Gauntlet: The Third Encounter is a top-down hack-and-slash action game. Generations ago an enchanted Star Gen crashed to Earth at the base of an ancient castle. Loathsome creatures crept from the castle and carried the Gem into the depths of the fortress. All attempts to retrieve the Star Gem failed. The adventurers were destroyed. The creatures in the castle gain magical strength from the Star Gem. Unless the Gem is taken from them, the evil ones will soon have the strength to venture forth and destroy mankind. The protagonist and his friends must take up the quest to rescue the Star Gem and their world.