In the late 20th century, Earth was invaded by a brutal alien race known as The Masters who nearly wiped out humanity (over five billion casualties) and enslaved the survivors it found. The aliens did the same to a planet of beasts called Kullrathe as well. They chose to make sport with the survivors of both races by pitting them against each other in a series of deadly mazes where it was either kill or be killed.
Humans are initially armed with their fists and a gun while the Kullrathe warriors have a club and some knives, however, strategically scattered items can be found as the game progresses. For example, items such as weapons, ammunition, protective gear, food, and medical supplies are waiting to be found. If there is a way of escape, the player must find it by making it through all of the alien mazes in one piece.
Hunter Hunted offers a total of 100 missions, divided into varying degrees of difficulty. The initial eight missions are quasi-tutorials geared at helping the player learn game controls. The next 22 missions focus on in-game features such as characters, objects and environmental concerns. The following 35 missions are similar in scope to the previous batch but with the added dimension of pursuit by The Masters' forces. The final grouping is made up of 35 multi-player missions including a mix of cooperative and head-to-head action. Multi-player action is limited to two-player, split-screen on a single computer.
The game can be played at three separate difficulty levels. The main goal during the 100 missions centers on the objective of escape. In addition to the various items available throughout the levels, the player must gather parts and pieces of an escape vehicle, the Specially Converted Utility Retrofit Vehicle, or SCURVe. Escape is only possible once the SCURVe is functional.