I finished this game a few days ago now but life has been hectic and I don't have my laptop with me so this is a bit late, apologies.

In fact, I wasn't even prepared to platinum this yet, but upon learning that it would be taken off the PS Now service only a few hours before the merger I rushed through and finally completed the last game of the trilogy.

My experience with platformers, especially older ones or older games in general has been tumultuous to say the least. I often don't have the patience for these types of games, but the Sly series has always had enough charm to get me through it, even if it took me over two years to beat the collection (Platinums 49, 138, 199 respectively)

Thankfully I can say without any doubt that Sly 3 is my favorite of the series by far. The first game felt really unique but some of the missions were just downright infuriating. Sly 2 transitioned into a pretty remarkably different style that I didnt really start to appreciate until the end. It had a great story but the number of frustrating missions only seemed to increase. In the end both games were really solid experiences but, forgive me for the overused comparison, it was akin to me playing a souls-like but without the payoff or sense of accomplishment. Just lots of anger and then an "okay I guess I did it, that wasnt bad" at the end.

So, Sly 3 I was fully expecting the worse. But god damnit this game was actually fun. Don't get me wrong there are a few diabolical levels, and I especially disliked some of the boss fights but just about every level I thought was gonna end up being a pain I actually enjoyed quite a bit. Even the painful master thief challenges, outside of a handful, were genuinely enjoyable. It had been nearly a year since beating Sly 2 before i started this so I cant say if I just simply "got good" and sometimes the controls were still terrible but this is exactly what I wanted from this game. The story is also really interesting as unimportant as it is for a platformer to have. It ties up the trilogy nicely and I liked the ending a lot. The new characters they add to the squad, although sometimes they feel like after-thoughts and arent utilized too much, were a good change of pace and all had good character growth and development, they certainly put in a lot more effort than I would of thought on the story side. There were some really memorable missions in this one too. The bar brawl, the fight on bamboo sticks, dueling ships like its Assassin's Creed. Such a remarkable improvement compared to my time with the first two.

That being said, I didnt really love it. Its not my type of game but I think this is a really strong game of the genre. Its not perfect though. A few minor complaints. I touched on this one before but some of the controls are just terrible. The vehicles suck to move and it makes some missions way harder than they would of been otherwise. Some of the chapters story wise kind of feel like side missions or detours, especially the China level, and the starting area outside of the Murray plot and boat chases was a bit weak to begin with. Also, I really just dont care for the kind of hub world situation they got going on. Its really just kind of there and a means to do the story missions in. In Sly 1 and 2 at least there were clue bottles you could look all around for, but in Sly 3 there is exactly 0 incentive to explore or do anything of the such and to me thats a missed opportunity

Overall, this was a lot better than I thought it'd be, and worth suffering through the more aggravating moments of the first two games. Great way to end a trilogy.

Also obligatory im not a furry but fuck Carmelita is hot. Theres a boss fight where she becomes a giant and you have to climb up her and that did some things ngl. Had to confess Im sorry

Trophy Completion - 100% (36/36) Platinum #199
Time Played - n/a
Nancymeter - 81/100
Game Completion #67 of 2022
June Completion #2