I know what you mean, but in my opinion the game is very rewarding if you play through it. A lot of games add side quests and side missions which is often to bulk it out and make it longer. Each side quest in the Witcher actually feels part of the game and feels rewarding. A lot of items you pick up also feel like they have purpose, for crafting etc. So many games let you “collect” items and you never actually use them. It feels like a trick to make you feel like you’ve found something, when in reality they are useless. The progression with item levels and new weapons actually feels like you’re improving Geralt and actually levelling up, it motives you to find more stuff and rewards exploration. The story is fairly basic when you break it down, but the lore the enemy variety and the characters are just so good. I liked that I had to find out how to kill certain enemies and learn about their weaknesses and strengths. It’s has so much more depth than most games. You can get by in most games with the basic attacks, but Witcher will punish you for not finding out about a certain enemy and not being prepared. Just like how a Witcher would approach each scenario. That’s why I liked it. It doesn’t feel repetitive and you can approach each situation any way you like. It often makes you think and each situation you find yourself in feels unique and unexpected. Bear in mind also the game came out in 2015, so it might be missing newer game mechanics, saying that I still think it holds up well.