Was the trial a mistake?

I feel exactly the opposite. Ryder is every bit the set protagonist that Geralt is. The difference is that Geralt gets to actually make judgments and take meaningful action, to have real interaction with his world. There are far too many examples to even name, since they're found at every turn. Ryder, on the other hand, gets 2 flavors of friendly, passive or submissive 99% of the time. I enjoy MEA, but this is my single greatest disappointment with it. I don't find it to offer any real RP opportunities. Every PT is essentially the same thing, regardless of dialogue and "moral" choices.

I'm not trolling and yes I've played TW 3. Twice. Honestly i just might forgivr most of its other flaws but the mere fact is they've sold it as the wrong genre. Great game. Horrible RPG. Probably the worse on the market.

i just rarely feel it. Geralt is Geralt. Its quite hard to quantify how many individual Ryders you can make.

you can make the smart mouthing Ryder who doesn't take his/her charge as seriously as they should, or you can make a smart mouthing Ryder who doesn't take his/her charge as seriously as they should

Individual how? You need to explain this further for me.

With Ryder you have 4 supposed options...

-Emotional
-Logical
-Casual
-Professional

...none of these having any different impact on any decision in the game.

Geralt has anywhere from 2 to 4 different decisions to make that will impact the game at that moment and can easily have far reaching consequences not only for you but also the npc you're dealing with and others down the line. Keira Metz is a prime example of this.

Yeah, shut up and accept the mary sue that CDPR gave you!

People who think Geralt is a Mary Sue seem to forget that its perfectly possible to end the game with no friends or loved ones left and spend the rest of his life walking the path alone.

You wouldn't know if it did or not so you're opinion on the game is meaningless...

Ryder can be :
Emotional, Casual, logical, professional.

Paragon or Renegade (for lack of a better term)

Pro or anti initiative.

Good or bad relationship with their father.

Or pro or anti crew.

Geralt is Geralt is Geralt. Even if you except the idea that you can be a good Geralt or a bad Geralt or a neutral Geralt (and i don't) that is still only three options versus 12 distinct Ryders. And that's not counting all the mixing and matching or other little flavor choices you have throughout the game.

As for the moral choices each character gets...yes that's a part of RPing...but its the least important part of RPing to me. Especially as a writer who uses these games to practice his craft. Most decisions we face in our.lives aren't moral choices but personality ones. Do i be a dick? Do i be sarcastic? Do i be diplomatic or professional?

Its $20 now? I need to tell a friend. He said he'd likely get it, at some point. Now might be the time.

to be fair though most RPGs have really weak...let's say...first ten percent of their gameplay. Only real exceptions are DA 2 and ME 3.

They made it up by giving you Geralt though!