On each level, the pigs (caged birds or marmosets in Rio's case) are sheltered by structures made of various materials such as wood, glass, and stone, and the objective of the game is to eliminate them on the level.

In various stages of the game, additional objects such as explosive crates and rocks are found in the structures and may be used in conjunction with the birds to pop hard-to-reach pigs.

Most versions of Trilogy support motion controls, where players can use a pointer-based motion control system—such as the PlayStation Move's Orb or the Kinect sensor's hand tracker—or a touchscreen to operate and aim the slingshot.

To ensure that the compilation is considerably up to date with more recent versions of the originally released games, the game received downloadable content such as the Anger Management Pack and the Fowl Temper Pack, on select platforms.

If unhealthily addicted to all things Angry Birds though, feel free to pick up this package.".