I was wrong about the Witcher III

I had heard a lot of praise for this game, but I didn't really do anything about it because if I'm honest with myself, RPGs are not my thing. I had tried Fallout 4 and hated it, just to put things in perspective. I prefer story driven linear games such as TLOU, Uncharted, Battlefield.

So one fine day, I noticed a playstation sale and bought Witcher III GOTY edition which includes both expansions as well. I was sceptical, but decided to take the risk as it was only $20.

A couple hours into the game, I was convinced that I'd made a mistake. I was overwhelmed by a million different tutorials the game threw at me right at the start. The combat system was nothing like anything I'd played before. Gwent made little sense. The crafting, inventory, bestiary, potion brewing, concoctions, bombs, dismantling items and stuff was just too much for me to soak in. I lost interest and left the game to itself for 3 months not daring to return to it.

Now I was looking to buy a new game, possibly The Evil Within to engage my weekends. I had already forgotten about TW3. I almost bought TEW, when my generally prudent subconscious started nagging me. I had a new game just lying on my HDD having progressed just 1%. A game that had near perfect reviews everywhere, to boot.

So I decided to give Geralt one last chance. If he didn't interest me this time, I would delete it and buy TEW, I told myself.

Two weeks into the game and I'm hooked. I've progressed through the story only 15% but I have to admit, this game is wonderfully crafted, to say the least. Perhaps I was overwhelmed by the game mechanics because I'm new to the witcher universe. The inventory is not terribly hard to manage once you get the hang of it. Yet still, I feel they throw a lot of things at you to grasp initially.

The characters are engaging with realistic dialogues and body language. And the secondary quests are very detailed too. They are like their own mini stories in themselves.

I don't know how I'll find the rest of the game, but I have very high expectations, judging from what I've played so far.

My only complaint is the loading time, even on PS4 pro. It takes a minute each time. And I die often.

Let's see how the rest turns out...

PS: Avoid spoilers please!

EDIT: Any tips for me regarding how to approach the rest of the game? Like, what skills should Geralt upgrade first, better signs or combat?

EDIT2: How long did it take you to complete the main game+both expansions?

EDIT 3:

I was playing almost mechanically until I saw the Botchling. Holy shit I thought, what a creature! I tried both alternatives to deal with it. ie to fight the botchling directly, in which case he turns into a giant monster (who is too difficult to kill) or to turn it into a lubberkin. I finally completed the latter arc. And as the narrative after that depends on the lubberkin guiding Geralt, I wonder what would have happened if I'd kept the former choice and somehow killed the Botchling monster. I guess he isn't killed instead turns directly to a lubberkin without the burial process. Somebody who has completed both can comment? This quest was funny too! I read the bestiary to find out more about Botchlings and read that "saying that a botching is ugly is like saying this shit isn't particulary tasty. It is true but doesn't convey the full meaning." It was hilarious. Fun fact: Considering how everybody says witchers have no humanity, Geralt basically repremanding the Baron for being a bad father added a really nice touch. So this was the quest which really got me into the story I guess.