Forsaken is played from a first-person cockpit perspective inside large, fully navigable 3D environments. The player pilots a combat craft through industrial and subterranean facilities, destroys enemies, collects weapons and energy, and completes mission objectives before escaping.

Levels are divided into stages with branching routes, locked areas, switches, hidden passages, and key items. Progress depends on learning the layout, conserving ammunition, and using the craft's vertical movement to approach encounters from unexpected angles. Single-player missions and multiplayer combat provide different goals: campaign play emphasizes exploration and survival, while multiplayer focuses on arena-style combat.

Learn to use all three movement axes instead of relying only on forward and backward movement. Strafing and vertical movement are essential for avoiding fire in open rooms and for reaching alternate routes.

Conserve powerful ammunition for armored enemies and dangerous groups. Search side passages for energy, weapons, and objective items, then return to previously visited areas when a switch or key opens a route. In multiplayer, keep moving through the vertical space and use the environment to break an opponent's line of fire.