Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday is a side-scrolling platform game. The main character, Porky Pig, can move left and right, jump,[1][7] swing on chains, climb, enter doorways and ride bubbles underwater.[8][9] Standing on some platforms causes a vampire-costumed Daffy Duck to appear, scaring Porky and propelling him up into the air to reach high places.[10] Enemies in a level can be defeated either by jumping on them or hitting them with fruit after collecting a fruit bowl power-up.[11][12]
At the beginning of the game, Porky starts with five lives and the goal is to make it to the end of all levels.[13] Porky loses a life if all of his hearts are lost, which happens if Porky is hit by an enemy.[11] Checkpoints that look like a red X mark are scattered throughout the levels. Going past a checkpoint makes Porky stick a flag into the ground and that's where he'll start from if a life is lost later in the level. If all lives are lost, there is an unlimited continue to feature that restarts the player in the same level.[12]