Driftmoon is an adventure role-playing game using a top-down perspective. The game provides a deep and descriptive story giving the player plenty of reading, similar to the amount of reading found in games like Baldur's Gate and Siege of Avalon. It provides a highly interactive world with plenty of objects to pick up; chairs and smaller objects can be slid around.

The maps you explore have plenty of detail and the game cycles between day and night to help flesh out the immersion. As you meet characters, some of them will be willing to join your quest, others may provide opportunities to increase your karma or give quests.