System Cracker is a top-down twin-stick shooter. Players control the vehicle with the left analog stick, while the right analog stick fires in the direction you push it. To finish, players go from area to area via portals, which are usually blocked by "firewalls," which either consist of barriers you have to shoot or lasers deactivated by a key.
There are plenty of obstacles in the way, such as enemies that can lay mines or even shoot at you, as well as black holes. There are three types of vehicles the player can control, which can be switched by driving over them if they're available in that level. The green one, which is the default one, has no special properties. The purple one is like a tank, which has a more powerful shot, but it is slower than the green. The blue one is the fastest and its shots can ricochet off walls; by holding R1, you can lay down a trail that if you connect the end point with the beginning, an electric field will be produced.