Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is a 3D action game and the start of a new Boom series in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Released together with the 3DS game Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, the games serve as a prequel to the 2014 Sonic Boom animated TV series. The title refers to a new villain called Lyric the Last Ancient. Sonic, Tails, Knuckled and Amy discover him in an ancient tomb while pursuing Eggman and being ambushed by Metal Sonic. Lyric was locked up a long time ago by fellow Ancients when it was discovered he planned to turn the world into metal and robots using Chaos Crystals. The group needs to defeat Lyric who reluctantly forms an alliance with Eggman.

The game combines different types of gameplay. There are a few linear high-speed running sections to collect rings, fight enemies and dodge obstacles. Most of the game is however played as a 3D fighting game and platformer where the characters can move freely in the environment. There are also sections that are played as a 2.5D game shown from a side view. The player gets to control all four characters together, but in turns. Characters that are not active are controlled by the AI and they all share the same pool of rings as a type of health meter. There are sections where the group is split up and teams of two work separately. Al four characters have different abilities and these are often used to solve environment based puzzles. There are many cut-scenes between sections and boss battles.

All characters have a similar set of basic moves with single attacks, combos, a charged attack and a mid-air stomp. They also use an electric weapon called the Enerbeam, taken from the tomb early on and converted by Tails. These beams act as a type of whip and can be used to remove energy shields, solve puzzles and hang from rails. Specific character abilities are a spin dash and homing attack for Sonic, Tails can hover in the air the longest and has access to gadgets, Knuckles can climb walls and move underground, and Amy can triple jump and uses a hammer to swing on poles. Many abilities need to be used in a collaborative way to solve puzzles.

After the initial part of the game most of the game is played in a hub world, similar to Sonic Adventure, with two large islands that can be explored freely. They provide access to different levels and the group can complete tasks for the locals. This is rewarded with power glyphs used to enhance the characters' abilities, but each character can only carry one glyph at a time. Levels contain many hidden trinkets to collect, also using a separate observation mode that shows the location, and materials can be gathered to upgrade parts of the world for the locals.

The game supports local cooperative multiplayer for the main story mode. One player uses the TV and the controller while the other one uses the Game Pad. Each player has its own set of rings. In areas where the group is split up, both players can tackle a different area simultaneously, switching to the other character of the group when needed. Team Challenges is a separate game mode for up to four players on a single screen in combat-focused mini-games.