The player assumes control of the Granvia, a submarine tasked with overthrowing the Dark Anarchy Society before they activate their doomsday device.

The game was conceived by Kazuma Kujo, and designed by the same group of people that later went on to found Nazca Corporation, the creators of the Metal Slug series.

In the Hunt was met with mixed reception from critics since its initial release, specifically the home conversions; common complaints were towards the lack of innovation and slowdown, although it was praised for its detailed graphics and gameplay.

Weapons include a powerful machine gun, a wave cannon, and a "cracker" shot that launches a barrage of bullets at enemies.

[8] Kujo stated that plans for a shoot 'em up title had already been settled by the management at Irem, however he decided to make it for co-op play but disliked genre conventions such as forced scrolling and wanted the thematic to be different instead of the standard space motive found in other shooters at the time.

[8] The concept of playing as submarines was inspired during Kujo's leisure near a fountain which, after hearing the water sounds, prompted him to pursue the idea.

[5] The game was ported to various platforms including the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1995 by Tsuji Jimusho and SIMS respectively, followed by a Microsoft Windows version in 1997 by Xing Entertainment.

"[31] Maximum expressed enthusiasm for "little innovations" like the mine powerups and the King Canute boss, but nonetheless concluded the game to be "an all-too familiar mission."

However, he generally panned the game for the slow movement of the player's submarine, and concluded that "while very young gamers might enjoy the lightshow, the lethargic tempo and lack of originality are sure to put anyone over the age of 10 to sleep.

"[23] Sega Saturn Magazine described the game as unoriginal and outdated, but enjoyable, with a strong sense of tongue-in-cheek humor and ingeniously designed boss fights.