Yars' Revenge is part of the subgenre of shooter games called either the fixed or single-screen shooter. Yars' Revenge differs from many other similar popular games from that era such as Space Invaders (1978), Galaxian (1979), or Gorf (1981) as its gameplay has the main axis of conflict oriented horizontally rather than vertically.[10] The player controls Yar, a fly-like object[11][12] which can be moved in any direction on the screen. The screen wraps vertically.[12] The primary goal in Yars' Revenge is to break a path through the energy shield and destroy the Qotile with a hit from the Zorlon cannon. The shield is the object on the right side of the screen shaped like an arch or a shifting rectangle. It is made up of cells.[11] To do this, the player can fire energy missiles shot from Yar which can destroy the cells in the shield or by directly coming into contact with them allowing Yar to devour them.[11][12] Once a clear path to the Qotile behind the shield is open, the cannon can be readied by either eating a cell or moving Yar over the Qotile.