Red Steel 2 is the sequel to Red Steel and just like the original game it is a brawler played from a first-person perspective. The game trades the modern day urban setting for an Old West environment mixed with Eastern influences and even some science-fiction elements. It also introduces a new story not related to the first game. The visual design has been changed from a realistic style to a looser cel shaded design. The unnamed male protagonist is the last member of the Kusagari clan. After a period of exile, he returns to his desert home city Caldera, where he finds out that his clan has been exterminated and the city taken over by the Jackals gang. As they hunt him down, he barely escapes but loses his treasured Sora katana to them. Freeing his old swordsmaster Jian, he borrows his sword to take on the task of retrieving the katana and vanquishing the gang of bandits led by their leader Payne who conspires with Shinjiro, the main antagonist and a former member of the Kusagari who killed almost everyone to reveal the mysterious katana's powers.

The main story consists of different missions that are listed on a blackboard in a safe house. The hero does not have to work alone, he is assisted by the young Asian girl Tamiko, Jian and the drunk sheriff Judd who contribute to the story. Once the safe house is left, various Jackals can be engaged alternating between sword fighting and shooting. Up to six enemies on-screen can be fought at once and enemy packs can go up to twenty. Next to attacking, the sword can also be used to deflect bullets. New weapons, techniques and armors can be earned and upgraded by progressing through the game in exchange for money. Cash can be found in every level hidden in bags, safes, boxes, but Jian also provides it after successful moves and combos. Additional money can be earned through optional side missions. Judd's shop offers a rifle and a machine gun in addition to the regular pistol. The focus is however largely on the swordfighting. The visited scenery eventually moves on from the dusty town to lush gardens and train sequences. Often there are bosses at the end of levels that are much harder to defeat. The direction for quests is marked on a mini-map through a green arrow and after completion the hero need to travel back to the home base. Later levels also introduce small puzzle elements.

As the first game to support the Wii MotionPlus add-on peripheral, the control detection is more refined than in games with a regular controller. Optionally a Relaxed configuration can be enabled to increase the sensitivity so as to make a smaller and less-fatiguing arm reach possible.