I used to think this game was mid.
Nah this game is good. Real good.
Easily the best thing I can say about Sly 2 is that it has some dang good style. Its comic-book visuals and television-style framing make even the more mediocre missions a joy to play through. Sly 2 is the textbook example of how interesting framing and proper establishment of character motivations is essential to great video game storytelling. The narrative itself is expertly paced and almost always maintains an appropriate tone and level of tension. The characters are super-likable and distinct, and I really bought into the main trio’s sense of brotherhood. The dialogue is also super witty; I love this game’s writing style and sense of humor.
The gameplay’s mixture of platforming and stealth is brilliant. To play optimally, you need to master the game’s controls, mechanics, and level design. The platforming itself isn’t super complicated, but it absolutely made me feel like a thief in the night, where one wrong move would spell disaster. The level design is solid throughout, and there are a ton of optional items and mechanics to use.
Funnily enough, I actually didn’t like Sly 2 all that much the first time I played it. I never even finished it until this most recent playthrough. Some of my original issues with the game are still present to a degree, but thankfully these flaws weren’t near as bad as I remember. Pretty much all of my issues are minor. If you wanna know my complaints though, here you go:
- The game could have used some more variety in the missions. There are a lot of “collect these things,” “pickpocket these keys,” and “take these photos” missions throughout the game. The different levels make things unique each time, but I did sometimes wish that more interesting mission ideas were developed more.
- Things are kinda janky sometimes. The circle button is supposed to do all your thief moves, but sometimes it just doesn’t work right. It might be a skill issue, but the imperfections in the controls annoyed me occasionally. They didn’t happen often enough to ruin any mission, though.
- The format of most levels is pretty similar. You’ll usually take recon photos first and then go through phases of a heist before taking down the bad guy in the end. It’s a formula that works, but the game only really breaks it once or twice. Some more variety might have been nice.
- Bentley and Murray are just not as fun to play as Sly. To clarify, they ARE fun to play as, but their lack of agility and simple mechanics don’t make them near as useful as Sly for exploration and looting. I think they could have used a little more time in the oven to make them more fun to play with beyond their exclusive missions.
- The final boss and main villain are kinda lame. The ending bits of story and cutscenes are great, but the actual encounter with the main villain is pretty anticlimactic.
Other than those things, I can’t really complain about Sly 2 that much. It’s a unique, well-executed 3D platformer that absolutely deserves a re-release. If that doesn’t happen, though, the original version will do you just fine. Play Sly 2. It’s a bonafide PS2 banger.
Nah this game is good. Real good.
Easily the best thing I can say about Sly 2 is that it has some dang good style. Its comic-book visuals and television-style framing make even the more mediocre missions a joy to play through. Sly 2 is the textbook example of how interesting framing and proper establishment of character motivations is essential to great video game storytelling. The narrative itself is expertly paced and almost always maintains an appropriate tone and level of tension. The characters are super-likable and distinct, and I really bought into the main trio’s sense of brotherhood. The dialogue is also super witty; I love this game’s writing style and sense of humor.
The gameplay’s mixture of platforming and stealth is brilliant. To play optimally, you need to master the game’s controls, mechanics, and level design. The platforming itself isn’t super complicated, but it absolutely made me feel like a thief in the night, where one wrong move would spell disaster. The level design is solid throughout, and there are a ton of optional items and mechanics to use.
Funnily enough, I actually didn’t like Sly 2 all that much the first time I played it. I never even finished it until this most recent playthrough. Some of my original issues with the game are still present to a degree, but thankfully these flaws weren’t near as bad as I remember. Pretty much all of my issues are minor. If you wanna know my complaints though, here you go:
- The game could have used some more variety in the missions. There are a lot of “collect these things,” “pickpocket these keys,” and “take these photos” missions throughout the game. The different levels make things unique each time, but I did sometimes wish that more interesting mission ideas were developed more.
- Things are kinda janky sometimes. The circle button is supposed to do all your thief moves, but sometimes it just doesn’t work right. It might be a skill issue, but the imperfections in the controls annoyed me occasionally. They didn’t happen often enough to ruin any mission, though.
- The format of most levels is pretty similar. You’ll usually take recon photos first and then go through phases of a heist before taking down the bad guy in the end. It’s a formula that works, but the game only really breaks it once or twice. Some more variety might have been nice.
- Bentley and Murray are just not as fun to play as Sly. To clarify, they ARE fun to play as, but their lack of agility and simple mechanics don’t make them near as useful as Sly for exploration and looting. I think they could have used a little more time in the oven to make them more fun to play with beyond their exclusive missions.
- The final boss and main villain are kinda lame. The ending bits of story and cutscenes are great, but the actual encounter with the main villain is pretty anticlimactic.
Other than those things, I can’t really complain about Sly 2 that much. It’s a unique, well-executed 3D platformer that absolutely deserves a re-release. If that doesn’t happen, though, the original version will do you just fine. Play Sly 2. It’s a bonafide PS2 banger.