Snatcher takes its name from the game's main antagonists—a race of mysterious, bio-roid killers who were created for the sole purpose of taking control of the world from the inside-out—essentially wiping out humanity by "snatching" individuals and assuming their identities. It's a ripe situation for a detective story—one of the many genres into which Snatcher fits nicely. Where do the Snatchers come from? What do they want? Those are just a couple of questions players must answer while playing in Gillian's shoes. When Gillian becomes the second "runner" at JUNKER headquarters, the Snatcher menace is quickly reaching a boiling point. The focus of an upcoming international summit is precisely the problem Gillian must face on his own. Before he can barely get comfortable in his trench coat, he finds himself the last hope in the battle against the Snatchers, as the only other runner on the force, veteran Jean-Jack Gibson, turns up with his head ripped free from his body, some undigested buffalo meat in his stomach, and a whole lot of unanswered questions. As JUNKER chief Benson Cunningham later puts it, "That was a pretty rough first assignment, Gillian."

The game is played through a menu-driven text-adventure format—the graphics mostly consisting of static frames of anime-style artwork to give the action a visual foundation. It's somewhat similar to the NES graphic adventure Shadowgate, only Snatcher takes place in a complete game world and is much more grounded in its story and its characters. You advance through the game by observing the scene in front of you and selecting commands like "LOOK," "INVESTIGATE" or "ASK" from the menu. It may not sound very revolutionary, but this very simple gameplay blends with the story perfectly, allowing it to branch out into unexpected twists and turns. Investigating one item or area usually leads to other things to examine and discover, just as asking certain questions will lead to more topics of conversation and startling revelations. Playing through the story always leads to a payoff. Case in point: A situation arises in Snatcher in which Gillian must find a girl whom he believes has suddenly gone missing. After scouring every possible location in Neo Kobe, the search ends up at his own apartment. Without spoiling the outcome, let's just say it concludes with a hilarious confrontation in Gillian's shower. The overall effect of all of this is that you feel as if you are writing the story as you play, and not merely plodding through scripted events as you might in a more conventional game.

What makes Snatcher such a joy to play is how the game makes you buy into its world without any doubts. It fools you into a false sense of complete freedom when in fact you are very restricted gameplay-wise. In the game, Gillian can travel to different locations all around Neo Kobe—whether it be a congested shopping center adorned with neon advertising and Christmas music to an animal hospital in the city's slums. At an exotic dance club called Outer Heaven (where have we heard that name before?), you can question practically everyone in the place, including the dancer, Isabella Velvet. You can even order drinks and entrees. Each location in the game is filled with so many details and so much atmosphere that it quickly overwhelms you. The game's world is so rich that you wouldn't be able to sample more of it even if you wanted to—your plate's already full.