The player controls Russian Moscow Militia captain Ivan Danko, who must stop drug kingpin Viktor Rostavili.

The game takes place across four levels, starting with a Russian sauna where Danko must engage in hand combat against enemies.

The player has a gun and limited ammunition for the next three levels, which take place in a hospital, a hotel, and a goods yard.

[10][4][11][12][13][14][18][6] The Games Machine noted the black-and-white color scheme of the ZX Spectrum version, but wrote "there's plenty of attention to graphic detail".

"[8] Rand called it "an above average interpretation of a great movie," and wrote about the cinematic display, "Not only does this add atmosphere to Red Heat, it also allows for some pretty huge graphics to shift about at a fair old pace.

Keating stated that the graphics "have an effective cinematic feel" and concluded that Red Heat "will appeal to those looking for a beat 'em up with a mean right hook, but not much else.

"[9] Stuart Campbell, writing for New Computer Express and Amiga Power, criticized various aspects of the game and stated that it had no redeeming features.