Top Gun: Hard Lock is an arcade-paced flight combat game, featuring modern-military sorties and dogfights inspired by the spirit of the 1986 film. A forgiving control scheme encourages barrel rolls, loop de loops, and other airborne heroics. The single-player campaign casts players as rookie Top Gun pilots, fresh from the Academy, to embark on 15 complex missions. The pick-up "Danger Zone" mode pits players against endless waves of enemies. Deathmatch modes support up to 16 online players, and multiple mission types are available in the game's four-player co-op mode.