8/10
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (PC)
I’ve always loved the Grand Theft Auto series. Because of that, I’ve spent a lot of time with GTA ''copycats'' and Sleeping Dogs was consistently the one people praised the most. So I finally decided to try it for myself to see what all the hype was about.
Normally, I do retro reviews for all games released before the 8th console generations, including the Xbox 360 and PS3 era games. But Sleeping Dogs feels like it’s stuck somewhere between two console generations. In some areas it feels pretty modern, while in others it feels noticeably outdated. However, since the version I played was the Definitive Edition, the polished version released in 2014, I decided to treat it as a regular review. If Square Enix thinks this version is serviceable enough for the 8th generations, then my take should follow the same logic.
The two things that bothered me the most were the camera and the character controls. The camera angles feel limiting both when driving and when moving around in TPS mode. As for the character controls, unfortunately they feel extremely stiff and robotic. The combat, on the other hand, is a bit better than the character controls. It’s a solid imitation of the Batman Arkham combat system, but at the end of the day it’s still just that, an imitation. It never feels quite as responsive or satisfying as the actual Batman Arkham games. The parry and counter attack mechanics in particular feel clunky and a bit sloppy, which really breaks the flow of combat. The gunplay, on the other hand, is just plain bad, and the poor enemy AI doesn’t help at all. The fact that the game doesn’t focus heavily on gun combat hides this issue a little, but it still could’ve been much better.
What I really like is the driving. It feels very arcade-y but in a good way. Even though I usually prefer more realistic driving mechanics in GTA copycats, Square Enix actually managed to create a really fun arcade driving model here. The cars have a nice sense of weight and feel great to control, which makes the racing side missions surprisingly enjoyable.
I know I’ve been sounding a bit negative, but I just wanted to get the weakest parts of the game out of the way first. Honestly, I did enjoy Sleeping Dogs. Sure, the gameplay can get a little overwhelming at times, but it still gave me a fun 25 to 30 hours. Playing it on the Rog Ally also made a huge difference; it’s the perfect kind of game to play lying down with an empty mind after a long, exhausting day. It has a great atmosphere and a nice open world with plenty of side activities, even if they can get a bit repetitive. At first, I got into the side activities just to upgrade my character, but some of them genuinely grabbed my attention and kept me going. As for the main story… I think it’s okay at its best. It’s a pretty predictable story, kind of cheesy and a bit chaotic. I don’t think they did a great job conveying Wei’s motivation, either. The character relationships feel a bit rushed, almost like they were thrown together, and because of that the emotional beats the game tries to deliver never really landed for me.
Even though the story didn’t impress me much, I really liked the mission designs. I rarely felt that modern open world game confusion of ‘wait, is this a side mission or the main story?’ The main missions always have more epic moments, and the final mission in particular left me with a really good feeling after finishing the game.
What left a bad taste in my mouth after finishing the game is the fact that we’ll most likely never get a sequel. The story ends with clear open doors, almost as if it’s announcing that a follow up is coming. Unfortunatelly, Square Enix just tossed the Sleeping Dogs IP onto the dusty shelf, even though it had a solid foundation and a ton of potential.
"8/10"