A Hat in Time is a platform action-adventure game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective. The gameplay style has been described by several editors to be similar to Nintendo 64 platformers such as Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie.[11][12] The player travel between four open levels, which can be freely explored without time limits. The player can collect various items, solve puzzles, and use an umbrella to combat enemies.