The game begins in the deserts of Abydos shortly after the mission team has landed using the stargate. The mission is to collect samples and then return to Earth, but Colonel Jack O’Neil has also secretly brought along a nuclear bomb to seal the stargate if the mission team discovers a threat. A sandstorm has separated Colonel O’Neil from his mission team, and the bomb is missing. Daniel Jackson, the Egyptology specialist of the mission team, informs him that the team’s basecamp was attacked by Ra.
The local inhabitants of Abydos, the Nagadans, have helped the team escape the attack, but the supplies were left behind in caves. O’Neil will have to find the supplies, the bomb, and seven Egyptian hieroglyphs scattered throughout the area, the last needed to work the stargate and get his men home. The gameplay is typical of the sidescrolling, platform games of the era. The player controls Colonel Jack O’Neill and navigates him through the various locations by walking/running, jumping and climbing.
O’Neill’s health is indicated by an energy bar found alongside information such as weapon status and grenade count on the heads-up display. Most missions consist of finding people or items in one of several different locations. There are two missions that involve flying one of Ra’s gliders and partaking in dogfight style combat. The radio screen displays the player’s current mission, as well as other information such as the number of lives, continues, hieroglyphs, bomb pieces, and current password.
There are many different enemies through the game, ranging from minor inconveniences like the fleeting scarab beetles to the difficult Horus guards. There are three boss encounters; Anubis twice, and the final confrontation with Ra. If the player has not collected all seven bomb pieces and all seven hieroglyphs by end of the game, they will lose the game, even if they defeat Ra.