There's a lot to enjoy about this game, but just when I see something I quite like something else comes along and throws me for a loop.
From a gameplay perspective this one nails much of what makes Sly enjoyable. The game focuses more on smaller sub areas to complete missions, which are tailor made to highlight Sly's acrobatic and stealthy nature. Sly controls like a dream, and the concept of the ancestors is great. Each one plays like Sly with slightly different abilities, allowing the traditional Sly gameplay to be mixed up a new ways. The best one is Tennessee Kid Cooper; The simply act of giving Sly a projectile weapon goes a long way for interesting level design. Sly himself obtains a number of costumes that help spice up his gameplay, and while they start off a bit weak, they get more fun in the latter half of the game.
Upgrades work far different then in previous entries. Instead of selecting Gadgets to use, all upgrades are automatically applied to the characters. This means the player won't have to stop and swap between items, or run around finding a way to recharge energy. New Sly moves such as the Rail Sprint and Paraglider Homing Attack are great for traversal, but Bentley has some of the funniest abilities. In this game he's less a tactician and more a demolitions expert, and being able to chuck 5 remote detonated bombs at enemies will never not be fun. Carmelita's gunplay is also far improved when compared to Sly 3, and it makes me wish she was utilized more. Murray is the only downgrade, however. While he's as destructive as ever, the feedback of his attacks and his overall character design just make him feel weaker than usual.
The game makes great strides due to it's jump to a more powerful console. The music is even more dynamic, the art of each world is beautiful, and there are plenty of collectables to find. Treasures and Clue Bottles have been fleshed out, and Master Thief Challenges return through Trophies. There's plenty to do in this game.
The main issues arise due to its story, however. It starts out fine in Japan and the Wild West, but everything starts to drag after that. The later episodes start to feel more akin to a Saturday Morning Cartoon, where a simple lesson needs to be taught to kids about strength or relationships. While some characters can be quite charming, some dialogue can feel excessively childish. The overall story suffers, as it feels like nothing substantial happens. The lack of purpose could have been helped if a theme was focused on from the beginning.
It's hard to ignore the issues with the story, but some of the gameplay suffers is small ways. Guards feel too lax despite being a stealth game, and the loading screens can be absurdly long.
I enjoy the gameplay and much of the charm that Thieves in Time offers, and it helps me look past my gripes with the story. Just as Sucker Punch managed to evolve the Sly series with their trilogy, I believe Sanzaru could have improved their Sly formula with another installment. I would have enjoyed seeing that, but c'est la vie.
From a gameplay perspective this one nails much of what makes Sly enjoyable. The game focuses more on smaller sub areas to complete missions, which are tailor made to highlight Sly's acrobatic and stealthy nature. Sly controls like a dream, and the concept of the ancestors is great. Each one plays like Sly with slightly different abilities, allowing the traditional Sly gameplay to be mixed up a new ways. The best one is Tennessee Kid Cooper; The simply act of giving Sly a projectile weapon goes a long way for interesting level design. Sly himself obtains a number of costumes that help spice up his gameplay, and while they start off a bit weak, they get more fun in the latter half of the game.
Upgrades work far different then in previous entries. Instead of selecting Gadgets to use, all upgrades are automatically applied to the characters. This means the player won't have to stop and swap between items, or run around finding a way to recharge energy. New Sly moves such as the Rail Sprint and Paraglider Homing Attack are great for traversal, but Bentley has some of the funniest abilities. In this game he's less a tactician and more a demolitions expert, and being able to chuck 5 remote detonated bombs at enemies will never not be fun. Carmelita's gunplay is also far improved when compared to Sly 3, and it makes me wish she was utilized more. Murray is the only downgrade, however. While he's as destructive as ever, the feedback of his attacks and his overall character design just make him feel weaker than usual.
The game makes great strides due to it's jump to a more powerful console. The music is even more dynamic, the art of each world is beautiful, and there are plenty of collectables to find. Treasures and Clue Bottles have been fleshed out, and Master Thief Challenges return through Trophies. There's plenty to do in this game.
The main issues arise due to its story, however. It starts out fine in Japan and the Wild West, but everything starts to drag after that. The later episodes start to feel more akin to a Saturday Morning Cartoon, where a simple lesson needs to be taught to kids about strength or relationships. While some characters can be quite charming, some dialogue can feel excessively childish. The overall story suffers, as it feels like nothing substantial happens. The lack of purpose could have been helped if a theme was focused on from the beginning.
It's hard to ignore the issues with the story, but some of the gameplay suffers is small ways. Guards feel too lax despite being a stealth game, and the loading screens can be absurdly long.
I enjoy the gameplay and much of the charm that Thieves in Time offers, and it helps me look past my gripes with the story. Just as Sucker Punch managed to evolve the Sly series with their trilogy, I believe Sanzaru could have improved their Sly formula with another installment. I would have enjoyed seeing that, but c'est la vie.