I used to think I hated this game, but I was just completely indifferent to it.
The original trilogy was very flawed, but also very inspired. So, when you follow up a unique, mature, and well-written trilogy of games with one of the most generic, neutered, and un-original children's platformers I've ever played, the backlash is understandable.
I have so many complaints about Thieves in Time: from the childish writing which clashed hard with that of the previous games, to the gimmicky gameplay lacking depth or ambition, to the weak story loaded with missed potential, to the flaccid cast of characters featuring easily the worst rough's gallery of any Sly Cooper game (El Jefe is the only one I can take seriously and Le Paradox is one of the worst villains I've every seen in a game). I have so many complaints to make, but none of them feel worth making (Except the one about Le Paradox, f*ck Le Paradox).
I'm so dispassionate about Sly 4 that it took me nearly a decade to re-play it and several days to crank out this review. The game is competent enough that I can't be angry about it, but if it were shockingly bad, I'd at least have more to say. As is, this game will leave my memory very soon, and I'll have made room for new games.
For all my problems with the first three games, I respect their maturity and ambition enough that I'll still revisit them in the future, but, for me, Thieves in Time is staying in the past.
The original trilogy was very flawed, but also very inspired. So, when you follow up a unique, mature, and well-written trilogy of games with one of the most generic, neutered, and un-original children's platformers I've ever played, the backlash is understandable.
I have so many complaints about Thieves in Time: from the childish writing which clashed hard with that of the previous games, to the gimmicky gameplay lacking depth or ambition, to the weak story loaded with missed potential, to the flaccid cast of characters featuring easily the worst rough's gallery of any Sly Cooper game (El Jefe is the only one I can take seriously and Le Paradox is one of the worst villains I've every seen in a game). I have so many complaints to make, but none of them feel worth making (Except the one about Le Paradox, f*ck Le Paradox).
I'm so dispassionate about Sly 4 that it took me nearly a decade to re-play it and several days to crank out this review. The game is competent enough that I can't be angry about it, but if it were shockingly bad, I'd at least have more to say. As is, this game will leave my memory very soon, and I'll have made room for new games.
For all my problems with the first three games, I respect their maturity and ambition enough that I'll still revisit them in the future, but, for me, Thieves in Time is staying in the past.