Inversion

Much of the game is played like a classic third-person shooter with different weapons, cover-based movement, and different teams of AI-controlled allies that provide assistance but cannot be controlled directly. The game's distinct feature is the manipulation of gravity. The Lutadore have mastered this technology and early on the game Russel also gets access to it. The gravlink device is worn as a backpack and allows him to manipulate gravity to his advantage. It is used to lift obstacles, objects and opponents, and to grab objects and hurl them at the enemy.

The technology can also be used to lift opponents from their covered position. Later in the game the gravlink becomes stronger and it can be used to pin enemies to the ground or to lift objects to construct a makeshift cover position. The manipulation of objects is not done entirely freely, as it applies only to some items and not all of the environment can be transformed.

The same limitations apply when the entire environment's gravity is shifted. At specific points the Lutadore alter gravity, rotating it 90 degrees. That way Russel suddenly fights from the side of the building he was just passing by. At other points gravity can also be reversed 180 degrees. He also encounters zero gravity zones where he is able to float with a boost to move forward.

Multiplayer includes a four-player cooperative mode called Survival, a competitive multiplayer game mode called Hourglass, and Gravity Slaughter. There is also King of Gravity, which is a King of the Hill mode with a single gravlink per game. The player who holds it becomes very powerful and the other players need to work together to kill him.