Hong Kong in the rain, a bike weaving through the market stalls, and a cop who no longer knows which way he leans.

Sleeping Dogs' profile is almost unsettling in its evenness. Desert island, connection, fun, sound environment, it all sits around the middle, neither high nor low, ahead of roughly half the games on each line. No dazzle, but no glaring weakness either. The only real dip is rediscovery: it ranks ahead of just 8% of titles. The wish to live it again for the first time stays low, as if you'd hold onto the experience without dreaming of starting over.

In the open-world action space, next to the genre's giants, Sleeping Dogs plays its more modest but sincere tune, with its hand-to-hand combat and its singular Asian setting. A solid outsider more than a star.

So, who's it for? For you if you love fistfights, a city that takes you elsewhere, and a hero torn between two loyalties. Much less if you're chasing the game that haunts you long after the credits, the one you'd dream of rediscovering fresh.