Short and simple? It's two things: A spiritual successor to the Blackwell series and a surprisingly replayable Point & Click adventure.

If you played any of the five Blackwell games (which I can only highly recommend) and really didn't like it for any reason, Unavowed is not for you - it's the same world, same lore (although somewhat expanded) and largely similar in difficulty, storytelling, mechanisms and puzzles. I liked the Blackwell series, the pacing and storytelling, the characters and the world, the graphics and voice acting, and I didn't mind the somewhat simpler puzzles - and I loved Unavowed for the same reasons.

And I'd say even for people who dislike repetition - if you care about story and character exposition - the game has enough content for AT LEAST two playthroughs, and likely you'll want to play a third and maybe a fourth time. For a point and click adventure, that's pretty amazing, at least to me. And sure, the more important thing here is the different characters and their dialogue, but even some of the puzzles work differently, so you may even have to figure out some small stuff anew on the next playthrough, even if most of the larger figuring-out will be mostly done after the first time.

(Even though playing through it twice in two days may have been somewhat unhealthy. But - it's also greatly atypical for me to play through a game, start to finish, at all, let alone twice, so... I guess that's a recommendation in itself.)

If there ever was a Paradox Interactive game that replaced its predecessor in the same franchise as the definite experience with release, it's CK3. It'll pleasantly surprise most - if not all - CK2 players, and it is, as the newest installment of a franchise has so often been before, the game that's easiest to get into if you're a new player.

Not to throw shade at CK2, it was a great game, but CK3 outdelivers it in basically any point imaginable. Contrary to usual PDX release strategy, CK3 includes the major selling points of most of CK2s DLCs in the base game: Namely any map expansions and the ability to play rulers of different religions, as well as some other stuff (lifestyle changes, for example). I also like the religion system - can't even remember if it was a late addition / change to CK2 or if it's completely new / reworked in CK3, but it's good (and even if it was in CK2, I'm fairly certain it also was DLC content there).

It did do away with the option to start at basically any date in favor of one or two starting dates (but let's face it - while interesting, people probably picked either the earliest or Hastings either way, most of the time). There's a fun amount of options that are new, and that I personally liked seeing, even if I don't use them.

What really makes it stand out as the definite CK experience for me (on top of it having most of what CK2 + all DLCs had) are, however:
1. The split of reputation resources into two levels: A more permanent one (fame / devotion) and a more transient one (renown / faith) and how they affect the game and how they interact.
2. The renewed focus on dynasty - not only the new dynastic perks, but also how it is easier to trace whom we have played and what they did during their lives.

You might find some old fans who - as it is, always - claim that it has been "dumbed down". It feels, indeed, like it is easier to get into than previous installments (yet again) and it also feels like you can achieve some successes and form and execute plans within the game more easily and reliably than previously. In short: You can have fun - and even a somewhat successful history - without a detailed game plan about how you want to optimize what section of the background mechanisms.