Dark Shrine is a 3D dungeon crawl action RPG. In the shoes of a demon prince named Leinhart, the player explores the eponymous Dark Shrine. Regular attacks and combos are performed by swipe commands, while tapping on a place on the screen causes Leinhart to move there. In each level, Leinhart has to find 3 parts of a portal gem and sometimes defeat a boss to open portals to other dungeon levels, while fighting against constantly respawning enemies.
Once Leinhart has gathered enough experience, his health and mana are recharged, and the player can spend 10 skill points to upgrade his health, mana, or one of the four available spells. In addition to health and magic potions, he can also find three types of equipment: weapons, armor and jewelry.
The game also includes various unlockable mini games, such as memory or a game of tag with creatures in the dungeon.