In Nightdawn, the player takes the role of an engineer who has to prove that his remote-controlled tank is better than the previous model. To do so, he needs to master a series of top-down mazes. The goal of each level is to find the exit, but it is secured with locked doors and energy barriers. Navigating the maze and finding the means to overcome the doors (finding keys) and barriers (finding switches) is the main challenge of the game, but there are also mines, turrets and patrolling robots. During the course of a level there are optional and needed upgrades to find, e.g. a cannon (initially the tank can't shoot), a mine detector, extra energy or a radar.