Backbreaker is an American Football game in which the player controls an unlicensed team on its way to the top. The main selling point of the game it its graphics: it uses the Euphoria (physics) and Morpheme (animation) middleware engines, both developed by NaturalMotion, for real-time calculated player and especially tackling animations. The second big change in comparison to other football games are the controls: most actions are directly triggered with the right analogue stick instead of pressing buttons. The exception is the playing mode - aggressive or agile (offensive) respectively focus (defensive) - which is switched with the shoulder buttons and changes on what aspect the athlete focuses on, e.g. in aggressive defense mode a tackling will have more power behind them. The camera is positioned directly behind the active athlete and can't be controlled directly because it changes behavior depending on the active mode.

Regarding game modes, the player either participates in exhibition matches, a regular league with a pre-defined team or the "Road to Backbreaker" mode which allows to use customized leagues and teams. Additionally there is training and the "Tackle Alley" mini game, also released independently for mobile platforms, in which the player controls a Running Back.