Earthworm Jim is a 2D side-scrolling platformer with action elements where the player takes control of Jim, a worm wearing a spacesuit. Jim can shoot enemies with his gun or use his body (the spacesuit's "head") in a variety of ways to overcome obstacles, such as whipping it at enemies, grappling hooks to swing from them, or making it spin very fast like a rotor to hover for a short time.