The player character engages in battle with a number of various armed flying robots, stationary turrets, and bipedal creatures.

Lifeforce Tenka takes place in a future where a multinational conglomerate, Trojan Incorporated, is in the process of performing presumably unethical genetic experiments.

[7][8][9][10][15][17] Critics deemed the graphics technically impressive due to the lighting effects and polygonal enemies,[2][8][13][15][17] but some found them overly dark, making most of the levels appear the same.

[8] A Next Generation critic similarly remarked in an early review: "Occasionally intense, Tenka's gameplay is solid but never frantically drives the player forward the way the best first-person shooters do.

"[13] Glenn Rubenstein of GameSpot judged that though Lifeforce Tenka was one of the better first-person shooters on the market, its high difficulty level and lack of innovation would make it unappealing to all but fans of the genre.