The game's core is very much that of a classic arcade shooter, although its artistic design, colorful and reminiscent of cel-shading or microscopic medical imaging, has been called "psychedelic" and "an eye-frying Minter-esque slice of psychotropic twitch brilliance" by reviewers.

[2] Generally, reviews were positive, with the most common complaint being the game's high launch price, 800 Microsoft Points ($10 USD), compared to similar alternatives available on Xbox Live Arcade.

In the game, the player controls a ship around a succession of 89 rooms filled with enemies which must be defeated within a certain time period.

As the player progresses without losing a life, a score multiplier and a belt meter increase the reward and difficulty level.

As play continues and more enemies are defeated, a belt meter in the lower left-hand corner of the screen increases gradually from 0% to 700%.

If a player loses a life, their ranking is decreased, possibly causing the belt level to drop a color.

In addition to choosing a room, Adventure Mode allows the player to start a game at any belt level that has been previously unlocked.

The game maintains its difficulty in cooperative mode by decreasing the number of extra lives per player and limiting the range of the basic laser weapon.