Partisan is an action RPG set during World War II. The player takes the role of a commandant of the Red Army who has to save his captured comrades from evil Nazis. The basic gameplay is similar to other games of the same genre: the player uses mouse clicks to move and by clicking on enemies his character attacks them. Alternatively he can also use the keyboard for movement.
All the other usual game mechanics are present too: killed enemies leave a multitude of items behind which can either be picked up into the limited inventory and sold to the next merchant or switched with the already used gear. Experience points lead to level ups and the player can improve his stats: five points into five basic attributes like strength or stamina and one point in the abilities pistols, full automatic, rifles, knifes and grenades (the latter also includes medicine and passive stats like damage deduction). There are no classes. Injuries can be healed with medipacks or by waiting until it regenerates itself. The story is told by spoken dialogue and the levels are linear.