The player takes control of Kyle Reese, a soldier fighting in the human resistance against Skynet and its machine army.

During the second level, the player traverses the streets of Los Angeles, encountering enemies such as punks and police officers; the latter cannot be killed.

Kyle and Sarah are eventually taken into custody and must escape the police station after the Terminator launches an attack on it.

Perry described this as "tremendously frustrating" for players: "they had to play as a man who always dies, and they never get to kill the main enemy until the very end".

[8] To create the character movements, Perry and game producer Neil Young were recorded as they performed the moves.

[12] On the Genesis, The Terminator received praise for its sound and graphics, especially its digitized stills from the film.

[19] Reviewers also praised the graphics and sounds of the Game Gear and Master System versions.

[2][4][19][20][23] Lord Paul of Game Zone wrote that it "looks great and plays well" but that it is "a bit weak" on gameplay.