Purple Heart is a top-down shooter à la Ikari Warriors. The player has to guide a soldier through six levels, killing everything that gets in his way. Enemies attack with guns and grenades and become increasingly stronger as the game progresses. Vehicles, helicopters and occasional traps (such as spikes shooting out of the ground) cannot be destroyed and must be avoided. Several extra weapons can be picked up, including: a double-barrelled shotgun, a machine gun, a flamethrower and a rocket launcher. While the shotgun replaces the standard weapon, all other weapons have limited ammunition, indicated by a bar at the bottom of the screen. At the end of each level, a boss-fight awaits the player. A simultaneous two-player mode is also available.