Sucker Punch clearly knocked it out of the park withGhost of Tsushima, what with the game becoming thePS4’s fastest selling original IP. However, now that this game has launched, the question remains of what is next for the developer, and where will Sucker Punch’s next game land?
While Sucker Punch has clearly shown that new IPs likeGhost of Tsushimacan be successful, the company does have a couple franchises that deserve some more attention. It would be great to seeInfamousmake a return, turning from thegrounded samurai combat ofTsushimato god-like powers, but many fans would agree thatSly Cooperdeserves the focus next.
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This comes from much more than just theSly Cooperreference inGhost of Tsushima, as there is also anInfamous: Second SonEaster egg that fans will no doubt appreciate as well. The core of this argument really comes from the success of Sly Cooper as a character and the absence of him and his crew over the past few years of Sucker Punch’s development. Of course, the neglect of Sly could have more to do with him being a symbol of a bygone console generation than anything else, but he’s still a beloved character regardless.
Missed PS4 by a Mile
The lastSly Coopergame to release was all the way back in 2013, landing on the PS3 and PS Vita, where the series has stayed silent ever since. So now, seven years and a full console generation later, the series has completely missed the PS4’s lifecycle, with little chance of seeing a sequel before thePS5 releases. To compare this with the other major franchise of note to be developed by Sucker Punch, both the first and secondInfamouswere ported to PS4 to go alongsideSecond SonandFirst Light.
Currently, both theSly Cooper Collection, which contains the original trilogy, andSly Cooper: Thieves in Timeare available on PS Now, but a legitimate port has never been developed. Yet, in this whole time, Sucker Punch developed a continuation of theInfamousseries, with two new installments on PS4, even if one is significantly shorter. So, if the developer wants to make the best out of theresounding success ofGhost of Tsushima, the best course of action may be to continue on building on the game’s stealth mechanics.
Stealth in Ghost of Tsushima
The stealth mechanics inGhost of Tsushimahave often beencompared toAssassin’s Creed, due in part to the way staying out of sight allows for easy and stylish assassinations of enemies. There is more to the comparison, such as the tracking and tailing missions, but at its core, this is all clearly a well-developed feature that Sucker Punch excels at. However, the reason that the developer is so great at delivering a stealth experience may be due to previous work on theSly Cooperseries, which delivered incredible stealth segments.
So, while fans of theInfamousseries are still clamoring forInfamous 3to show off the type of particle physics the PS5 can pull of, seeing how Sucker Punch can flex stealth mechanics may be even more impressive. Looking ateverything available inGhost of Tsushima, from collecting artifacts, to liberating the island of invaders, there are more similarities withSly CooperthanInfamous. Looking beyond the brutal dismemberments and decapitations, the ability to sneak through enemy filled areas, quickly dispatch enemies, and run off with supplies fits Sucker Punch’s history of stealth.
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An Open World Sly Cooper
Since Sucker Punch has leftSly Cooperbehind, the other major games to come out of the studio have been fairly expansive, open-world titles.Infamousincludes a substantial open city to explore, whileGhost of Tsushima’s world rivalsBreath of the Wildfor how massive and filled it is. However, while an open-world clearly works well for a title that relies heavily on stealth mechanics,Sly Coopernever got the chance to flex in such a large environment.
Taking the series to an open-world format almost seems like the logical next step, but as stated before,Sly Cooperhasn’t made any new steps since all the way back in 2013. This isn’t far from the releases ofInfamous: Second Son, orFirst Light, which goes to show just how long both of these franchises have gone without any new content. However, as Sucker Punch has clearly learned how to make a compelling and full open-world, it’s about time that the developer applies this knowledge to a deserving and beloved franchise.
Sly Cooper on PS5
A number of games are already preparing to get reinvented on Next-Gen consoles, with games likeDemon’s Soulsbeing remade for PS5, Having missed the current generation of consoles, the PS5 would be the perfect platform to reinvent the series on. Giving the new system an open-world, stealth title would complete the list of games already lined up to arrive on the new system, rounding out the roster to include every possible genre.
As many of the games coming to PS5 attempt to take advantage of the high-fidelity graphics available on the system with realistic, lifelike worlds and characters,Sly Cooperwould make for a balance among the list. The cartoony style found in the franchise could break the mold in a family friendly way that proves exactly whySony needs a newSly Coopertitlein order to reach a more diverse audience. To go alongside upcoming releases like the newRatchet and Clankor contrast with games likeHorizon: Forbidden West, a fun, bouncy aesthetic is exactly what the PS5 needs.
On the other side of this coin, the PS5 may be exactly whatSly Cooperneeds in order to deliver on the game’s classic style and mechanics in an open world environment. With the developer for the last game in the series,Sanzaru Games, having separated from Sony, it may be unlikely that aSly Cooper 5continuing from the previous title will come any time soon. However, making the cross over to a new console could mean that Sucker Punch now has the perfect opportunity to reboot the series, starting over from scratch.
