Sweet Surrender

About

Sweet Surrender is a single player tactical shooter game with post-apocalyptic and science fiction themes. It was developed by Salmi Games and was released on September 30, 2021. It received positive reviews from players.

Sweet Surrender is a roguelite VR shooter in a dystopian megatower. Explore levels. Discover secrets. Maneuver through treacherous environments. Collect an arsenal of guns, upgrades and explosives to mount a major assault on the machine overlords. Fight your way to the summit!

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85%

Audience ScoreBased on 124 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

stability6 negative mentions

Engaging and fun roguelike VR shooter with satisfying gunplay and smooth gameplay.
Great replayability supported by procedural level generation, diverse weapons, and upgrade systems.
Polished visuals with an appealing art style reminiscent of Borderlands, plus active and responsive developers providing frequent updates.

Limited variety in weapons, enemies, rooms, and game mechanics causing runs to feel repetitive over time.
Presence of bugs and glitches such as disappearing weapons, collision and level geometry issues, and awkward two-handed weapon handling.
Lack of story depth, minimal enemy AI challenge, and absence of certain desired features like difficulty options, manual reloads, and multiplayer.

gameplay
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
62%
8%
The gameplay offers a solid, fast-paced roguelike VR shooting experience with smooth gunplay and engaging mechanics, though some find it repetitive and lacking depth in enemy AI and variety. While the core loop is enjoyable and accessible for both newcomers and veterans, ongoing updates and content additions are improving polish and expanding gameplay. However, certain mechanics like reload and chip upgrades receive mixed feedback, and some players desire more complexity and variety to maintain long-term engagement.
- “This game brilliantly combines the thrilling elements of roguelike shooters with an engaging and immersive VR experience, making it a must-try for anyone who loves fast-paced, action-packed gameplay.”
- “The gunplay is fun, plays smooth as silk, inventory setup is nice (2 holsters, 4 accessory slots, 4 chip upgrade slots, and 1 large weapon on your back), and the reload mechanics are okay.”
- “The gameplay has a large amount of variation thanks to the diverse crowd of weapons, enemies, and room layouts.”
- “No interesting mechanics.”
- “AI mechanics are far too simple and predictable to provide a notion of difficulty.”
- “If the gunplay was fun I would be able to look past the lack of content but the core shooting mechanics of the game are so unsatisfying.”
graphics
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
27%
9%
The game features a stylish, clean, and visually pleasing art style often compared to Borderlands, with cell-shaded and minimalistic graphics that run smoothly, especially in VR. Its low-demand visuals contribute to excellent performance without sacrificing aesthetic appeal, supporting fast-paced gameplay and environmental interactivity. While some find the graphics simple or the level design bland, the overall consensus highlights an attractive art style that enhances the immersive experience.
- “It runs very well and is built for VR - the art style is clean and looks good in VR!”
- “The graphics look wonderful playing through a Quest 3 and streaming from a 3060 Ti.”
- “Great graphics that take advantage of what VR does well.”
- “Simple graphics which is fine when the game feels smooth to play.”
- “Basic graphics but since it's a fast pace arcade shooter, I personally consider it a good thing.”
- “I do like the cell-shaded art style, but at the same time the level designs are kind of bland.”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The story in this game is minimal to nonexistent, primarily serving as a simple "kill robots and reach the top" framework without engaging depth or characters. Players find the narrative lacking motivation for multiple runs or investment, with some criticism of lengthy text that interrupts gameplay. Overall, the story is seen as one of the game's weakest aspects.
- “Not only do I feel any further plot is unnecessary beyond this game's simple setup of 'kill robots, get to the top of the tower', but why are you giving me a long wall of text to read in a game that gives you limited time to complete floors?”
- “If there was a more expanded story, a reason to do multiple runs, maybe NPCs or other things to give rational or some level of want to continue, that would also fix it.”
- “I am okay playing easy games, but if it is easy and has a really weak story, it's not really worth my attention at that point.”
- “The enemies are somewhat personality-poor robots and the story frame has nothing to grab on to.”
- “If there was a more expanded story, a reason to do multiple runs, maybe NPCs or other elements to provide rationale or some level of desire to continue, that would also fix it.”
- “Not only do I feel like any further plot is unnecessary beyond this game's simple setup of 'kill robots, get to the top of the tower,' but why are you giving me a long wall of text to read in a game that gives you limited time (at least I assume the 'you've been tracked down, run!' message is a timer warning, I never stuck around long enough to find out) to complete floors?”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
38%
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and how well it complements the art style and gameplay, providing an engaging and enjoyable soundtrack that enhances combat and exploration. Audio cues also effectively signal gameplay events, adding to the overall experience.
- “Speaking of audio, there's a fantastic soundtrack which comes into play as you're fighting enemies in a room, and when there are no more enemies in the room, you get an audio cue which tells you, so you can holster your weapons and start to loot safely.”
- “The movement and combat feels fun, and the soundtrack is enjoyable as you venture through the corridors, trying to get to a new high level.”
- “While the art and music complement each other beautifully, the real star of the show is the physics engine.”
- “Though the music and art style (a la Borderlands) is cool, the gameplay was far too underwhelming to keep me engaged for long.”
- “Enjoy the minimal art style but explicitly the soundtrack.”
- “~ music ~”
stability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
86%
The game is generally enjoyable and runs well visually, but it suffers from numerous glitches and bugs that affect gameplay stability, such as disappearing items and locked rooms. While these issues are not game-breaking, they can be frustrating and impact the overall experience.
- “I only played it for 20 minutes and it was buggy as hell, says I have played 5 hours.”
- “And speaking of glitches, one that made me almost quit my run is my dual revolvers just disappearing after putting them in my holsters.”
- “I've managed to complete it to the very end and roll credits in 1.7 hours apparently, and that's with additional glitches like each room locking for a minute that slowed me down considerably.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
Replayability is generally praised, with players enjoying the game's engaging loop and smooth gameplay that encourages multiple runs. However, some note that room designs become repetitive after several plays, suggesting a need for more variety to enhance long-term replay value. Overall, the game offers high replayability comparable to top VR roguelites.
- “I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants replayability.”
- “This means the replay value is high.”
- “It feels kinda like 'Compound VR' (one of the best VR-roguelites and one of my VR favorites) in replayability and smoothness of gameplay, and absolutely has this great 'okay-one-more-run-and-that's-it' feeling.”
- “More rooms - after five or so runs, rooms tend to be rather samey or reused. It'd be nice to see more rooms for each level, shaking up the replay value.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game demonstrates excellent optimization, with the development team consistently releasing updates that address bugs, improve mechanics, enhance graphics, and boost overall performance. It runs smoothly across various headsets, providing a clean and polished experience.
- “The development team has been incredibly responsive to feedback, rolling out numerous updates that have significantly improved the game's mechanics, graphics, and overall performance.”
- “I have seen this game grow for a little while now, and no matter what update they release, it's always touching on issues, bugs, QoL changes, and performance.”
- “Great clean style works on a variety of headsets and runs smoothly.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is largely optional and offers limited rewards, as better items become available later. Additionally, some grinding sections can feel tedious due to mechanics like unkillable enemies and waiting periods.
- “There is one optional zone, but there is no real reason to do it, save grinding more weapons and mods, which is pretty much pointless, as item rarity gets better later on anyway.”
- “It was counting the floating unkillable enemy as something that had not been killed, and the doors would open after about a minute of waiting around (probably a fail safe programmed by the dev), but this was tedious.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is well-received, effectively complemented by its environmental destruction mechanics and charming pixel-art style, enhancing the overall experience.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users appreciate the game's continuous development, noting that each update thoughtfully addresses various issues while enhancing quality of life and performance, creating a consistent and emotionally engaging experience.