Sleeping Dogs deserves a sequel. A wonderful variation on the Grand Theft Auto formula, it remains one of the best sandbox games ever made, combining driving, martial arts, gunfights, and a killer soundtrack with a sprawling story about the Hong Kong underworld. Varied, expansive, and consistently well-written, the forgotten gem from 2012, originally published by Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, and Deus Ex’s Square Enix, is now available for less than $3. If you haven’t tried Sleeping Dogs before, or want to revisit a stone-cold classic via the enormous Definitive Edition, this is your chance.
Sleeping Dogs is the only original game developed from the ground up by erstwhile studio United Front. It’s one of gaming’s great tragedies, that this excellent open-world sim and its clearly talented creator never got the chance to expand and improve with future games. There was a lot of life in Sleeping Dogs, but despite some initial efforts to build on its success with Triad Wars, an MMO set in the same universe, a full sequel never materialized and United Front closed down in 2016.
It’s a huge shame, because Sleeping Dogs remains one of the few games to really push and experiment with the open-world crime genre since the emergence of GTA. As undercover cop Wei Shen, you’re constantly having to balance between maintaining your Triad identity while still working for the police. It means you’re free to break the laws and cut loose, but that your actions still have consequences and repercussions. Everything comes with an additional dramatic weight, as you try to find the balance between a criminal lifestyle and getting the job done as a cop.
And now you can get the whole thing, including all 24 DLC additions and a total visual overhaul, for less than $3. Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition is $2.98 / £2.45 down 85% from $19.92 / £15.99 right now. If you want to lose yourself in a fantastic Ringo Lam or Johnnie To-inspired crime story, or reminisce with one of the best forgotten gems of the last decade or, you should get Sleeping Dogs right now.
Alternatively, look ahead to the future of the open-world crime game with the GTA 6 release date. You might also want to try some of the best police games on PC.