Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition Review (Strange Hero)
Sleeping Dogs is a playable kung-fu crime movie, and it's superb. If you're anything like me, then you're a fan of Hong Kong cinema--specifically kung-fu and melodramatic crime films, which Hong Kong excels at making. All of this to say: Sleeping Dogs will always be my favorite open world game.
The writing is great, you're Wei Shen: a protagonist with a compelling backstory and a strong personality. You're able to choose how Wei Shen lives his life, whether he should be a criminal or a cop, and it's a strong theme for an open world game. Each side has its own perks, and while you can very well play both sides, the story does enough to make you understand that eventually... Wei Shen will have to choose where his loyalties lie.
What makes this game truly special compared to other games in the genre (specifically GTA, which Sleeping Dogs is in direct competition with) is that the hand-to-hand combat is actually great. Even better, the driving is super fun. You're basically an action star: you can dragonkick someone through a window, slam a security gate against someone's neck, and then steal a sports car to evade the police. If you've ever seen a Jackie Chan movie, and watched in awe as he jumps from car to car dreaming you could do that one day... Sleeping Dogs is here to realize that dream. I can't emphasize enough how much the gameplay is built around fun first, and how it all helps you understand Wei Shen's character.
As for the plot, it's great stuff. Some major beats might be a bit predictable, but the emotional moments stab at your heart all the same. But the real highlight is the setting enveloping the plot, which is beautiful. Every street is full of detail and there's a lot of different things to do, typical of any sandbox game worth its salt. What really makes this game's setting work is that it takes place in Hong Kong... which I feel is a setting that is severely underused in video games.
Hong Kong at night is iconic, picturesque, and an absolute joy to walk through in this game and I desperately want more games to take place in Hong Kong.
TL;DR: Sleeping Dogs is a fantastic and fun kung-fu movie that's worth every penny.