Sleeping Dogs just turned ten years old! The sandbox title first launched for the PS3 on the 14th August 2012, and it's safe to say that it's fondly remembered. At the time, Sleeping Dogs didn't set the world alight with rave review scores or super high sales figures, but it did gain significant traction over the years that followed. Whether it was through positive word of mouth or because of comparisons to open world blockbusters like Grand Theft Auto — or a bit of both — the martial arts-infused adventure ended up resonating with a lot of people.
Naturally, fans have always wanted a sequel — but it hasn't happened, and at this point, it might never happen. A massive shame, given the game's fairly unique blend of police drama, bare-knuckle brawling, and often chaotic sandbox design. It's always felt like a sequel could have really taken the title's formula to the next level.
But we don't want to get bogged down in sequel-less despair, here. We wrote this article so that we could all remember the fun times we had with Wei Shen on his campaign of skull-cracking justice. And, if you never got around to actually playing Sleeping Dogs, it's worth noting that Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition exists on PS4 — a rather barebones remaster, but still great fun.
Are you a Sleeping Dogs fan? Have your say in our polls, and then try not to get blood on your wedding suit in the comments section below.
Comments 79
Pork Buns Remastered !!
Sleeping Dogs is much better than GTA ever was.
Really fun game. Always had the rock station on the radio (Roadrunner records i think), combat was fun and i did like the balance between cop and thug. Jumping from car to car was also a blast. I also enjoyed the the true crime games. Think they needed more love too
One of the most underrated games. I would give anything for a PS5 version.
The original PS3 version was free for Plus at some point and thats when I played it for the first time. I loved every second of it. Great game! I felt bad I didn't support it back at launch so much I picked up the remaster just out of respect more than anything.
Truly a shame it never got a sequel. I know people compared it unfavorably to GTA4 and 5 at the time but honestly I thought Sleeping Dogs was better than both. Obviously not as big a budget but definitely more fun to play.
Never played it but checking out gameplay vids, it looks better than Yakuza at least, a mafia that owns no cars pfft!
The shooting was crap but thankfully Wei's best weapons where his fists, his kicks and the environment. Top game. Plus, it had Emma Stone, Lucy Liu and Tom Wilkinson in it!
I played the original and it was a fun game, but I also don't think it's the classic that some people call it. I have no interest in revisiting it.
ModNation was the better game from that studio.
Nice arcade feel to the driving and robust melee combat with some impressive environmental finishers combined with an interesting Hong Kong setting, would highly recommend.
Real Stranglehold vibes for anyone who remembers that game.
This game has such a special place in my heart! Loved it back in the day and then came back for the Plat trophy! I wish someone would pick the IP and do a sequel
I bought sleeping dogs when it first came out.amazing game.and one of the best games ever made. Wei shen is one of the best protagonist ever.love the combat.tokyo.the racing.the story.the soundtract.the characters. Gta 5 is legendary and sleeping is a legendary underated game.i wish theyre was a sleeping dogs 2.i still got sleeping dogs definitive edition on my ps4 pro.word up son
Still can't believed I purchased this gem for $7.99. Earned my platinum, played the DLC and spent another 10 hours playing around the map.
The zodiac tournament is still my favourite part
This was an amazing game, played it when it first came out.
If I remember rightly the developer's next project was an MMO like Sleeping Dogs. When that tanked so did the developer. Shame, if they went on to make Sleeping Dogs 2 they could have had a big franchise on their hands.
Yes absolutely adored it. I remember quickly going through the story on PS3 not long after it came out but wasn't a trophy person back then so just rushed the story cause probably couldn't wait to start another game at the time. However it wasn't till the PS4 remaster when truly fell for it and by then I was a lot more into trophies too. 100% platted the remaster including every single dlc trophy and then not long after going back to the PS3 version for another plat. Sleeping Dogs remastered is still up there as one of the most fun plats I've ever played and was left wanting more by the end. Because you you drive cars going around a huge city in Sleeping Dogs it wrongly or rightly got compared to GTA4 and then a little later compared to GTA5. Of course really enjoyed GTA4 and 5 story but I ended up enjoying SD story and gameplay more than GTA overall. Yes it needs a sequel and still remains one of my most wanted sequels
@Smiffy01 why don’ yu have a pohk bun in yua han
@SystemAddict who needs stories in games with dialogue like that eh 😆
Played it for the first time this year on PS5. Runs really well at 60fps. Got the platinum. Ticked all the boxes and put a few modern open worlds to shame.
One of the best PS3 and PS4 games... Played both versions more than once...
"We got them. We got them."
TOP TIP. Sleeping Dogs does not appear on the PS5 store. You can find it on the PS4 store, mobile app or in a browser. Once purchased (usually 4.99) you can initiate a download to your ps5 or access it in your library. Worked for me this year.
Great game, the shooting dragged it down a bit in the second half though
I think this is the only case of where development hell actually makes a game so good. They had enough time to redo things and reimagine their initial ideas for a True Crime game and boy did it pay off.
@playstation1995 @LordFlamingo being a massive john woo/chow yun fat fan (a better tomorrow 1+2,the killer,hard boiled etc) i loved every minute of this game..criminally under rated and screaming out for a sequel..loved the fight in the resturant with the gigantic fish tank..amazing combat..
Great game 8/10.
Played this before GTA V came and out again afterwards, and Sleeping Dogs was so much better.
Such an overlooked gem that was robbed of a sequel. Wei deserves a sequel.
Dogeyes and fish tanks.
@GrimWillows @JaaackTommyyy Yeah, unless it’s been patched recently, I think it’s 1080p, 30fps on PS5.
I think it’s 60fps on Xbox, but I don’t remember it getting patched for PlayStation.
Hell yeah I'm still a fan. Even have slight hope we'll see a sequel some day. I know it's not likely but I've seen long forgotten IP dug up before so...
@Splat Anything?
Love this game and those delicious pork buns a definite 9/10 for me, a sequel would be amazing!
Didn’t play it until around 2020 but played the hell out of it, would love a sequel.
Great game preferred it to GTA tbh just wish they'd fix the crashing issues it crashed on me so much
One of the best game i play
I mean it wasn't bad but it wasn't that good either.
I'm Sun On Yee, mother%%%er!! One of my all time favourites. The story beats stay with you even when you're done and the voice acting cast is one of the best in all of gaming.
Such a shame it can't be played on PS5. I really wanna replay it.
@GhostCoast ps5 is BC with PS4 so you can play it on ps5
Answer: YES...is there more to say?
My favorite "GTA Clone" game. Such a shame we never got a sequel. Rare to have an open world game that has such good combat.
Sleeping Dogs is a terrific game.
Replayed it again recently.
If anything, having the definitive edition (with every add-on) makes it almost too easy.
And I agree that it is much better than GTA IV.
Sleeping Dogs gets a 10/10 from me.
It is the Hong Kong setting that makes it really unique.
@Would_you_kindly nope, this game is one of the few that doesn't run on PS5.
Geez I'd love to see you guys would react to some legitimate classic games. I think your heads would explode lol
A fun game for sure, not a classic though.
@SoulChimera It is uncapped so goes to 60fps automatically. It would only have needed a patch to uncap it.
I played the hell out of the Definitive Edition when it released on PS4.
I loved the story. That’s what made it so endearing to me. I have a love of old Hong Kong martial arts and police films. Sleeping Dogs felt like a love letter to the two most popular Hong Kong film genres.
I bought it for $4 with some leftover change and it ended up being one of my favourite games.
Incredibly sad that there was no sequel made.
@GhostCoast it does although you can't buy it on ps5 if you buy it through the ps store app on mobile it should show up in the games library on ps5
😂 The fact that GTA always has to be mentioned or used as a yardstick speaks volumes. No driving open world has ever matched GTAV, Cyberpunk 2077 tried hard and was a bug-fest, a simple smartphone implementation in a futuristic setting proved problematic, meanwhile Roman has easily been calling Niko to go bowling since '08. Just stop the delusions, denial and downplaying Rockstar's hard work. GTAV is close to selling 200M, just put pride aside and give respect where it's due and move along.
@TheArt I preferred the story of this over GTA 5 aswell as the setting
@Would_you_kindly I have tried to myself, I own it digitally, it does NOT run. Anyway you're not listening to what I'm saying so I'm going to end this conversation here.
@Would_you_kindly Okay fine I'm sure it's a pretty good game, I've seen the gameplay vids but I'm talking technical achievements.
I played on PS3, was nice to drive on the left for a change in these type of games, ha. Combat was fun, I did like the game at the time. I do own the PS4 version too, but I never really got back into the game on (then) next gen.
Definitely would love a sequel to this game. I also Want Triad Wars out again too. Not just For PC
The game may be a little rough compared to today's standards but it's still a really fun time. I haven't played it since around the time it released but I have fond memories.
I love Sleeping Dogs and it's Pork Buns! It was a fun platinum too!
Had it for PS3, then the Definitive Edition on PS4, and I just rebought the DE on the Xbox store sale because it runs in 4K/60fps. The combat system is still a lot of fun, especially with the added fluidity of the frame rate boost on Series X.
This is one "gta clone" that doesn't feel like a gta clone and surpasses it in many aspects.
A great and engaging game.
Wish they made a 60fps patch for the ps5.
@TheArt cyberpunk doesn't hold a candle to sleeping dogs. This is one amazing game.
Still gutted that the sequel was canceled. It would have been an awesome series.
I prefer it to GTAV, GTA has the better driving and shooting mechanics but the on foot controls and combat are miles ahead in Sleeping Dogs and the game is a lot more enjoyable to me because of that. I mean it feels kind of a crossover between GTA and Yakuza and having recently picked it up on PC its still great fun to play, such a shame it never got a sequel as it could have been a great series
@GrimWillows Really? I was under the impression it was 1080p and capped at 30fps on the PS5. I’ll have to download it and give it a replay then.
I wish Square Enix would just patch the game to run uncapped on PS5 and not crash on me at random times
Now imagine those chinatown streets with raytracing...and a pork bun in your hand
@Smiffy01 My bird is best!
😅
jumping from car to car in a pursuit is so fun, it makes gta looks boring sometimes
I really like Sleeping Dogs. I played it when it first released and then I played it again on PS4 and got the Platinum. I always wanted a sequel but it was probably another "didn't meet expectations" so we'll just get another live service game or whatever instead. Shame.
I played on PS4, and liked a lot. It makes great efforts to be unique, oozes personality. The gameplay is solid, the story quite good. I recomend this game, it's easy to find it in sales on PS Store.
People always call it a GTA clone, but it always felt like it's own ARPG, not a GTA game to me at all.
We need more games where you can sing classics like Take On Me
Have it on PC and couldn't get into it for whatever reason.
One of my favorite PS3 games ever! I even baught it again when they rereleased it for PS4. The story and characters actually make you care!
@OrtadragoonX The Drunken Master 2 is my favorite Jackie Chan movie and they even added an outfit that lets to use drunken boxing moves! So many references!
@TheArt I never agreed with "GTA Clone" and frankly, that term was outdated when Sleeping Dogs came out. If another Call Of Duty came out today, would you call it a "Doom Clone"? Why not? It shares the exact same things that make up Dooms formula so why not? Good art is hard to explain an example of but I think the best would be that good art isn't a copy so much as an alteration of reality or whatever the object of the painting/drawing/sculpting (you get the picture) is. So far, I can only remember a few glitches and there is a smartphone in Sleeping Dogs as well. Cyberpunk was just a sad example to anyone not to show off a game you don't have in 2011 then make deal with sony or whoever and get an impossible deadline to fix it while showing off so many things that make it better than what it actually is. Sleeping Dogs has many technical achievements over GTA 5 like the martial arts in an open world. The closest game is GTA 4 or RDR 2, Rockstar isn't good at making open world games with good hand to hand combat and all the games they did make with fighting mechanics were totally arcade games. Bully was actually the closest now that I think about it. Sleeping Dogs also had eating food at food stalls and before you say "But GTA 4..." Blah blah. Yes, GTA 4 was way too ahead for it's time apparently and rockstar completely removed it for the sequel. Rockstar also removed it's interesting combat mechanics and a lot of detail from V. Sorry if this was like I was being the "Um actually" guy I just wanted to shine some light on things to make you know the reason behind things like Cyberpunks mess and why people still say stupid things like GTA Clone don't know what they're talking about. That's why the fans say it ironically.
@H3R0 Alright I hear you but as for the combat I believe it's done deliberately simple by Rockstar so as to make sense. The protags of their games are usually criminals who know how to use guns only and never took no Kung Fu classes, it's just right that they can throw basic punches and kicks like everybody else and not some Jackie Chan stunts and martial arts.
Is the remaster still unplayable on PS5?
Uncle Gave me this game along with Arkham Knight and it was a step into more story driven games and have not looked back. Wei Shen was such a great character and seeing scenes like Jackie hung up nearly made me cry and the ending made me feel complete again. Bummed a sequel can't be made but never say never
This article has weighed on me since reading it yesterday… and although I’m sure the performance will be terrible compared to the PS4 Definitive Edition I played a couple of years back, I just folded and ordered the PS3 version. £2.49!
I only played a small portion of the PS4 remaster, gave up on the game after I couldn't figure out the camera codes for a certain hacking mission.
(They randomize for every playthrough, so no way to cheat with guides or videos)
pretty much about to tear up because i can’t believe it’s been this long . the nostalgia is killing me 😭
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