Sleeping Dogs: Nightmare in North Point DLC Review

Let’s get straight to the bottom of this thing: what is the Nightmare in North Point DLC for Sleeping Dogs?

Like we reported earlier, it’s a ridiculous halloween scenario for Sleeping Dogs, set in one of it’s districts (North Point).

The idea is simple: there is an ex-Sun-Un-Yee thug come back from the dead as a demon, to terrorize Hong Kong and unleash vengeance upon all who wronged him. Of course he takes a love interest hostage, and protagonist Wei Shen must find him, but first acquire the necessary powers to be able to fight his minions, and ultimately him.

This leads us into the actual developments found in this DLC: after some small progress through the boring Jiang Shi and possessed thugs you fight, you encounter a demon you cannot beat yet. You then go on a short fetchquest to get a ridiculous tea that gives you magical Kung-Fu powers. Then there are portals with Jiang Shi, as well as demons. Then there is a mystical sword you can use to further improve your odds against these enemies. Then there are “hell shrines”, which you can find scattered around North Point. Then of course is the main story of the plot, taking a total of about 2-4 hours to complete.

How does it all actually work? Well, first of all the combat of the game acquires a new feelings through Kung Fu. Whereas the combat of the full game is more like modern hand-to-hand combat, this game has Wei Shen performing all sorts of Kung Fu moves (taken from stylish martial movies, no doubt), which not only changes the pacing of the combat a little bit, but also makes you feel like more of a badass when fighting enemies. When you get the sword, too, you will earn many sorts of new moves, making it a fun death instrument to learn in addition to the bare-fist combat moves you have been practicing all along. The “hell shrines” are merely there for padding, though I suspect they do unlock at least a bit of dialogue for a certain character. I didn’t get to find them all, because unlike the regular health shrines, the hell shrines are never marked on the map, which means you must find each one of them by endlessly exploring North Point’s every nook and cranny.

As a final detail: you don’t carry over any of your cars or clothes from the main game into the Nightmare in North Point DLC. Instead, you start with a generic Kung-Fu garb, and as you close demon portals and save people around North Point you will unlock other traditional garments, as well as vehicles. There are also some new achievements, for those that care.

So, is it worth getting? Hey, I’m not here to tell you that. I’ll only say that, if you played dozens upon dozens of hours of Sleeping Dogs and wish you had some excuse to play some more (I certainly did), well this isn’t a bad excuse at all for just about $5 (On Steam; it depends on your platform, of course). If you didn’t finish Sleeping Dogs, or don’t feel any fondness for the game after finishing it (how dare you!?) then this DLC won’t change your mind.