The player takes the role of a spaceship pilot, and may explore, trade, engage in space and ground-based combat, and undertake various types of missions.

Sentient combat robots known as Dominators are attacking the five civilizations of the Coalition: the humans, the Maloqs, the Pelengs, the Faeyans, and the Gaalians.

The player begins the game as a trainee member of the Space Rangers – a corps of pilots charged with defending the galaxy from the Dominators.

[3] The game also includes a 3D real-time strategy engine for planetary battles,[5] where the player can take control of any unit to shift gameplay to that of a third-person shooter.

[5] The planet encounters can initiate several types of missions, such as hunting pirates, delivering contraband goods, or performing a covert operation against another alien race.

[4] The player can perform these missions to earn wealth, to buy bigger ships, improved weapons and equipment, or even maps that unlock new sectors of the galaxy.

[4] It is also possible to earn wealth through piracy and looting, which risks damaging relations with other aliens and planets, eventually provoking attacks on sight.

[13] A remaster called Space Rangers HD: A War Apart was released on March 14, 2013, in Russia, and on October 17, 2013, in the rest of the world,[14] which included 1920x1200 graphics and a new campaign.

[18] GameSpot hailed Space Rangers 2 as a successor to Star Control II, making many favorable comparisons between the game's exploration, action, and sense of freedom.