14 Most Underrated Open-World Games Of The Last 10 Years

5. Sleeping Dogs

sleeping dogs
United Front Games

The fact that Sleeping Dogs won't get a sequel is one of the biggest gaming travesties of the past ten years. Released in 2012, the open world game was more than just another GTA clone, capitalising on its Hong Kong setting to give players a fascinating undercover cop tale.

Relying on melee combat more than gunplay, Sleeping Dogs was one of the few open world titles at the time that wasn't just about shooting bad guys in the face. Instead, the title kept its content varied, throwing you into an array of brawls, shoot-outs, car chases and even some good old-fashioned detective work that captured the spectacle (and the cheese) of classic action movies.

Oh and in between all of that you could just go and hang out in one of Hong Kong's many karaoke bars. Sick of the good cop/bad cop routine and just want to kick back with a few beers and belt out 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'? This game had you covered.

Advertisement
Contributor

Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.