There’s a difficulty setting called Just the Story, it should be what your looking for. If it’s still too easy the next difficulty up it’s a pretty middle if the road experience when combat and story are concerned. Hope all this helped, enjoy!

Agreed

This. Also, for the monster work; each one feels like a crime scene and your investigating the area. You have to look for clues and interview witnesses, and once you actually do get to the monster, you have to kill it. Each monster has their own strengths and weaknesses so learning which is which benefits you. You can kill a monster without the proper tools, yes; but you’ll have a tougher time doing it, especially on the higher difficulties.

It’s an immersive open world that you can get lost in. You don’t have to do the main story, you can just go around exploring detailed environments and still find new things you’ve never encountered before.

The story and characters and compelling and relatable, even in a fantasy setting. You end up caring about not only the main characters but even the random NPCs on the street.

Speaking of the setting, it’s not your typical fantasy like Lord of the Rings. It shares some of the same DNA as Game of Thrones. It’s a realistic take on the fantasy genre. In Witcher, there are elves and dwarves and all kinds of things, but there’s also people. What have humans done to anyone that’s remotely different from them? They scapegoat them and focus their anger on them. It does was good fantasy or sci fi should do, it talks about a very real issue through a fantastical lens.

The combat is tough, but rewarding once you get a hang of it. The game engine itself requires getting used to. I’ve had a number of people refuse to play the game after the 10 minute prologue because they hated the engine. Once you get used to it, it’s not bad, like any new game.

They approach the game’s story in a way so that you don’t have to have played the last 2 games or have read the books to know what happening. You can jump in Witcher 3 and you will still learn and know everything that’s happening. The in game dialogue choices lend itself to countless different ways to interact with NPCs.

In terms of RPGs, it’s much more precise than others. You are not some faceless hero like in Skyrim, you are Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher. You already have a role in the game’s society and the average NPCs adhere to this. You aren’t dealing with the conflicts as yourself, or your in-game standing, your dealing with them as Geralt. This is something that’s hit or miss from players. I, myself love RPing as a Witcher.

In summary, it’s a massive fantasy world grounded in reality for you to sink your teeth into and explore, with a story and characters that will have you invested (should you be so inclined). There’s different ways to approach combat, whether that’s with magic, bombs, or your trusty swords. The world feels old, and lived in. Immersion is easy. There is a massive about of replayability, encouraging multiple playthroughs do to the sheer amount of choices for you to make.

Ultimately it’s one of those games that you have to just try for yourself. If you’re a fan of RPGs or fantasy, you WILL enjoy this game. If you’re looking for your next big game commitment, Witcher 3 is a great option. If you’re looking for something more casual, you may still enjoy it, but it’s a time sink.

I know you asked for quick but I’m sorry, there’s too much to talk about with this game.