Yes. Any normal person would be in it for the Gwent.

No

Not at all. It's one of the very few games where I didn't skip any cutscenes. I also found it extremely easy to follow along, and also continue the main quest lines. I've never finished skyrim, and not just because of the modding rabbit hole, I just never gave a shit about the story. (I honestly think bethesda is extremely overrated for games, but thats another thing entirely). Even though I found the story easy to play and actually got invested in it, the side quests and side stories were just as fun. Although I don't think I have ever played any mission as fun and different then drunk dialing while dressing up. That shit was hilarious.

Not weird. It’s the main reason to play. For me it wasn’t even really about the main plot line, ended up not caring for the Wild Hunt or the White Frost at all but every tidbit about the conjunction of spheres, Heart of Stone, and the various non-Wild Hunt factions and quests were pretty captivating to me. The small quest lines were usually interesting. The Crones were a lot more interesting than the Wild Hunt