Players use their gold colored pistol - the "Golden Gun"- to escape a city filled with hordes of zombies, phantoms and other creatures. Unlike games in The House of the Dead series, the guns reload automatically, although the player can manually reload faster by shooting outside the screen. This game is also much less gory than similar Sega arcade titles - when shot, enemies simply dissolve into dust.

The game has three different stages, and players can select their own route during play, resulting in many different ways to complete the game. Various quick-time events occur in the course of the game, such as "Shoot the arch to block enemies," "Battle your secret rival," "Shoot down the incoming energy balls," and "Shoot the driver of the car". When this occurs, a "Shoot" prompt appears on screen, telling the player to shoot the target objects marked with red circles. If the player succeeds, 1000 pts. are awarded and enemy attacks are avoided.

If the player fails, he/she will have to battle many enemies or take damage. If there are two players, they may earn extra points by performing "co-op shots" on enemies. At the end of each level is a unique boss - a possessed god from traditional Chinese culture. Their weak points are revealed in the form of on-screen prompts before the boss battle begins. This game has the unique feature of allowing players to buy and upgrade additional lives, weapons, and shields with the points earned during gameplay.

The only things between the Army of the Undead and the rest of the city are you two and your Golden Guns. Make sure you’ve got plenty of ammo! Golden Gun takes you and your partner on a perilous trek through a city filled with zombies, phantoms and countless other hideous and dangerous creatures. You’re outnumbered 10,000 to one but you’ve got the Golden Guns and that just might be enough.