Magna Cum Laude has an open world where Larry can walk about campus and interact with students and personnel on the premises. In this mode, Larry can search for hidden money or tokens, strike poses to impress girls, and take photos which can later be sold to collectors. At several locations on campus a minigame can be entered, usually by "activating" an object or a person (starting a conversation). The player must win most of the minigames in order to advance. Minigames started by a conversation usually increase the affection of one of the girls; other minigames can provide money or increase "confidence".
The game originally received an "Adults Only" rating from the ESRB and was subsequently edited to receive a more commercial "Mature" rating in the United States and Canada. In Europe, the game was released unedited on all three systems and featured a disclaimer on the packaging highlighting that it was "uncut". The unedited version was eventually released in North America under the title Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude—Uncut and Uncensored!. The major difference between the two North American releases is that the uncut and uncensored version contains full frontal nudity and sex scenes, although there is very little of the latter and it is mostly implied rather than depicted. Both versions were refused classification by the OFLC and effectively banned in Australia.
The game contained English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian and Dutch languages.