Trials of the Rift is a top-down, competitive couch co-op party game. Two teams of two local Players each control wizard apprentices completing a series of challenges to earn the rank of master. The team which completes every room of their dungeon first is the winner, but players must also contend with the Rift, a magical entity separating the two teams from each other. Players can shoot Spells across the Rift (and even cross over themselves, through Portals) to interfere with their Opponents’ progress, but the Rift will become angrier the more it is abused, causing adverse in-game effects for the Players. Players must manage fighting off their Opponents, avoiding the random effects of the Rift, and racing to be the first to complete their own Objectives.