Risk of Rain is a roguelike platformer with a sci-fi setting. The player is the lone survivor of a space train that got shot out of orbit and crash landed on a mysterious planet.
The game's objective is to find a teleporter, which will take 90 seconds to activate after it's found. During this time, enemies will spawn, including a boss, and the player must kill them all to progress. The difficulty increases over time, with a bar shown in the top right corner of the screen that increments every five minutes.
Players can equip their characters with items that were carried by the space train, which have different effects on enemies and the player themselves. Items are stackable, and players must collect money to unlock chests containing rare drops. Money is also used to activate drones that will help the player. With over 100 different items to discover, each with its own effect, players must adapt their strategy to survive.
Players can choose from a variety of characters, each with unique skills and abilities. There are 12 playable characters available, but they must be unlocked by finding items or completing achievements.