SurrounDead

About

SurrounDead is a single player open world role playing shooter game. It was developed by Zurvivor and was released on June 24, 2022. It received very positive reviews from players.

"SurrounDead" is a single-player, open-world zombie survival game with a good story, stunning mechanics, and sensational graphics. The game features a vast, post-apocalyptic landscape with various zombies, human survivors, and vehicles to manage. Despite some grinding and bugs, the unique atmosphere and the promise of future updates, such as improved AI and controller support, make it an intriguing choice for fans of the genre.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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91%

Audience ScoreBased on 14,064 reviews

gameplay553 positive mentions

stability179 negative mentions

The game features a charming low-poly, voxel art style that evokes nostalgia and fits the immersive atmosphere well.
Gameplay mechanics are engaging and addictive, with customizable difficulty settings that enhance the survival experience.
The humor and quirky bugs add a unique charm, making the game enjoyable, especially in multiplayer sessions.

The graphics are considered too primitive by some players, which may detract from the overall experience.
Many players report significant bugs and glitches, particularly in character development and AI behavior, affecting gameplay quality.
The lack of a structured story and quests leads to a sense of aimlessness, making exploration feel pointless after a few hours.

gameplay
1,524 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
60%
4%
The gameplay of "Surroundead" has received a mix of praise and criticism, highlighting its engaging mechanics and addictive loop of looting, combat, and survival. Players appreciate the customizable difficulty settings and the blend of familiar elements from other survival games like "DayZ" and "Project Zomboid," though some find the mechanics, particularly in combat and inventory management, to be clunky or underdeveloped. Overall, while the game shows promise with its solid foundation and frequent updates, many reviewers express a desire for more depth, variety, and multiplayer options to enhance the experience.
- “The gameplay is fun and has options to make it easier or harder.”
- “The core gameplay is addictive, the mechanics are surprisingly deep, and the overall experience is incredibly fun for those who enjoy the survival loop.”
- “The gameplay loop is simple but engaging, and it’s easy to play at your own pace.”
- “The zombie AI is all-around just kind of janky, and it makes the gameplay either 0 or 100 ferocity.”
- “The gameplay loop feels monotonous after a while.”
- “The gameplay is simplistic in late game (noise maker -> grenade launcher, rinse and repeat), but the POIs are well made, and provide some much-needed variety.”
graphics
847 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
60%
3%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a low-poly, voxel art style that evokes a nostalgic feel reminiscent of titles like "Unturned" and "Minecraft." While some players appreciate the charming simplicity and smooth performance on lower-end hardware, others find the graphics too primitive or unpolished, noting that they may detract from the overall experience. Despite mixed opinions, many agree that the gameplay mechanics and immersive atmosphere compensate for the simplistic visuals, making it a fun and engaging survival experience.
- “The graphics are lovely.”
- “The art style evokes Valheim vibes in all the best ways.”
- “Despite the low-poly art style, the game actually looks stylized and atmospheric, and it fits the world perfectly.”
- “I have an i7 and a 2060 RTX graphics card and still struggle to play on lower settings.”
- “The graphics may push away some people because it's similar to terrible blocky mobile games, but overall the game itself is fun.”
- “The graphics are low-polygon.”
story
665 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
80%
7%
The game's story aspect is currently minimal, with players noting a lack of quests and overarching narrative, which leads to a sense of aimlessness after initial exploration. While there are hints of environmental storytelling and some basic missions, the majority of players express a strong desire for more structured quests and a deeper storyline to enhance engagement. Many reviews indicate that future updates are expected to address these shortcomings, with hopes for a more robust quest system and multiplayer features.
- “The world feels alive despite being overrun by zombies, and every location tells its own silent story through environmental design.”
- “Exploration is fun because of the various story elements you pick up along the way and the constant threats from zombies and humans.”
- “The kind of game where after each play session you have a story to tell.”
- “There is not a lot of in-depth story or things to do yet, but give this diamond in the rough some time.”
- “None of the story or quests exist yet, so there is no goal or objective. This means exploring is pointless after just a few hours because you've mostly seen and done it all.”
- “The only drawback right now in both my old playthroughs and my current one is that, at the moment, the open world gameplay needs more campaign and story.”
stability
222 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
1%
81%
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many players reporting a range of bugs and glitches, particularly given its early access status. While some users have experienced smooth performance and minimal issues, others have encountered significant problems, including game-breaking glitches and frustrating AI behavior. Overall, while the game shows promise and runs well for some, it still requires considerable polish and bug fixes to reach its full potential.
- “Atmosphere is great, still got a lot to explore. I have yet to find any bugs in the game despite the early access status; it's bug-free till now and mechanics are very smooth.”
- “The game runs great, looks great, plays great.”
- “Honestly, for an early access game, everything runs great. This game takes no space and provides a whole world to explore.”
- “The game has been out for 3 years; it's quite hilarious how buggy and unpolished it is in some areas.”
- “But this game is so buggy it's almost unplayable.”
- “This game is a broken, buggy piece of shit mess.”
atmosphere
189 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
39%
2%
The atmosphere in "Surroundead" is widely praised for its immersive and tense qualities, effectively capturing the essence of a post-apocalyptic world filled with danger and exploration. Players appreciate the combination of dynamic weather, sound design, and low-poly visuals that create a haunting yet engaging environment, enhancing the survival experience. Overall, the game successfully balances tension and exploration, making it a standout title in the survival genre.
- “From its tense atmosphere to its satisfying survival mechanics, Surroundead manages to capture the essence of what makes survival games fun while also adding its own identity.”
- “The atmosphere is brutally authentic — every step, every building, every item you find feels meaningful.”
- “The day-night cycle and dynamic weather systems enhance the atmosphere significantly, creating moments of eerie stillness or high-stakes action.”
- “The absolute worst being the in-game atmosphere spatial audio.”
- “Played for an hour and buildings are unpopulated, completely empty, which kills the atmosphere.”
- “I wish I could middle thumb this game - I didn't play much of it but gave up soon because the whole thing just seemed to lack an atmosphere.”
grinding
185 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
8%
91%
Reviews on the grinding aspect of the game reveal a mixed sentiment among players. While some appreciate the relatively quick access to high-tier gear and the rewarding nature of grinding, many find the process tedious and repetitive, particularly in terms of inventory management and resource gathering. Players express a desire for more engaging mechanics, such as farming and improved crafting systems, to enhance the overall experience and reduce the monotony of grinding.
- “Not too grindy but grindy enough to keep you busy for a while if you want all legendary items in the game and upgrade your base.”
- “I'm hoping to see more mechanics involved around eating and drinking. I would love to see farming being added (according to a roadmap, it's in the works). They also mentioned in a roadmap they plan on adding bandit camps as well as quests from allies, which sounds awesome.”
- “You get good gear fast, after that it's just more of the same - grinding for slightly different loot that doesn't meaningfully change anything.”
- “The loot pools regenerate which makes farming stupidly easy, the points of interest and buildings in general lack any sort of character to them, weapons, ammo, food, water, all way too easy to come by.”
- “After a while it becomes stale and monotone and you're basically just mindlessly farming the same monuments or points of interest over and over again for almost no reason other than to pass time.”
optimization
153 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
50%
8%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed feedback from players. While many report smooth performance and stability, especially on lower-end systems, others experience significant performance dips during intense gameplay scenarios, such as large zombie encounters or shootouts. As the game is still in early access, players express hope for further optimization improvements to enhance the experience.
- “The game runs smoothly and I don't recall meeting any bugs despite it being early access.”
- “Performance-wise, the game runs great overall.”
- “For a game still in early access, this is better optimized and plays better than many of the AAA games at 1.0 launch these days.”
- “Idk why but performance was horrible for me and on medium sensitivity when normally I can play most games on high.”
- “The one thing that did bother me were the lag spikes and low performance during shootouts or when the AI shoots in general.”
- “Its a real shame because this is a very fun and addicting game but I just can't recommend it with such insanely poor performance issues.”
music
131 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
62%
8%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its overall quality and atmospheric fit, while others criticize its repetitiveness and limited variety. Some users noted that the soundtrack enhances the immersive experience, but also expressed a desire for more diverse tracks and better sound mixing. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, it could benefit from updates to expand its range and reduce redundancy.
- “The music is unexpectedly good too; someone seems to have put some real effort into not letting the atmospherics lag behind even this early on, which I think is an underrated part of these sorts of games.”
- “If you like scavenging materials and surviving in a post-apocalyptic zombie world whilst listening to a beautiful, peaceful soundtrack, then this game is for you.”
- “Great atmosphere, great music, solid sound design.”
- “The music gets a little repetitive after a while, but the guns sound really good.”
- “Disabling the music is almost required (which, again, bad design because why even bother spending time on music if we have to mute it to hear anything).”
- “Music repetition is very obvious and slightly annoying.”
replayability
79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
57%
5%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many players praising its high customization options and engaging gameplay that allows for varied experiences, while others note a lack of content and objectives that can lead to repetitiveness. Multiplayer support and additional end-game content are frequently mentioned as potential enhancements to boost replay value. Overall, the game offers significant replayability for those who enjoy tweaking difficulty and exploring its sandbox elements, but some players feel it could benefit from more diverse challenges and cooperative play.
- “The amount of control you have over how the game plays is honestly impressive and adds a ton of replay value.”
- “This game begs to be played with friends, and co-op would massively boost both fun and replayability.”
- “The gameplay is awesome and has some serious replay value.”
- “At first, I thought the map was procedurally generated, but it is not, leaving not much for any replayability either.”
- “My only complaint is the lack of replayability.”
- “After a few more hours, I can say with confidence that the game definitely needs an end objective or a reason to play multiple saves, since the replayability just kinda sucks.”
humor
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a standout feature, with players finding amusement in its quirky bugs, absurd physics, and unexpected moments, such as hilarious vehicle mishaps and comical character interactions. Many reviews highlight the game's ability to generate laughter through its wacky mechanics and funny scenarios, making it an enjoyable experience, especially when playing with friends. Overall, the humor adds a unique charm to the game, despite its ongoing early access status and occasional bugs.
- “The game has been stable, the map is big with plenty of funny little easter eggs hidden around.”
- “I've only had one glitch, which was hilarious (the jeep I was driving got wedged between two buses and magically popped atop the heads of the horde of zombies following me. I kept pressing 'k' to reset my vehicle and it kept bouncing on their heads until they were crushed to death )”
- “What's also funny is that in my very first game spawning in, I got mauled to death by a bear by surprise in less than thirty seconds.”
monetization
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
18%
78%
The monetization aspect of the game has drawn significant criticism, with many users labeling it a "cash grab" due to perceived lack of content and basic features. While some players appreciate the absence of pay-to-win mechanics and microtransactions, they express frustration over the game's limited aiming mechanics and overall polish, suggesting that it feels more like an unfinished project than a fully realized game. Overall, there is a strong sentiment that the game does not deliver on its promises, leading to disappointment among players who expected a more engaging experience.
- “It's a masterclass game without the need for over-the-top graphics and microtransactions.”
- “Quite a gem for single-player lovers out there, in an era where every other company focuses on microtransactions and DLCs, this is a real game, how games should be.”
- “Pure cash grab.”
- “Missing lots of basic features, game is cash grab garbage, save your money and time.”
- “I'm hoping in the months to come I will come back to this title and it will have become something beautiful, because right now it is a lazy cash grab from a solo dev whose first project is to use EA assets to fart out a basic 'game' and charge £12.39 (US$15.99) a time.”
emotional
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a mix of emotional engagement and frustration with the game, highlighting its addictive nature and rewarding gameplay despite its survival challenges. While some find it surprisingly wholesome amidst its apocalyptic setting, others struggle with combat mechanics and technical issues that detract from the overall experience. The emotional impact varies, with some feeling a strong connection to the game's atmosphere, while others are left feeling damaged by the harsh survival elements.
- “Died hungry, cold, and emotionally damaged.”
- “It’s addictive, rewarding, and surprisingly wholesome for a game about the end of the world.”
- “The zombie enemies are kind of annoying to time a hit at but that's probably a skill issue on my part, fighting the bandits on the other hand made me feel like a scav in EFT, and since I'll have to make my bullets count this made the gunfight with them much more intense.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development has received mixed feedback, with users highlighting frustrating bugs that can reset character designs to default upon creating new saves and other glitches that disrupt gameplay, such as being unable to access the map during extended sessions.
- “One major complaint is that it's still buggy; when you create a new save, there's a chance your character design will reset to default, and there's no way to fix it.”
- “During long gaming sessions, random bugs can occur, such as being unable to open the map, which can be quite frustrating.”
- “The character development feels shallow, as there are limited options for customization and progression, making it hard to feel a connection to the character.”