Unlike the console game that was concurrently developed and released by Edge of Reality, The Incredible Hulk is presented as a side-scrolling platformer rather than an open world action-adventure title.

[1][2][3] The narrative, abridged from that of the console version, follows Bruce Banner as he travels the world for a cure to the condition that transforms him into the Hulk while fending off adversaries who seek to destroy him or misuse his power.

[2] The Nintendo DS's touchscreen is dedicated to a radar-like map of the current level, allowing the player to view upcoming hazards and secrets.

[5][9][10] Basing their direction on that of the upcoming film, the development team sought to distill and showcase the Hulk's violent nature, placing significant focus on fully destructible environments.

The average level reached a playable state within two or three days, allowing the team to quickly present the prototypes to Sega while the final engine was being prepared.

Whereas The Fizz Factor was usually able to present a working prototype of a project on the platform during the pre-production stage, the decision to invest in new technology up front for The Incredible Hulk resulted in the game's first playable build arriving relatively late into production, which tested Sega's patience.

Producer Paul Benjamin voiced regret for the prolapsed time spent on the engine, suggesting that a more conventional approach with existing technology would have served the needs of The Fizz Factor and Sega more efficiently.

[6][15] Ed Fear of Pocket Gamer expressed a similar sentiment toward the extent of the environments' destructibility, observing that it granted the Hulk a sense of weight and force.

Craig Harris of IGN further described them as lazy, elaborating that "levels feel thrown together with very little flair to them, as if a bunch of interns slapped some structures together in a public domain game creator".

[2][6] Bedigian additionally compared the slingshot mechanic to Donkey Kong Country and the act of using the Gamma Boost to rush through a level to Sonic the Hedgehog,[6] while Kimberley Ellis of PALGN saw the gameplay as being primarily inspired by Contra.

[3] Bedigian and Ng were annoyed by the absence of checkpoints which, combined with the small size of enemy gunfire and infrequency of health pick-ups, resulted in cheap and frustrating deaths.

[6][15] Bedigian added that some enemies fire a continuous stream of bullets, which put the Hulk at a disadvantage due to his lack of long-range attacks.

[6] McShea, contrariwise, felt that the enemies were intelligently placed and that the long stretches without opportunities to replenish health provided a surprising and satisfying amount of challenge by requiring the player to exert patience and precision, although he noted that such cautiousness would be uncharacteristic of the Hulk.