The PlayStation Plus Classics Catalog is an underutilized service on Sony’s part, especially when it comes to PlayStation 2 games. Since the company didn’t go the way of Xbox by allowing users to natively play old games on new hardware, PS4 and PS5 owners wanting to play their classic games on modern hardware have had to rely on the few digital PS2 games Sony has rolled out to its service. So it’s good news that Sony is adding a few more games on June 11, and there are some bangers here.
Tomb Raider: Legend, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus will all be released as PlayStation 2 Classics on June 11, and they’ll also be made available to PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers. Tomb Raider: Legend was a return to form for Lara Croft in 2006 after the dud that was 2003’s Angel of Darkness, and I have some fondness for it even as someone who is mostly a Tomb Raider tourist. The Clone Wars is probably fine, but the real headliner is Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus.
I’ll readily admit Sucker Punch’s first Sly Cooper hasn’t aged as well as its sequels, which were structured more like pseudo-open-world heist platformers compared to the original’s more traditional platforming. But it’s still a truly special game that sparked what I’d argue is one of PlayStation’s most underrated series. It would be nice if this led to Sony supporting the series further with a fifth entry to resolve 2013’s Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time’s devastating cliffhanger, but PlayStation will never give me that relief.
All of these games are being added to the PS2 section of the Classics catalog as part of Sony’s Days of Play sale. That event begins May 29, although the new games won’t be added until a couple of weeks later. This includes sales on games, merchandise, discounted PlayStation Plus memberships, and more. To see the full breakdown of all the deals, check out the PlayStation Blog.
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