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United Front Games returns to its surprise 2012 hit, Sleeping Dogs, bringing a spruced-up Definitive Edition to both PS4 and Xbox One with all DLC included. In addition to the content bonanza, the studio also takes this chance to improve the game's visual standard, with new atmospheric effects and lighting, among other tweaks, added to the mix. But are such changes impactful enough to bring the game up to current gen standards? And with a cheeky £10 Steam upgrade fee required for owners of the PC original, does it really justify a revisit? The promise of visual tweaks hangs overhead for all three versions. Geometric detail is particularly broadened, with the opening shot of Hong Kong's skyline filled out with extra buildings. We also get more Havok physics-impacted boxes lying around cafes, while the city's docks are packed with extra cars and flag-lines. No platform misses out here - right down to the extra inventory around the market stalls.
Other tweaks show up in gameplay more directly. World density on consoles comes very close indeed to the PC on its extreme setting, with distant buildings now only flickering with occasional pop-in. The Definitive Edition vastly improves on this point over the original; even when maxed out, visible world streaming issues are apparent. The level-of-detail (LOD) switchover can still be caught on all three platforms, but Sleeping Dogs is hugely improved in this area overall.
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