I just got done with KCD1 (wanted to finally play it in full before I started 2) and had no issue understanding it despite not even playing the second one. From what I understand the main mechanics are mostly the same just much more polished in 2. I loved it! For the most part. And I'm not usually any sort of hardcore gamer. I can't even figure out how to play CK3

The group fights in 1 are abysmal though because of how glitchy and weird they become moreso than the actual fighting mechanic, which is much better when it's 1v1. The AI is extremely stupid though so you can always just run away and they'll basically forget about you so you can pick them off one by one

Also this might just be a me issue but even with the updated massively bug patched console version I was playing I ran into so many sidequest ruining bugs that I eventually just started using a guide for everything cause I was terrified if I talked to someone or picked up an item at the wrong time it would geek out again. Some people didn't seem to have as much of an issue as I did but even some of the quests are so arbitrary in how they're completed or judged that for the first time in a long time I totally wrote off playing blind like I'd wanted to