A standard technique in both games is to hide in the shadows and tap a wall to attract the attention of a nearby enemy. Enemies cannot see into the shadows (unless they see the player actually entering the area). To facilitate this, each stage in both games is full of 'dark spots' ( shadows where the player can hide). In order to carry out executions, the player must approach an enemy from behind, undetected. Players survive the stages by dispatching enemies occasionally with firearms, but primarily by stealthily executing them, often in bloody over-the-top ways.

In this vein, the gameplay itself in Manhunt 2 is referred to as 'treatment' (for example, instead of a 'Load Game' option from the main menu, the option is 'Continue Treatment'). In the second game, stages are called 'episodes,' relating to the mental state and experiences of the protagonist, an escaped mental patient. In the first game, stages are called 'scenes,' which relates to the snuff film in which the protagonist is forced to participate. The individual stages of each Manhunt installment are typically referred to in a way that relates to the game's plot. The antagonist in each game is a character who has betrayed the protagonist, but over whom they exert a great degree of control and trust. Both games focus on protagonists with dark pasts, who must attempt to escape from a particularly dangerous and perverse situation. The games are in a form of an anthology series like many other Rockstar games, and so the plots of the two games are unrelated. The gameplay consists of a mixture of stealth and psychological horror elements played from a third-person perspective, and has gained controversy for its graphic violence. As of 26 March 2008, the Manhunt franchise has sold 1.7 million copies worldwide. The name of the series and its games are derived from the term ' manhunt' as used in law enforcement, where it refers to an intensive search for a dangerous fugitive.

The series began in 2003 with the release of Manhunt, and continued in 2007 with Manhunt 2. Manhunt is a stealth-based survival horror video game series developed by Rockstar North, as well as several other Rockstar studios, and published by Rockstar Games.

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