characters, and yes cartoonish humor. It works well.

    Sound: It's not that great. The sound effects are very standard, and sound like they came off of some soundboard app. As for the actual music for the game, it's very boring. I actually found myself shutting the music off because I'd rather hear the clinking clank of collectible hidden bottles scattered throughout the game, because they make a distinct sound when you are near them. The most praise I can give for this game in this department is that the voice acting is top notch and enjoyable.

    Controls: They are ok. Just ok. I mean you are able to get things done relatively easy, however there are some gripes. There are areas where Sly or other playable characters can access, but require a button to press. For example the circle button is needed to jump onto a wire suspended in the air, but lets say that the wire is just a little bit out of reach. This will require you to perform a double jump towards that wire. To perform a double jump you obviously need to press the X button twice. You would think this would be enough, but it isn't. Now you must press circle in order to "verify" that's where you want to jump. So it's 3 button inputs for most of your jumps in this game. Very unnecessary, and annoying. Speaking of annoying another gripe I have with the controls is that since the game allows you to play as quite a number of different characters, there is no move list in the options. The only way to review any moves while in game is to look at them through thiefnet (an upgrade screen only accessible via the hideout) with so many playable characters and so many purchasable moves to use, you would think they would put a move list in the options! One last thing to mention about the controls....the camera often gets stuck on or behind objects. The camera does not clip through objects in game and can easily get obstructed. A rookie mistake for sure.

    Gameplay: The game has a lot going for it, such as nice hub worlds, entertaining missions, different playable characters, and lots of treasures to find, and pockets to pick. However the game suffers from quite a bit of bad things as well. Enemies are strewn about all over the place, and while I enjoy a challenge, it seems to be in overkill mode here. The moves sly gets to use are all pretty much useless once you get a move that allows you to quickly dispatch foes from behind. Instead of the game putting you into situations where you may need to employ different moves onto different enemies, this game just lets you do what you want for the most part, which is good, but bad at the same time. In other words I felt the game was very easy. Other issues with the game include poorly lit areas, choppy jumping, lazy missions (mostly found in the 3rd and 4th episode) annoying boss battles, no checklist for sly masks (a collectible), treasures are not placed in order in hideout to make a nice and easy checklist (most treasures are placed in order, but for some reason a few are out of place and have messed me up) and many more inconsistencies. I noticed some major rookie mistakes in the game, and was a bit confused since this is Sly's 4th outing on consoles. I knew something had to be wrong, and then I looked it up and noticed the developer is someone new. Sanzaru games developed this latest installment, and not Sucker Punch. So perhaps Sanzaru still has room to grow.

    In Conclusion I know that reviewing a 3 year old game is quite a bit late, but I just had to put down my feelings on how I viewed it. It's not a great game, but it's not terrible either. I think a 7 is a fair score. While it lacks in some departments, it makes up for it in others. Now that the game is a few years old it would definitely be worth the price tag. I wouldn't pay no more than 20 bucks for this game, and thats about what you can find it for new, and even less used.    … Expand
  29. homer4president
    Nov 19, 2015
    8
    Lots of game play. Fun playing all the characters. Large hubs to explore on each level. Can be a little repetitive at times. Story line is entertaining if predictable. A good addition to the Sly Cooper line.
  30. Clockwerk24
    Oct 31, 2015
    10
    As you could see from my previous review, I thought this game was the worst thing ever. However, even though it took me a while, I've finally took off my nostalgia blinders and saw this game for what it truly is. This game is amazing! The graphics are beautiful, the music really sets the mood for Sly Cooper, the ancestors were done perfectly, there are many fun collectibles to be found,As you could see from my previous review, I thought this game was the worst thing ever. However, even though it took me a while, I've finally took off my nostalgia blinders and saw this game for what it truly is. This game is amazing! The graphics are beautiful, the music really sets the mood for Sly Cooper, the ancestors were done perfectly, there are many fun collectibles to be found, the villains are memorable, the characters are just as lively as ever, and overall I think Sanzaru did a great job capturing the feel of Sly Cooper. Yes it has it's technical flaws like with the loading times being lengthy and the writing not being as....smart as the previous games, but if you take the time to just play the game without comparing the previous games to it, you will find it to be an enjoyable experience. Sly Cooper is the greatest game series of all time, and no matter what happens to it, we the fans have to be supportive of it. After all, our opinions are what matters in the long run and what really determines the future of our beloved gang.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

66
#66 Best PS3 Game of 2013
20
#20 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2013
55
#55 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 69 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 43 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 69
  3. Negative: 0 out of 69
  1. XGN
    Sep 17, 2013
    60
    Sly is back and we applaud that, kind of. The game is outdated, too simple and too childish. It’s a good deal that you can buy the PS3 and Vita version for the same price, so that offers twice the amount of fun.
    Read full review
  2. Official PlayStation Magazine Benelux
    Apr 22, 2013
    72
    The return of Sly Cooper not only signals the return of a classic franchise, but also the return of a classic, almost forgotten genre: the 3D-platformer. Fans can rejoice, because it feels like Sly never truly left the building. [April 2013, p.71]
  3. Games Master UK
    Apr 13, 2013
    81
    Sly hits the current generation with charm, variety and humour in spades. An excellent return. [May 2013, p.80]
See all critic reviews »