The gameplay is very similar to the original Gauntlet, a topdown dungeon crawl supporting up to four players. The biggest difference from the original game is that players can choose identical classes, instead of being limited to a particular one for each joystick; the players being differentiated by colors. Thus, instead of having a "warrior", "wizard", and "valkyrie" (for instance), in Gauntlet II there could be a "red wizard", a "blue elf" and a "green warrior". In addition to the new "class" system, new level designs were added, including the possibility of encountering them in altered ways by having the playfield turned in steps of 90°.