PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is a crossover fighting game with characters from different PlayStation titles along with some from third-party titles, similar to Nintendo's Super Smash Brothers series. Up to four characters fight in small arenas that are in 3D but shown from a side-view.
Game modes include a single-player arcade mode against random characters, with a specific rival character battle at the end and then a final battle against the main antagonist Polygon Man, the former Sony PlayStation mascot. There's also a challenge single-player mode where specific objectives need to be completed. Multiplayer modes include matches with a time-limit, stock based matches, and matches with a kill limit to win the game.
Each character has a specific set of moves, throws, and special actions. Stages are often built with multiple levels of platforms with the camera zooming in or out dynamically. The environments are also based on popular franchises (each stage always has two different influences combined) and they often include environmental elements that influence the gameplay and can hurt the characters.