Silver Surfer is a shooter game, with some levels taking place vertically and some horizontally. The Surfer's only ability is to move around on the screen and to shoot directly in front of him. Power-ups that can be picked up include: the letter "F" (Firepower) which will increase the number and power of his projectiles, Smart bombs which destroy everything on the screen, the letter "S" (Speedup) which increases the surfer's movement and Orbs which will also fire the Surfer's weapon. Orbs are special in that two can be obtained (only 1 is shown on horizontal scrolling levels) and they can be positioned to fire forwards, backwards or sideways.
