Trials of the Rift is a top-down, competitive couch co-op party game. Two teams of two local Players each control wizard apprentices completing a series of challenges to earn the rank of master. The team which completes every room of their dungeon first is the winner, but players must also contend with the Rift, a magical entity separating the two teams from each other.

Trials of the Rift requires four dual-stick game controllers to play. Move and aim using the thumbsticks and cast spells using the bumpers and triggers. (If you don't have four controllers, you can use the spacebar dev hotkey to skip through the menus to get to the main game.)