The game puts the player in control of the main character and two friends (Pyra and Milo), as they explore 3D dungeon mazes with turn-based battles.

The main character is charged to find the Arms of Light, rescue the princess and his own father, and stop Dark Sol.

In a 2009 interview, Hiroyuki Takahashi (credited for "writing" and producing the game) recalled: Because we were on such a tight budget, apart from the programming and graphics, I did nearly all of the work on [Shining in the Darkness].

I thought it would be exciting if the player could actually travel to a fantasy world and walk around, exploring old houses, dungeons and other places.

[6] Sega Pro reviewed the game in 1991 and gave it a 93% score, describing the dungeon crawler as "superior to all other RPGs of this style", praising its detailed "background preparation", detailed graphics (including scaling sprites and water effects), character conversations, sound design (especially around taverns), replayability ("Every game is different"), and its innovative icon-based menu system.

[4] Peter Olafson of Computer Gaming World compared Shining to Dungeon Master and Speed Racer, and favorably cited the combat and animation.

The magazine concluded that the game was a "hack-and-slash adventure" that is "not the full-blown CRPG that many gamers were hoping for" but "a decided step" in that direction.

[16] One of the game's key innovations was its introduction of an icon-based menu system,[4] possibly inspired by fellow Sega RPG Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom (1990).