Operation Sunset guide
How to play Operation Sunset
Operation Sunset is a free-for-all gun game shooter that runs in your browser. Every kill swaps your gun for the next one on a 20-level ladder — 19 guns, then the knife. Here's how the rules work, every control on desktop and touch, and how to climb faster.
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Quick start
- Open the gameHit Play — it loads right in this tab. Pick a callsign.
- Pick a modePlay online against everyone, or Practice vs bots offline.
- Climb the ladderEvery kill swaps your gun for the next one. Knife kills steal a level.
- Finish on the knifeGet a kill with all 19 guns, then a knife kill to win.
Gun game, explained
The rules
Gun game (also called arms race) flips the usual shooter: you don't pick a loadout, the ladder picks it for you. Matches open on fast-killing SMGs, climb through shotguns, rifles, the M249, an RPG-7 and two snipers, and then drag the leaders down to pistols and finally the knife — which gives everyone behind them a chance to catch up.
Free-for-all
Everyone against everyone, up to 8 players a match. Empty slots are filled with bots.
Every kill = next gun
Each kill moves you up one level and swaps your gun on the spot, with four spare magazines.
20 levels
19 guns in a fixed order — SMGs, shotguns, rifles, the M249, the RPG-7, snipers, pistols — then the knife.
Knife kills steal a level
Knife someone and they drop a level while you still climb. Everyone carries a knife on every level.
First through the knife wins
A kill on the final level, with the knife, ends the match. If the clock runs out first, the highest level wins.
Respawn, regen, repeat
100 HP, no armour. You respawn after 3 s with 2 s of spawn protection, and health regenerates after 4 s without damage.
The small print
- Spawn protection ends the moment you fire, and respawns pick a spot far from every living enemy — never on a roof or the terrace.
- Ties at the buzzer go to the most kills, then the fewest deaths. Matches run 10 minutes online; practice matches can be 5, 10 or 15.
- Fall off something (or get blasted out of the map) within 4 s of being shot and the kill goes to whoever shot you — but it doesn't move them up the ladder.
- Run a gun completely dry and you switch to the knife until your next kill or respawn hands you a fresh, full gun.
- One match in five is a modifier match: Handguns only (a random Desert Eagle, P250 or Five-SeveN each life), Rockets only or Knives only. The ladder is off and the first to 20 kills wins.
Keyboard & mouse
Desktop controls
Click into the game and it captures your mouse; press Esc to get it back. Mouse and aiming sensitivity, invert Y and hold-or-toggle aiming are in Settings → Controls, field of view (70–115°) is under Video, and every setting applies live — even from the pause menu.
| W A S DorArrow keys | Move |
|---|---|
| Shift | WalkQuiet — only running makes footsteps |
| CtrlorC | CrouchTighter spread, also silent |
| Space | Jump |
| Left mouse | FireKnife: quick slash |
| Right mouse | Aim down sights / scopeKnife: heavy stab. Hold or toggle in Settings → Controls |
| EorMiddle mouse | Second scope zoomAWP (5×) |
| R | Reload |
| 1 | Gun |
| 2or3 | Knife |
| QorMouse wheel | Quick switch gun ↔ knife |
| F | Inspect weapon |
| Tab | Scoreboard |
| Esc | Pause menuOffline matches freeze underneath |
| F11 | Fullscreen |
| F1 | Back to the main menu |
Phones & tablets
Touch controls
On a phone you only do two things: move and look. Everything else — firing, aiming down sights, scoping, reloading — plays itself when an enemy is near your crosshair, so you can focus on movement and keeping the crosshair on target. The only button on screen is pause (❚❚).
Left thumb: move
A floating joystick appears wherever your thumb lands on the left of the screen. Push it lightly to walk quietly.
Right thumb: look
Drag anywhere on the right to aim. A quick tap jumps; holding your thumb still crouches until you lift it.
Shooting is automatic
The gun fires while your crosshair is on an enemy, sights and scopes come up when one is near, and the knife stabs anyone in reach.
Reloading is automatic
Empty magazines reload themselves, low ones top up when nobody's around, and a dry gun comes back out once it has ammo.
Aim assist
On by default: the view slows over a target and gently follows it while you steer. Turn it off in Settings → Touch.
Play in landscape
Touch controls switch on by themselves on phones and tablets (Settings → Touch: Auto, On or Off). Turn the phone sideways; the game goes fullscreen where the browser allows.
Modes
Online, or practice vs bots
Play online drops you into the live match on the game server: up to 8 players, with bots filling the empty slots and stepping aside as people join. When every slot holds a person, new players wait in a spectator queue and join automatically when someone leaves. The server runs the match at 64 ticks a second and lag-compensates your shots. If it can't be reached, the game offers to retry or start an offline match instead.
Practice vs bots runs a full match in your browser. Pick the number of players (2, 4, 6 or 8), the bots' skill (Easy, Normal, Hard or Expert), a time limit (5, 10 or 15 minutes) and a modifier (Random, Off, Handguns, Rockets or Knives), then start. Pausing freezes an offline match, and switching apps pauses it too.
Bots roam the map, hear unsilenced gunfire and walk over to investigate, and aim with a reaction time and error that scale with their skill. Their aim takes a moment to settle at the start of a fight and gets worse against someone strafing across their view — so good movement wins duels, even against Expert bots.
Get to the knife first
Tips for climbing the ladder
Fire last, not first, after you spawn
Spawn protection lasts 2 s and ends the moment you shoot. Use it to get to cover or line up a shot, not to spray at the first thing you see.
Break line of sight to heal
Health comes back at 25 HP a second after 4 s without taking damage. Losing a duel at half health? Duck round a corner and come back full.
Walk when it matters
Running makes footsteps; walking (Shift) and crouching don't. Every gun on the ladder is loud: the bullets you fire show up as red pings on other players' radars, and bots within earshot come to investigate.
Stop to shoot
Moving fast and jumping blow your spread open, crouching tightens it, and aiming down sights tightens it further. Recoil only starts climbing after your first shot, so fire in short bursts at range.
Aim for the head
Headshots do 2.5× with SMGs and pistols, 3× with shotguns, rifles, the M249 and the Desert Eagle, and 4× with snipers. Two rifle headshots kill at any range.
Reload between fights
Each new gun comes with four spare magazines. If one runs completely dry you're switched to the knife until your next kill or respawn, so top up (R) before you push.
Watch your back near the top
Everyone below you can knife you down a level. On the pistol levels and the knife you're the one being hunted — don't stand still in open ground.
Pick fights that suit the gun
SMGs and shotguns want to be close; rifles need the same number of hits at 38 m as at 8 m; snipers kill in one body shot. The weapons guide has the numbers for every gun.
Want the exact numbers? The Operation Sunset weapons guide lists damage, fire rate, ammo and shots to kill for every gun on the ladder.
The map
Sunset Outpost callouts
Every match plays on Sunset Outpost, a walled desert trading post at sundown, about 70 × 70 m inside the ramparts. An outer ring runs inside the walls and the market sits in the middle as the hub, joined to the ring by spokes: the HQ gate, West Street, the souk, the terrace stairs and Tower Alley. The map has 30 named areas, and the one you're standing in shows under your radar — use them to call out where someone is.
North — the fortress
The garrison HQ, its roofs and the lanes around them.
- Garrison
- North-west corner of the fortress.
- Barracks
- Walk-through: two rooms whose doors never line up.
- North Street
- Wide street in front of the fortress, closed off by the barracks.
- HQ Gate
- 5 m wide covered passage under the fortress roof, out to the market.
- HQ Roof
- High ground: the wide stair along the HQ front, or the gallery from Customs Roof.
- Bridge
- Covered gallery with windows between the HQ and the customs house — a route, not a perch.
- Customs Roof
- High ground east of the HQ: its east stair, or the gallery.
- Tower Alley
- One of the spokes into the market from the north.
- North Lane
- A chicane round the HQ annex and the stables.
Centre
The inner hub every route passes through.
- Market
- Split into sight cells by a kiosk, a water tank and a booth; stalls stand against the walls.
- Well
- Under a 10 × 10 m pillared canopy with carved screens on its north and east sides.
West — the close-quarters quarter
Whitewashed alleys and houses built for shotguns and knives.
- West Street
- Spoke into the market from the west, closed off by the tea house.
- Lookout
- A roof with stairs on opposite corners — one of the few spots with very long sightlines.
- West Alley
- 3–4 m alleys of the close-quarters quarter.
- West House
- One of two walk-through west houses.
- The Arch
East
The yard, the raised terrace and the east lane.
- Motor Pool
- Terrace
- Raised café terrace with three stairs and long sightlines.
- East Lane
- Runs down the east side, closed off by the garage.
- Garage
- Walk-through building.
South
Halls, gardens and the shrine below the market.
- Souk
- Walk-through hall between the market and the south plaza.
- South Plaza
- Fountain
- On a raised dais.
- Arcade
- Pavilions at both ends.
- Caravanserai
- Walk-through hall.
- Palm Grove
- Palms round the cistern.
- Cistern
- Raised in two steps.
- Pump House
- Walk-through building.
- Shrine
- The domed shrine.
- Shrine Garden
Requirements
What you need
- An up-to-date browser with WebGL 2, on a computer, phone or tablet.
- A keyboard and mouse, or a touchscreen. Phones and tablets play in landscape.
- An internet connection to load the game and to play online.
- Nothing else: no download, no install, no account.
FAQ
Operation Sunset questions
- Is Operation Sunset free to play?
- Yes. It runs in your browser at danielsapps.com/operation-sunset — no download, no launcher and no account. Pick a callsign and play.
- How do you win a gun game match in Operation Sunset?
- Climb all 20 levels: get a kill with each of the 19 guns in order, then get a kill with the knife. If the time limit runs out first, the player on the highest level wins; ties go to the most kills, then the fewest deaths.
- What happens when you get knifed?
- You drop one level (unless you're still on level 1), and the player who knifed you moves up as usual. Everyone carries a knife on every level, so it's the game's comeback mechanic.
- Can I play Operation Sunset on my phone?
- Yes. Touch controls switch on automatically: a floating joystick under your left thumb, and drag on the right to look (tap to jump, hold still to crouch). Firing, aiming and reloading happen on their own, and aim assist slows the view over targets. Play with the phone in landscape.
- Can I play offline against bots?
- Yes. Open Practice vs bots in the main menu, pick 2, 4, 6 or 8 players, Easy, Normal, Hard or Expert bots, a 5, 10 or 15 minute time limit and an optional modifier, then start. Online, bots fill any empty slots and make way as people join.
Ready? Drop in.
Free in your browser — no download, no launcher. Bots fill the empty slots, so there's always a match.
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