The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)

White Orchard teaches an impressive number of systems in a relatively contained area, which can make the opening feel like preparation for a game elsewhere. Leaving it for Velen and following the early investigation towards the Bloody Baron gives the character writing and tangled local stories more room. That route can take several hours without clearing every marker. The 2015 game's investigative conversations become richer; its basic swordplay is still recognisably the same.