Encounter is a single-player first-person shoot 'em up game in which players navigate a 3D environment to engage enemy targets and complete objectives. In this game, the setting is a sci-fi universe where players control a spacecraft or ground-based units to combat alien forces and explore various planetary landscapes. It stands out with its use of scaled sprites to create a sense of depth and movement, high frame rate rendering of large objects, and its influence on later 3D shooter games, offering an immersive experience with advanced graphics for its time.