The game features GeoMod technology, which allows players to significantly alter and otherwise affect the surrounding terrain and buildings, either with explosives or otherwise. Past games had allowed limited alteration of the environment through scripted means, or special triggered areas which would add or remove certain predefined level elements. Red Faction was the first video game that allowed players unscripted level-altering possibilities.[5]
The PC version of Red Faction includes an extra level called "Glass House" which allows the player to experiment with GeoMod as a mechanic in a sandbox environment.
The PlayStation 2 version uses offline split-screen multiplayer featuring deathmatch rounds with AI bots and up to 4 human players. The PC release of the game, in addition to its offline LAN mode, has competitive online multiplayer featuring deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the flag gameplay for up to 32 human players on 25 different levels. 2 additional multiplayer levels for the PC version were each included as exclusive content for players who purchased the game from either GameStop or Electronics Boutique. The later PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 releases are direct ports of the PlayStation 2 version and include no multiplayer functionality.