Once the opposing robot's energy has been depleted, the player must press the L and R trigger buttons alternately in order to deliver a knockout blow.

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots was panned by critics in general, receiving 1.5/10 from IGN,[2] 2.2/10 from GameSpot,[3] and obtaining an aggregate score of 21/100 on Metacritic.

The chief issues reviewers found with the game were bland, repetitive graphics and backgrounds, a lack of challenge in the AI opponents (Frank Provo of GameSpot commented that the CPU 'can be beaten with your eyes closed'[3]) and the absence of a multiplayer mode via a Game Link Cable.

[2] GameZone gave Robots a mediocre score of 5.4/10, claiming that as the game was intended to be a budget title, the gameplay issues can be overlooked to an extent.

Their review summed up the game as having "some small tidbit [sic] of fun if played in short bursts, otherwise it's an exercise in repetition and mindless button mashing".