Contre Jour is a physics-based puzzle game based on guiding the blob-like character Petit through different levels. Instead of controlling the character directly, the player can only manipulate the environment to move the character and bring it to the destination. The most common way is to nudge the ground, by lifting and lowering it Petit can be taken to the right direction. Along the way lights can be collected that add to a completion score. More advanced levels include static stripes and elastic tentacles (called snots) that can be attached to him and detached at will. These are used to lift him into the air, and swing (while quickly releasing it) to jump or travel over gaps. In the most difficult levels all of these are combined in quick succession. There are also elastic tentacles that can be moved around the screen by the player, for instance to have Petit travel through a narrow passage of spikes, and hot air exhausts that boost him into the air.

The game largely uses a monochromatic design (except for the second neon chapter with shades of blue and the blue lights that need to be picked up) reminiscent of Limbo and the visual design of the characters of World of Goo. The game comes with four chapters (Monsters, The Night, Machine, Moonlight) with twenty levels each. A fifth chapter (Jungle) with twenty more levels was added later on. The browser version can be played for free, but only contains the first three chapters with ten levels each. A six chapter, called Mango, is exclusive to the Windows Phone version. Every level takes place on a single, non-scrolling screen and the game's soundtrack consists entirely of soft piano music.

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