The game plays like a detective novel. You walk around talking to NPC and trying to figure out how to help or trick them. There are a few nuances that I will not spoil.
"Puzzles" have, for the most part, several ways to be realized and the writing is captivating and fun.

Finally, if you feel you are playing a Skyrim/Oblivion mod it is because it started as such. The game is very polished!