Hard Nova is a sci-fi role-playing game with space exploration, spaceship customization and combat, and trading elements, somewhat similar in concept to Sentinel Worlds I: Future Magic. There is no character creation in the game: in the beginning the player selects between the female mercenary Nova and the male mercenary Stark. They have slightly different attributes and may gain access to different dialogue lines as the game advances. Most other crew members have to be recruited from within the game world. Three of them can be taken to locations on various planets, where they may interact with other characters and participate in combat, where only the leader is controlled manually. On-foot combat is done in real time, with delays caused by weapon properties and the characters' proficiencies. Guns play a prominent role in battles.