The AD&D module it was based on is intended for a large player group, conflicted with the initial lack of multiplayer support.
The main complaint about the game was that it was boring. Notoriously, the situation was so bad that uninstalling the unpatched game could wipe the user's system files. In particular, saving the game would corrupt the save files, making saving pointless. Sales for the game were initially low as it received lackluster reviews and was plagued with bugs, especially in the multiplayer part. Story progression and interaction with other characters is a minimum part of the game, although there is some interaction with NPCs and other in-game characters. The game is a dungeon crawl, with a focus on hack and slash combat and exploration of large dungeons with many bare, similar-looking rooms. The game uses three-dimensional characters over pre-rendered two-dimensional backgrounds.
Unlike Baldur's Gate and other Infinity Engine games, Ruins of Myth Drannor features turn-based combat rather than real-time combat. Ruins of Myth Drannor takes place from an isometric third-person perspective, similar to the Baldur's Gate series.