Sleeping Dogs

 PC
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1564 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,234 out of 1564
  2. Mixed: 247 out of 1564
  3. Negative: 83 out of 1564
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  1. Digitalkid
    Aug 25, 2012
    9
    AWESOME! The only thing that lets me down is DRIVING. Physics is awful, but all the other things like FIGHTS, story, rainy Hong Kong, variety of missions, great design, where all skills ore useful and really make you walk through mission, and clothing not only looks good but raises your stats.. All those things are truly awesomely made! Great job guys!
  2. jim008
    Aug 24, 2012
    9
    Who knew that all it took for the True Crime series to become great is to get rid of Activision? I am still a little bitter that Activision completely destroyed the Diablo series. Sleeping dogs essentially takes a lot of fun games and mixes them up. The driving is very similar to Need For Speed where you drive around to a certain check point and accept challenges. If you ever playedWho knew that all it took for the True Crime series to become great is to get rid of Activision? I am still a little bitter that Activision completely destroyed the Diablo series. Sleeping dogs essentially takes a lot of fun games and mixes them up. The driving is very similar to Need For Speed where you drive around to a certain check point and accept challenges. If you ever played one of the most underrated brawler of all time "The Warriors", you'll get the experience it here. The shooting is similar to max payne where you take cover and have cool slow motion animations. The negative reviews here sounds like it's written by people who should go work for Activision because not one of them are able to come up with a solution that would make it more fun. Criticisms like it's lacking "wow factor" is a joke because nobody really knows that means. Rather than saying what would make the game fun, it simply needs this mysterious factor. The first time you wrap a rope around a thug's neck and hang him to death, you will be pleased. Right in the tutorial, you will smile as you slam a door down a guy's face. Another issue people wrote is that it's buggy, it's actually a lot less buggy than the older true crime series when they were released under Activision. Right now I am playing on patch 1.4 and I haven't notice any game breaking bugs. The hotkeys for the PC isn't that bad, there was one annoying button such as H for honking but I just remapped it to F. If you can't handle wasd and a mouse than maybe you shouldn't play PC games. Most of the controls were very similar to many popular games and you have to be able to do basic things like holding shift or hitting F. Worst case senario, buy a controller. The story is definitely intriguing, it's like the movie "The Departed" except you can only see from one point of view. Overall, a top quality game like this is dying out because companies like Activision are runned by people who only cares about money and don't even know what a fun game is(The current CEO described games as selling Tide laundry detergeant, just rebrand the exact same thing and call it call of duty 5).… Expand
  3. gvazdas
    Aug 25, 2012
    7
    I have mixed feelings for the game. Mostly bad, though.
    While I find the game really interesting and fun, the technical bugs, glitches, controls and mess just keep me from fully enjoying it.
    The graphics in the game are nice with the HD texture pack, which shows the devs also focus on the PC platform. The camera, the aiming and the terrible lipsync is mostly what kept me away from the    I have mixed feelings for the game. Mostly bad, though.
    While I find the game really interesting and fun, the technical bugs, glitches, controls and mess just keep me from fully enjoying it.
    The graphics in the game are nice with the HD texture pack, which shows the devs also focus on the PC platform.
    The camera, the aiming and the terrible lipsync is mostly what kept me away from the game.
    The camera doesn't listen to you. Sometimes it rotates too fast, sometimes it rotates too slow - I have no idea how I have such a problem.
    The aiming (with weapons) in this game is also extremely buggy - sometimes the reticle will get stuck and you won't be able to shoot whatsoever, sometimes you get locked away from the controls because of sticky keys (it seems to be an in-game problem, I have sticky keys completely disabled).
    The lipsyncing is decent on cutscenes, but when it comes to lipsyncing during in-game action sequences, it's terrible. If you sing karaoke, your lips will move incoherently, if you talk to someone while walking next to each other your mouth will just move like you're playing pretend-talk.
    The fighting system in this game is really fun, but the control glitches make it less fun, for some even unplayable.
    The UI is god-awfully large and will annoy the living heck out of you.
    I don't know if it's my hardware (it's not, this is the only game with such problems), or the devs, but the game is already in version 1.4 and all of these problems haven't been attended to.
    Maybe, someday, the game will be finally fixed and I'll be able to play.
    It's a great game at heart, while it did have a predictable story, it's fun. And that's what matters.    … Expand
  4. thenthomwaslike
    Jan 19, 2013
    9
    after a rocky launch squenix proved that they care about their customers and continue to patch the game (version 1.9 already!) its a great pc port with great performance, great voice acting, and good looking textures. and the melee fighting system is amazing.
  5. Dimnz
    Aug 25, 2012
    9
    Simply GOTY, lets face it, the year 2012 was not a good year for video games, and this game was the best game this year so I'l give it a 9, it's a console port, but a console port which runs flawlessly, even on old PC's the controls are pretty solid, the game itself is an arcade type GTA, the combat is really enjoyable, they story is interesting and keeps you going, side missions are fun,Simply GOTY, lets face it, the year 2012 was not a good year for video games, and this game was the best game this year so I'l give it a 9, it's a console port, but a console port which runs flawlessly, even on old PC's the controls are pretty solid, the game itself is an arcade type GTA, the combat is really enjoyable, they story is interesting and keeps you going, side missions are fun, but the gunplay could use some improvement and the only reason I'm giving it a 9, other then that I definitively recommend purchasing this game.… Expand
  6. Panther117
    Aug 26, 2012
    8
    "It's unquestionably 2012's most brilliantly brutal surprise, and you're duty-bound to check it out".-Official PlayStation Magazine UK.
    "A gripping vision of Hong Kong which sports majestic driving, a sharp, well-acted storyline and varied missions."- Official Xbox Magazine UK.
  7. PizzaBurger23
    Oct 22, 2012
    6
    I have lots of issues with crashes on load, and crashes midgame. LA Noire meets Grand Theft Auto. Music is dull gangsta rap only. Gameplay gets a bit repetitive just like LA Noire. You can tell it was made for console by the way the controls "work". Camera angles and control of camera are also quite irritating.
    If they could make it more stable this would be a nice sandbox game.
  8. Muuvinki
    Dec 6, 2013
    7
    Decent open world gaming experience. However fighting mechanics and counter moves make the actual fighting a bit too easy. I hardly died to enemies at the game and I kinda wished more challenge. Storyline is quite interesting and keeps you playing until the end. Side missions almost always follow the same pattern, follow enemy, beat the enemy, mission complete. You might still want to giveDecent open world gaming experience. However fighting mechanics and counter moves make the actual fighting a bit too easy. I hardly died to enemies at the game and I kinda wished more challenge. Storyline is quite interesting and keeps you playing until the end. Side missions almost always follow the same pattern, follow enemy, beat the enemy, mission complete. You might still want to give this game a try because of its unique combat system and storyline.… Expand
  9. Stingerbee
    May 9, 2014
    1
    The game is virtually unplayable through Steam. I've tried deleting local content, disabling the texture pack, deleting local content again and reinstalling the game, various "fixes" from reliable sources that I followed to the letter, all to no avail. I have a large gaming catalogue where only a handful games I got from bundles are acting up and all those games are known to give issues. IThe game is virtually unplayable through Steam. I've tried deleting local content, disabling the texture pack, deleting local content again and reinstalling the game, various "fixes" from reliable sources that I followed to the letter, all to no avail. I have a large gaming catalogue where only a handful games I got from bundles are acting up and all those games are known to give issues. I can get into the world, look around, do some quests and that's fine, but the game loves to crash to desktop without an error for no particular reason. Drive a certain way? Crash. Look at the police cameras? Crash. I love sandbox games, and I hate to say this but I'm done with this "game" and the DLC I bought that I never got to experience, and I moved Sleeping Dogs to my "Games that don't work" folder. GG.… Expand
  10. Transient
    Aug 15, 2012
    6
    Don't get this on the PC if you have a console. Yes, the graphics are somewhat better with the high-res texture pack on, but the visual improvement only goes that far (the UI is still godawfully large and obtrusive, even with some customization). The visuals are simply not worth wrestling with your controls. The camera constantly plays tug of war with you, forcing your mouse all the wayDon't get this on the PC if you have a console. Yes, the graphics are somewhat better with the high-res texture pack on, but the visual improvement only goes that far (the UI is still godawfully large and obtrusive, even with some customization). The visuals are simply not worth wrestling with your controls. The camera constantly plays tug of war with you, forcing your mouse all the way off to the side as you attempt to emulate a thumbstick gently but continuously guiding direction. You obviously are not meant to use a mouse and keyboard. The keys are not all remappable and the defaults have been mapped out into horrible places requiring a foot-long hand-span to push certain combinations, not to mention several other symptoms of consolitis such as 'multipurpose' buttons, checkpoint system, ridiculous difference in camera-control sensitivity between walking and driving, nonsensical invisible walls. The gameplay and graphics are showing the age of its True Crime: Hong Kong origins. It's a decent enough game, but if you have the choice, pick the console it was clearly designed around. PC has been either a design afterthought or just too hard.… Expand
  11. Rogyapa
    Feb 25, 2013
    3
    Just got this game and it crashes at startup. This seems to be a relatively common problem at the moment, so I'd recommend holding off buying this for now. I'll change the score when I can actually play the game, and also give an actual review.
  12. themerote
    Aug 24, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The best game of the year so far, if you like GTA4, Shenmue, Just Cause 2 and Need for speed, this is your game, way better than expected and better than all these games.… Expand
  13. Frog01
    Jun 15, 2013
    0
    No FOV (Field of View) slider. The game is locked in 65 degrees; basically tunnel vision. Suffice to say, PC Gamers who play with the screen much closer stand a much higher chance of suffering from motion sickness due to this. Researched extensively online and found that Square Enix has mentioned a year ago to consider fixing the problem but never have. Could not find a work-aroundNo FOV (Field of View) slider. The game is locked in 65 degrees; basically tunnel vision. Suffice to say, PC Gamers who play with the screen much closer stand a much higher chance of suffering from motion sickness due to this. Researched extensively online and found that Square Enix has mentioned a year ago to consider fixing the problem but never have. Could not find a work-around such as editing the config file either. I get nausea after about 10 minutes of playing.

    Ask for a refund from Amazon.    … Expand
  14. judgefx
    Mar 12, 2013
    4
    It looks nice most of the time. Really disappointing though. It was fun at first but after a couple hours I felt totally unmotivated and uninterested in any of it. I had that gut feeling and should have known better, but still got it.
    If you have that gut feeling that this won't be the game for you then listen to yourself and just pass on it.
  15. JimmyThickNThin
    Jul 20, 2013
    4
    Subpar hand-to-hand, driving & shooting gameplay wrapped up in a package that somehow makes these aspects less than the sum of their parts, Sleeping Dogs fails on all counts as an open-world game. Unlike a good fighting game or beat-em-up, the hand-to-hand is both crude & abstract, leaving you feeling disconnected from your character and his actions. The arcadey driving is pointlessly easySubpar hand-to-hand, driving & shooting gameplay wrapped up in a package that somehow makes these aspects less than the sum of their parts, Sleeping Dogs fails on all counts as an open-world game. Unlike a good fighting game or beat-em-up, the hand-to-hand is both crude & abstract, leaving you feeling disconnected from your character and his actions. The arcadey driving is pointlessly easy as all vehicles from motorcycles to lorries feel the same- zippy, tight-turning, with few penalties for errors. Navigating around obstacles (inc. other traffic) is not a challenge.

    The story is boring enough to not merit discussion.

    Curiously for a game with several standing collection quests, the world is technically well-created but lacks character & exudes a sense of artifice. Alive but vegetative. Exploring it is unrewarding even with the forced gameplay perks.

    On the plus side the PC version is well-optimized. Downside: the controls are awkward, even when you plug in a gamepad. The field of view is tight and not configurable.

    By the way, from the misplaced glowing praise- having been a PC gamer all my life- and similar writing styles & rhetoric, I suspect many of the reviews here are of dubious provenance.    … Expand
  16. Sathgrom
    Nov 1, 2013
    2
    There is no FOV option, if playing with a very low FOV makes you sick you should avoid this game. I feel sick and get headaches when I try to play it.
  17. OtissoR
    Sep 9, 2012
    3
    Hate to say it but this game is total trash in my honest opinion. Story is okay, but the camera and controls are just sluggish and complete crap. I feel like I wasted 50 dollars for this terrible game. Do not purchase this game.
  18. VoxCogitationis
    Nov 25, 2012
    4
    The game is a reasonably functional GTA clone, but is held back by a barely acceptable job porting it to PC. It suffers particularly from having a whole bunch of context-sensitive actions all mapped to the same button. Some buttons have 4+ different uses in context, making it very hard to get a key mapping that suits you. You may still find something to enjoy here if you play with aThe game is a reasonably functional GTA clone, but is held back by a barely acceptable job porting it to PC. It suffers particularly from having a whole bunch of context-sensitive actions all mapped to the same button. Some buttons have 4+ different uses in context, making it very hard to get a key mapping that suits you. You may still find something to enjoy here if you play with a controller, but otherwise it's hard to recommend.… Expand
  19. vertem
    May 9, 2013
    1
    If you like keyboard timed combos, you may enjoy this game. I gave it a try for 5 hours, but it just got worst and worst, despite improving health and combat statistics, and there are no difficulty settings. Graphics were not so convincing, camera placement sucks. The story and missions sound interesting but I did not get far enough to enjoy any of it. Alike GTA, many missions require toIf you like keyboard timed combos, you may enjoy this game. I gave it a try for 5 hours, but it just got worst and worst, despite improving health and combat statistics, and there are no difficulty settings. Graphics were not so convincing, camera placement sucks. The story and missions sound interesting but I did not get far enough to enjoy any of it. Alike GTA, many missions require to start over from miles away. Bottom line: I hate that kind of gameplay and wasted my time and my nerves. I should have waited for a significant discount as I usually do...… Expand
  20. voiders
    Apr 30, 2013
    8
    Good game, nice graphics and gameplay. I love the menu style, the producers made well.
    I get some problems and bugs. I have an AMD RAdeon HD 7970 and get so much blue screen of the death runing that game.

    I solve the problema changing the graphic drivers to an old one, belive that, i have to make a downgrade.
    The game consumes a lot of recurses, without reason.
  21. Dorkstar8
    Apr 23, 2014
    2
    Everyone who gave this above a 2 is a suck up or liar. This game blows. This feels like an unfinished copy of GTA, except it sucks. Sucks really badly.
  22. Derozio
    Sep 4, 2012
    0
    This game is a piece of turd. Complete turd. The controls are VERY clunky. What gameplay do other people talk about over here? I could barely play it seeing how awkward controlling Wei with a keyboard and a mouse was. To be honest, Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition controls x100 better than this. And that game has some issues. So that's speaking a lot about how much worse the situation isThis game is a piece of turd. Complete turd. The controls are VERY clunky. What gameplay do other people talk about over here? I could barely play it seeing how awkward controlling Wei with a keyboard and a mouse was. To be honest, Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition controls x100 better than this. And that game has some issues. So that's speaking a lot about how much worse the situation is over here.… Expand
  23. Profile
    Aug 27, 2013
    0
    Insane driving controls on PC. I gave up on playing, it's no fun when the controls are screwed. Normal movements are very imprecise too. Jump and sprint are on the same key (slow down just before you jump, ok?)

    From what I've seen in the first missions, the city is very "plastic". Repulsive and not real at all. The oversaturated colors burn my eyes. Music and sound make me scream. The    Insane driving controls on PC. I gave up on playing, it's no fun when the controls are screwed. Normal movements are very imprecise too. Jump and sprint are on the same key (slow down just before you jump, ok?)

    From what I've seen in the first missions, the city is very "plastic". Repulsive and not real at all. The oversaturated colors burn my eyes. Music and sound make me scream. The game is promoted as a sandbox game, but I hit an invisible wall of air again and again.

    Money wasted.    … Expand
  24. Raveness2213
    Aug 26, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If your going to set your demo up. and have the game be engrossing and engaging...dont make the controls clunky as **** and dont make it so you fail the first mission..

    sleeping dogs? yeah, it feels like your playing the game as a sleeping dog, as everything you do takes 2 seconds to register on the player!!    … Expand
  25. vorpalsword
    Aug 23, 2012
    4
    not very good, controls are sluggish and unresponsive, combat is just a series of quicktime events. The story is good but its wrapped around bad gameplay.
  26. IN547148L3
    Aug 14, 2012
    4
    I loved the Mafia series, the Yakuza series, the Saints Row series, the GTA series, and the True Crime series. I've played them all and when they announced Sleeping Dog, and it's based in Hong Kong, I just couldn't pass it up. Let me just say this, this is in no way a "bad" game. It's just very unfinished. It's glitchy, and most of the time if you play with the sandbox environment you findI loved the Mafia series, the Yakuza series, the Saints Row series, the GTA series, and the True Crime series. I've played them all and when they announced Sleeping Dog, and it's based in Hong Kong, I just couldn't pass it up. Let me just say this, this is in no way a "bad" game. It's just very unfinished. It's glitchy, and most of the time if you play with the sandbox environment you find all sorts of ways to ruin the game. A few examples I can come up with from playing is: Alt+Tabbing screwed up my subtitles and sound, getting hit by a taxi while holding the right mouse button makes it so you can't perform any non-combat right button moves, rag-doll launched me into space and dropped me into the pixelated ground (I took pictures) at which my view became that of a god damn NPC that was riding a van, my cellphone got glitched and I couldnt put it away, etc etc. Once again, this is in NO WAY a BAD game. It IS very detailed. I love the sandbox, I loved the huge selection of half-assed romance missions and drug-busts. I also love how even though you're essentially a bad-ass Triad, you never seem to be able to get your hands on a firearm or even call your foot-soldiers to battle like in Saints Row. The real saving grace of this game is the graphic, except when it rains. Then everything looks like a FOB smeared hair-gel on it. All in all, I'm sure there are worst criminal-organization games out there. I just haven't played it.… Expand
  27. 410MaXiMuS
    Aug 15, 2012
    7
    This game is a lot of fun and definitely worth your time. But don't listen to the people saying it's better than GTAIV... that's a false statement, and it's gonna set you up for disappointment.
  28. largallama
    Sep 1, 2012
    3
    This game could have been really good,graphics look ok but i just could not get past the **** controls and run of the mill fighting moves. It tells you what to press on the screen but even following the on-screen instructions the moves sometimes do not come off. I would wait until its in the bargain bin,which i dont think will be long.
  29. Rabid_Rabbit
    Sep 8, 2012
    0
    Waste of my money, i have played for for many years with arrow keys, but you cant remap arrow keys for some unforgivable reason. Just cant immerse in a game when the controls feel awkward. I don't know if the story is good or the graphics, and i don't care. If the game play is horrible the game horrible.
  30. TNathan475
    Aug 3, 2013
    10
    Shenmue Grand Theft Auto? YES PLEASE!
    Fans of either genre of games will be pleasantly surprised by this title. The combination of third person beat-em-up/martial arts games and the open world fun and randomness of a Grand Theft Auto type game is a sure winner here! And for an added bonus the story is well-crafted, involved and interesting. Voice acting is superb and the attention to    Shenmue Grand Theft Auto? YES PLEASE!
    Fans of either genre of games will be pleasantly surprised by this title. The combination of third person beat-em-up/martial arts games and the open world fun and randomness of a Grand Theft Auto type game is a sure winner here! And for an added bonus the story is well-crafted, involved and interesting. Voice acting is superb and the attention to detail culture-wise is nothing less than impressive! Can't lose with Sleeping Dogs.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Best PC Game of 2012
26
#26 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
21
#21 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 6, 2013
    90
    Unlike the previous ‘True Crime’ games, where there was a strict depiction of the city maps, Sleeping Dogs does not portray Hong Kong, inch by inch. United Front Games has implemented GTA’s novelties in way that winks slyly at Rockstar. In essence, what the GTA series has accomplished, Sleeping Dogs has carried out better and more elegantly. [October 2012]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Oct 11, 2012
    60
    A solid GTA clone that ticks all the boxes but forgets to add the magic ingredient of improvisation. [Oct 2012, p.77]
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Oct 10, 2012
    80
    City action in an Asian style casts a fresh wind to the sandbox game genre, with attractive worlds full of details, great battle mechanics and cool free-run sections. [Sept 2012]
See all critic reviews »