The game uses a side-scrolling perspective. Keen travels across a world map and enters individual stages, where he must reach the exit while collecting items, defeating or avoiding enemies, and finding bonus areas.

Stages contain platforms, hazards, moving objects, switches, and hidden passages. Keen can jump, use his pogo stick, and fire his raygun. Lost lives return him to the map, while points and collectibles provide additional rewards. The episode culminates in a confrontation involving the Vorticon leadership.

Learn enemy movement before committing to a jump. Many hazards are easier to handle by waiting for a safe opening than by rushing forward, and the pogo stick is essential for reaching high platforms.

Explore the edges of rooms for hidden passages and bonus items. Conserve raygun shots when possible, use the world map to identify unexplored stages, and treat every extra life as a resource for learning difficult sections.