All enemies and bullets in the game are either black or white. Bullets that are the same color as the player’s ship can be absorbed, while the opposite color will do damage. As the amount of absorbed bullets increases, so does the player’s homing laser attack. When maxed out, this special attack can be up to 10x more powerful than a standard shot. Attacks can be chained together to earn bonuses that will achieve higher scores. Ikaruga on Nintendo Switch features both single-player and a two-player (local) cooperative modes.