Sanvein is a fast-paced top-down shooter where time is of the essence. The main computer of the space colony Utopia, called St. Schutz, has malfunctioned. Your goal is to escape from Utopia.
The gameplay is different from traditional space shooters. Each floor consists of interconnected rooms, and you can choose any adjacent room to clear. For each cleared room, your firepower increases in that room. Each floor also has a boss room with a larger enemy, which must be defeated to complete the floor. There's a powerful weapon that recharges after use.
A countdown timer is ticking away. When you get hit, time is deducted instead of causing damage. To gain more time, you need to defeat a boss. You'll need to balance clearing rooms for increased firepower with defeating bosses to gain time.
The game has a unique art style and five floors to play through. There are three ships and three weaponry systems to choose from.