Commander Keen 1: Marooned on Mars

Commander Keen 1: Marooned on Mars is a platform game where the player controls a young protagonist stranded on the red planet. The central goal is to recover four specific components, which were taken from the player's makeshift rocket and concealed in various locations.

Progress is managed from an overhead map of Mars, which serves as a hub for selecting individual stages. Within these stages, the primary tasks are navigating to the exit and often locating one of the stolen ship parts. Enemies populate the environments, ranging from minor nuisances to more dangerous threats that can end the player character's life upon contact or from environmental hazards.

The player has a raygun to defend against certain foes and can acquire a pogo stick for enhanced mobility. Other collectibles include keycards for accessing locked areas and point items that contribute toward earning additional lives. Failure in a stage, such as through losing a life, returns the player to the map screen.