#the animation is fantastic the action sequences are so thrilling the villains are so well-realised the themes are very profound

[inspector-montoya-fox]

someone recently liked this post and i re-read it and honestly Sly 4 could have potentially been so phenomenal. i'll be the first to admit that i go grr and then zzz (in that order) when someone starts pitching their own idea for an entire game like how we all collectively loathed the announcement for that fanmade game remember that? i'm giving this disclaimer not because this post is gonna be like fanfic or anything but because i'm gonna be suggesting a lot of ideas. so with that out of the way let's briefly discuss the potential of Sly returning in 2013

SP set up such an interesting dynamic between Sly and Carmelita, where he lied first so she lied second but unbeknownst to her he knows she lied. the next game could have focused on that and that alone; at its core, Sly has always been a morality tale and lies are so divisive in terms of ethics. the central theme would be lies, but it wouldn't be explored just through the lens of Sly and Carmelita's relationship. although Bentley knows Sly lied about his amnesia, we never see if Murray does and that'd be interesting to see how someone who wears their heart on their sleeve accepts this (or doesn't). also, instead of getting the bullshit TiT "Sly lied so his gf is really angry with him", when Carmelita confronts him once the truth is out how would Sly bring up her lie? would he use it with spite, kinda like two wrongs don't make a right ? or would he be solemn because despite the lies, their relationship was what they both wanted. Sly and Carmelita's conversations usually follow the consistent pattern of him being witty and flirty and her trying to shut him down, but what if the roles were reversed because of this massive revelation? Carmelita usually has a comeback ready so how does she react when she's caught off guard?

the story would have to deal with the direct aftermath of Carmelita's lie. how would Interpol react when Carmelita pulled up with Sly like 'this is my partner ok' ? and if Barkley accepted this and recruited Sly as an Interpol officer, how would things play out after? in the original post linked above, @pixieluver suggested a tutorial for the game where you play as Sly undergoing police training and i personally find that so genius like can you imagine?? the game starts off with Sly's final Interpol exam or something as the game teaches the player the basics through a police test course and by the end Sly could catch like a breather or something to monologue and catch the player up to speed with the story after the series' 8 year hiatus. it's like undoubtedly an amazing idea

in this imaginary game, Sly has to deal with being on both sides of the law as well as eventually telling Carmelita the truth and the climax would centre around if their relationship could get past this. the exploration between black and white, the grey zone, would be more explicit than ever in the series. what happens when we experience being an Interpol officer through the eyes of Sly? how does he interpret the law and how loosely could he act on his interpretation whilst under his amnesiac facade? he could be more lenient as an authority figure but also him stepping into Carmelita's shoes could bring about some reflection. oh and would he have a shock pistol because i never knew i needed shock pistol/cane combo gameplay until now.

from Carmelita's side, how invested is she in her job? is being a cop part of her personality? can she reduce it down to an occupation and separate it from her personal beliefs? having now experienced the "reality" of being with Sly, would it be more difficult for her to draw the line once shit hits the fan? and circling back to the main theme, is she lying to herself? catching Sly was her career's goal so once she invites him into her personal life, especially in such an intimate capacity, how can she separate the two again? let's bring in the reality of how male-dominated the police force is: maybe Barkley and rest of Interpol are constantly on her case for bringing Sly Cooper into their circle. and maybe they wouldn't buy that Sly is amnesiac.

the main villain could be someone who knows Sly's secret and is threatening to expose him, pressuring him to tell the truth. we've had some pretty evil and ruthless villains in the series but rarely is there an element of mystery, so this could potentially be someone pulling the strings behind the scenes Penelope. let's have a villain who might not be 100% evil, like a sympathetic Justice for All villain à la Ini Miney or Acro. i doubt the gang are the only morally ambiguous characters so why not a villain the player can empathise with but who is also undoubtedly up to not good. we've kind of explored that with Panda King but i feel like after A Cold Alliance it was treated a bit like whatever. anyway, each episode could revolve around getting closer to the truth and finding out the identity of this mastermind by getting rid of his connections, who are like smaller crooks and "bad guys". each level would have the duality of cop missions and classic missions, with Carmelita and Interpol becoming increasingly suspect of Sly.

in closing i want to briefly touch on the fact that this would come out in 2013 instead of TiT: we were really in the midst of the departure from 3D platformers as first person shooters became more and more creative that year (The Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite, GTA V). maybe Sly 4 coming out back then was a bit premature? like in comparison to the late 2010s/ early 2020s where we saw like a small bump in nostalgia with the Crash trilogy in 2017 or the Sly reference in the new Ratchet and Clank. i don't know if a hiatus longer than 8 years would cause a loss of interest but my brain hurts and my heart aches when i try to think about a world where TiT never came out.