Exo Squad uses a side-scrolling action-platformer perspective. Missions require the player to travel through stages, overcome enemy soldiers and machines, avoid hazards, and reach the end of each area or defeat its major threat.

The player controls an Exosuit with movement, jumping, and weapon-based attacks. Progress depends on learning enemy patterns, navigating platforms, and managing the risks of close combat. The Genesis release is structured around individual missions rather than an open world, with the story and playable characters providing the main variation between stages.

Study enemy movement before committing to an attack, especially in narrow corridors and platforming sections.

Use the Exosuit's mobility to control distance rather than rushing into groups. Explore each stage carefully for safer routes, and preserve health for the final encounters.