Wave Race: Bluestorm incorporates several modes of play, a variety of racers, customization options, and tracks. Players can race in four tournament cup series, compete in time attack mode, stunt mode, and simply take in the eye-poppingly beautiful graphics in Free Roam mode.

Multiplay is supported in Stunt and Race modes. There are a total of eight racers to choose from, each with a different balance in engine and handling. Customization is limited, but players can change the color of their racer, optimize the engine for either acceleration or speed, and optimize handling to be either tight or loose.

There are eight different courses, however, there are a total of 19 racing tracks laid out across these courses, plus one stunt track for each course. Also, there are five different weathers, consisting of Sunny, Partially Sunny, Light Rain, Rain, and Stormy. These weathers can have dramatic effects on tracks, making a track raced in Sunny weather totally different when raced in Stormy weather conditions.