Philosoma is a racing game where you blast through 18 vertical scrolling deep space environments in search of the mysterious distress call, destroying enemies and obstacles in your path. You go up against a variety of vehicles including the "Hover Carrier," the "Makkon," and the "Missile Walker" as you clear your way with one of four main weapons such as the Vulcan, Laser, A-Break, or Ray-B.
Philosoma features upgrades for each weapon up to three times when specific power-up icons are collected. You also have a secondary weapon like Buster grenades, MRMs, and SRMs that you can equip at the beginning of a level or acquire through a power-up. Your mission is to destroy enemies including other space ships and large insect-like aliens as you navigate through the game.