In the game Survival Run, players find themselves in a series of underground caverns on an alien planet, tasked with navigating through the treacherous environment while combating enemy spaceships and force fields. The joystick is used to move the target reticle, while the red button fires weapons.
Enemy ships appear in the distance, and players must destroy them before they come too close and begin firing, causing the player to lose energy. Force fields are represented by squares to the right of the screen; shooting these squares will disable the force fields. Colliding with a force field will also result in energy loss.
Players can regain energy by destroying enemy ships or disabling force fields. A map displayed at the top of the screen helps players decide whether to take the left or right path throughout the game. Choosing the wrong path or running out of energy will result in a game over.