Overall a fun experience!! Albeit awkward.

I jumped in thinking that it might be good to experience The First before I play The Third;
at the same time expecting that it's just another RPG with nice graphics and storyline.

Lmao I was wrong. The mechanic, the camera work, was awkward.
The battle mechanic reminds me of Legend of Dragoon in PS 1 lmaooo those timing-based combos.
Motions were often funny and the camera often capture characters overlaid by plants/zoomed too close/weird framing (even in dire moments). It was a good comedy throughout the game.
Well I wasn't entirely wrong. I liked the concept of time, meditation, and alchemy though!
Especially the time, it makes the neighborhood feel alive. Collecting romance cards was a nice touch too.

Narrative was great and enjoyable. It gave a nice intro of the universe, the politics, who Geralt was, his friends, his foes, as well as his vision (even the lore of Ciri). Characters and quests have their charm points, there were some that really grew on me (Dandelion! Vincent and Carmen! Even Siegfried).

Although people tend to skip out the 1st and 2nd game, I feel it's an important stepping stone.
Thanks for the game. I'm excited to take on Witcher 2 and ultimately Witcher 3.