Galerians is a survival horror game in the vein of early games in the Resident Evil series. Galerians employs the so-called "tank controls" scheme, in which pressing up causes the character to walk forward, while down causes the character to backpedal slowly. Graphics are made up polygonal characters on pre-rendered backgrounds. The player progresses through the game by finding items and clues which, when used in the appropriate locations, allow access to new areas. The key difference to Resident Evil is that Galerians does not employ gun-based combat, but instead features the use of psychic powers, which make it difficult to fight more than one enemy at a time. Rion has several types of psychic powers at his disposal. His offensive powers are enabled via drugs (which are known in the English version as PPECs [Psychic Power Enhancement Chemicals]). Because the number of vials of these drugs present in the game is finite, conservation is important. Rion's offensive powers have a 1-2 second charge time, making it important to find a safe interval before launching an attack. Enemies do not leave items and Rion does not gain experience for fighting them, encouraging the player to avoid combat where possible. There are three gauges that regulate Rion's status - a health meter that depletes as Rion takes damage, the AP meter which counts up when Rion takes damage, uses abilities, or is under stress, similar to a limit break mechanic and a drug meter that depletes as Rion uses his powers. When the AP meter is full, Rion loses control of his powers, releasing a continuous psychic assault that will kill non-boss enemies in a single blow. This condition, known as shorting, is fatal to Rion if allowed to go on too long.