PS Plus Is Getting One Of The Best PS2 Games Ever On June 11

Summary PlayStation Plus Premium offers PS Classics titles with upgraded features for a more modern gaming experience.

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus will join PS Plus in June, showcasing its cel-shaded art style and stealth gameplay.

The possibility of Sly Cooper sequels joining the PS2 Classics roster in the future gives hope to fans of the series.

One of the best PS2 games is coming to PlayStation Plus on June 11. The Premium tier of Sony's subscription has a catalog of games that builds upon the PS4 and PS5 roster seen in the other tiers, with streaming for PS3 games and Classics titles covering the PS1, PSP, and PS2 era via emulation, making games from every era accessible to players on modern consoles.

Many PS Classics titles come with additional features through their emulation, including upgraded graphics, a quick save feature, the ability to rewind, custom video filters, and trophies, bringing beloved titles from past generations closer to an experience that modern gamers expect.

As per the PlayStation Blog post that announced PlayStation Plus' new June 2024 games as part of its annual Days of Play promotion, Sony confirmed that one of these titles would be Sucker Punch's action-adventure stealth title, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. Sly Cooper was released to high praise back in 2002, with its cel-shaded art style resembling a hand-drawn animated film and its gameplay urging players not to get spotted - Sly is a thief after all - by using his senses to observe the environment and sneak around. To add extra tension, enemies can take Sly out in one hit, making players think about their approach.

The PS Classics emulator's rewind tool will certainly come in handy for new players.

Related PS Plus Days Of Play Returns With Impressive Line-Up Of Classic PS2 Games Sony's Days of Play celebration is returning on May 29 with new PS4 & PS5 titles joining the games catalog alongside PSVR2 games and PS2 Classics.

Could Sly Cooper's Sequels Join The PS2 Classics Roster Soon?

The PS2 Trilogy Was Remastered For PS3

With Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus being the first in the series, this poses the question of whether the game's sequels could receive the same treatment in the future. After initially releasing the fellow Sony-owned stealth title Syphon Filter and Syphon Filter 2 on PlayStation Plus in 2022 following the introduction of the tiered subscription, more games from that series have been added, with the only one not present as of the time of writing being the fourth, The Omega Strain, so it's possible that Sony may look to get the whole Sly Cooper series on PlayStation Plus via its Classics emulator over the coming years.

The PS2 Sly Cooper trilogy, which included sequels Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, was remastered and released as The Sly Collection on PS3 and PS Vita in 2010 before the release of 2013's Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. This PS3 remastered version was on PlayStation Plus in the past, albeit via streaming, a feature that has had issues over the years depending on internet connections and whether the streaming function is available in specific regions. With the new emulated version of the first Sly Cooper being available offline through the emulator, it would be great to see the other games in the series get the same treatment, even if Thieves in Time will likely still have to be streamed as a PS3 title unless a PS4/PS5 remaster is released.

Seeing more of the brilliant PS2 generation of games coming to PlayStation Plus is great, especially with some of the modern emulation features in tow. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is one of the best games of that era, so players should definitely pick it up when it joins the PlayStation Plus catalog on June 11, regardless of whether they're newcomers or fans of the classic.

Source: PlayStation Blog