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"Many of Technōs' beat-em-ups are more complex overall Capcom's or Konami's, despite featuring relatively simplified control setups involving merely two or three buttons. Shadow Force represents the complete opposite approach, and has possibly the most complicated mechanics of any beat-em-up ever made. Rather than a standard beat-em-up control setup of two buttons, Shadow Force has a whopping six buttons. It's actually setup very much like a fighting game, with two buttons for weapon strikes and punches, and two for kicks, each performing an attack with different range, speed, and strength. Making things even more like in a fighting game, you can execute a low strike by holding the joystick in the down position and attacking, or a strike that hits high by holding the joystick in the up position and attacking. The fifth button executes a jump, and there are three attacks that can be performed after a jump by pushing either punch/weapon, kick, or weapon/punch with the joystick in the down position. You also have a limited stock of full screen bombs that are released by pushing both of the strongest kick and weapon/punch buttons at once. It's also possible to grab characters and throw them by pushing any attack button."

"The series is known for its rather unique (and uniquely infuriating) perspective. Instead of the character turning left and right, the player characters are always facing upward, and the world rotates around them. It's sort of like if you took a typical first person dungeon crawler like Dungeon Master, but from an overhead viewpoint. Needless to say, the first time one plays a Brandish game is massively disorienting. Since the game was created on early 90s PC hardware, the movements are tile-based and aren't at all smooth, and the whole world shifts suddenly at 90 degree angles every time you turn. To say that it requires an adjustment period is being kind."