The game is a side-scrolling gothic role-playing game with a turn-based combat system. The player explores dungeons with a four-hero team. While players can only explore with four heroes, they will be able to recruit and manage around a dozen heroes from the local tavern or caravan. The heroes are recruited from 15 different classes each class with its own unique skills and abilities.

Combat occurs in narrow passages which means the party’s order is important in respect to the heroes’ class and the player’s strategy. As an example, a crusader is a good front unit having both high attack and defense values while the plague doctor might be better further behind throwing plague bombs to spread disease and confusion.

Instead of leveling, heroes have “resolve” which will increase as they adventure. Fighting and events will test the hero’s resolve and they might develop afflictions if they fail their resolve. This can turn out both positively and negatively creating different set of afflictions for every hero.

While exploring the dungeons, the light of the heroes torch becomes dimmer, which means the dungeons gets more dangerous but yields better loot as well. The heroes have to camp to replenish the torch in the dungeons. Red Hook refers to this as tactical camping because players have to distribute rations among their heroes, protect the camp from ambushes, and reduce the stress levels of the heroes, all costing actions points