Sleeping Dogs is an action-adventure game[2][3] set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective. The player controls Wei Shen, a Chinese-American police officer who goes undercover and ventures out on a raid to infiltrate the Sun On Yee Triad organization.[4][5] The initial missions of the game are a linear tutorial for controlling the character.[6] After these missions, the player is allowed to explore the game's world and take part in side missions and other activities.[5] Shen navigates the world by running, jumping, climbing over obstacles, swimming,[7] and driving cars, boats and motorcycles.[8] The heads-up display (HUD) interface features a mini-map that indicates targets, key locations (safe houses and contact points) and Shen's current position. The mini-map incorporates two meters: one shows Shen's health and the other his face. When the face meter fills, upgrades are unlocked such as health regeneration, improved combat abilities and reduced equipment costs. The HUD also displays the weapon carried and its ammunition count.[9]
The game features the option to choose from Triad, Face and Police XPs. Triad XP is obtained through melee combat and violent actions such as "environmental kills". Triad XP awarded is directly proportional to the complexity of attacking moves, and gaining Triad XP unlocks improvements to Shen's melee combat skills such as increased damage, improved weapon durability, and unblockable attacks. Face XP, obtained in civilian side missions, fills Shen's face meter and unlocks cosmetic items such as clothes and vehicles. By reaching a higher Face level, the player can freely buy vehicles or clothing. When it is full, Shen gains health regeneration, increased attack damage and other benefits.[10] Police XP is gained by minimizing civilian casualties and property damage in missions and by completing police side missions, and gaining Police XP unlocks improvements to Shen's firearm combat skills and abilities such as disarming opponents, hot-wiring cars, and retrieving weapon stashes from the trunks of police cars.[11] The clothes, accessories and vehicles purchased by Shen affect non-player characters' reactions toward him. The player may collect jade zodiac statuettes and return them to a dojo to unlock different martial arts combos.[5][12]