Games Like Sly Cooper
Quick Answer
The closest games to Sly Cooper are Sly 2: Band of Thieves, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Mark of the Ninja and Aragami 2. Below are 9 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from Sly Cooper, and what does not.
What Made Sly Cooper Work
Sly Cooper is a stealth game for people who do not like stealth games. Getting caught costs you one hit, the animation and jazz soundtrack carry it, and the pickpocketing and rooftop traversal are the real content. The follow-ups people want are cartoon-stealth and heist, not tactical espionage.
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus was made by Sucker Punch Productions and released on the PlayStation 2 in 2002. Sly, a raccoon master thief, works with Bentley and Murray to recover his family's stolen book of thieving techniques. It is a platformer built on stealth: rooftop routes, blue-glow ledges you snap to, and guards you sneak past or pickpocket, all in a cel-shaded cartoon look.
Also written as Sly Raccoon — same game, same list.
9 Games Like Sly Cooper
1.Sly 2: Band of Thieves(2004)
The sequel opened it up into full heist missions and is the best of the three.
Why it fits: Sucker Punch Productions, PS2, 2004. The sequel turns each level into a full heist with Bentley and Murray as playable characters, and most fans call it the best of the series.
What is different: Longer, with hub-world heists and three playable characters rather than Sly alone.
Where to play it: PS2; collected in The Sly Collection on PS3.
More about this game →2.Jak and Daxter(2001)
Same era, same studio family, same PS2 cartoon craft.
Why it fits: Naughty Dog, PS2, 2001. The PS2's other great cartoon platformer, from the studio that shared engine work with Insomniac in the same era.
What is different: No stealth at all; it is an open platformer about collecting.
Where to play it: PS2; collected on PS3 and PS Vita, and re-released on PS4.
Games like this →3.Ratchet and Clank(2002)
The third pillar of the PS2 mascot trio, and the most mechanically generous.
Why it fits: Insomniac Games, PS2, 2002. The third pillar of the PS2's mascot trio, with the most gadgets and the most generous upgrade loop of the three.
What is different: Loud rather than sneaky — it is a weapons game.
Where to play it: PS2 originals; the 2016 remake on PS4 and Rift Apart on PS5 and PC.
Games like this →4.Mark of the Ninja(2012)
Stealth made readable and fair, with the same forgiving spirit.
Why it fits: Klei Entertainment, 2012 on Xbox 360, then PC, with a 2018 remaster. Side-on stealth where sound and sight lines are drawn on screen, so sneaking is readable and fair.
What is different: 2D, more serious, and stealth is the entire game rather than one layer of it.
Where to play it: PC and Xbox 360; remastered for PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
More about this game →5.Aragami 2(2021)
Cartoon-clean shadow stealth with a rooftop-to-rooftop rhythm.
Why it fits: Lince Works, 2021, on PC, PS4, PS5 and Xbox. Shadow-teleporting stealth with a rooftop-to-rooftop rhythm and a clean, stylised look.
What is different: Grimmer in tone and combat is lethal; no cartoon charm.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
More about this game →6.El Hijo: A Wild West Tale(2020)
Non-violent stealth with a storybook look.
Why it fits: Honig Studios, published by HandyGames in 2020. Non-violent stealth starring a boy who sneaks through a storybook Wild West, with no weapons at all.
What is different: Top-down, slow, and you play a child hiding rather than a thief acting.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
More about this game →7.Stealth Inc 2(2014)
Puzzle stealth, quick to restart, never punishing.
Why it fits: Curve Studios, Wii U, 2014, later PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Puzzle stealth in short rooms that restart instantly, so getting caught costs seconds, not progress.
What is different: Pure puzzle rooms; no characters, no heists and no world.
Where to play it: Wii U, PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
More about this game →8.Thief: The Dark Project(1998)
If the pickpocketing was the part you liked, this is where it comes from.
Why it fits: Looking Glass Studios, PC, 1998. Where the master-thief fantasy and the pickpocketing in Sly come from, played in first person in the dark.
What is different: First-person, dark and slow; it is the serious ancestor, not a cartoon.
Where to play it: PC.
More about this game →9.Sunset Overdrive(2014)
For the rooftop traversal, if movement was the real appeal.
Why it fits: Insomniac Games, Xbox One, 2014, PC in 2018. Grinding rails and bouncing off rooftops is how you move and fight, if traversal was what you loved in Sly.
What is different: A shooter with no stealth element at all.
Where to play it: Xbox One (plays on Xbox Series X|S) and PC.
Games like this →
Where to Start
Play Sly 2 if you have not — it is the best of the series. After that, Mark of the Ninja is the best stealth game with the same fair, readable rules, and Ratchet and Clank is the one for the PS2 cartoon charm.
How We Picked These Games
Each pick had to share one of Sly's three halves: PS2-era cartoon platforming, light, forgiving stealth, or the heist fantasy of planning a break-in and pulling it off. Grim military stealth games were left out because they lose the tone that makes Sly what it is.
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Games Like Sly Cooper Compared
Year is each game's first release anywhere, on the platform in the next column. "Play it now" is where it can be bought or played today.
| Game | Year | First released on | Play it now | Closest to Sly Cooper in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sly 2: Band of Thieves | 2004 | PS2 | PS2; collected in The Sly Collection on PS3. | Full heists with the gang |
| Jak and Daxter | 2001 | PS2 | PS2; collected on PS3 and PS Vita, and re-released on PS4. | PS2 cartoon platformer |
| Ratchet and Clank | 2002 | PS2 | PS2 originals; the 2016 remake on PS4 and Rift Apart on PS5 and PC. | The third PS2 mascot pillar |
| Mark of the Ninja | 2012 | Xbox 360 | PC and Xbox 360; remastered for PS4, Xbox One and Switch. | Readable, fair 2D stealth |
| Aragami 2 | 2021 | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. | Shadow-hopping across rooftops |
| El Hijo: A Wild West Tale | 2020 | PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch | PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. | Non-violent storybook sneaking |
| Stealth Inc 2 | 2014 | Wii U | Wii U, PC, PS4 and Xbox One. | Puzzle stealth that restarts instantly |
| Thief: The Dark Project | 1998 | PC | PC. | Where the master-thief fantasy comes from |
| Sunset Overdrive | 2014 | Xbox One | Xbox One (plays on Xbox Series X|S) and PC. | Traversal as the fun part |
Which One to Play, by What You Liked
If you liked Sly Cooper for the heists and the gang, try Sly 2: Band of Thieves. Bentley and Murray become playable and each level becomes a planned job — most fans' favourite in the series.
If you liked Sly Cooper for sneaking through the shadows, try Mark of the Ninja and Aragami 2. Mark of the Ninja draws sound and sight lines on screen; Aragami 2 has the rooftop-to-rooftop flow.
If you liked Sly Cooper for stealth with no killing, try El Hijo: A Wild West Tale and Stealth Inc 2. Two games where getting caught is the only failure and nobody gets hurt.
If you liked Sly Cooper for the PS2 platformer era, try Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank. Sly's two siblings from the same generation, one movement-led and one gadget-led.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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