The player views the action from a first-person perspective and navigates maze-like floors filled with guards, dogs, locked doors, ammunition, health items, and treasures. The main objective is to locate elevators or exits, survive enemy encounters, and complete the current mission.

B.J. begins with a knife and firearms, then collects weapons and ammunition as he progresses. Levels reward map awareness and searching for secret areas. Boss encounters and mission objectives punctuate the episode structure, while the Jaguar version focuses on the core campaign rather than modern progression systems.

Conserve ammunition by using the weapon appropriate to the enemy and avoid wasting powerful shots on weak guards. When possible, open doors from cover and retreat through cleared corridors rather than fighting several enemies in an exposed room.

Search side rooms and suspicious dead ends for ammunition, health, armor, and secret areas. Learn the layout of each floor, keep a reserve weapon for bosses, and save health items for situations where retreat is impossible.