Does it feel like a 100% worthy Gothic successor or is euphoria caused by a pure surprise of getting something half decent out of nowhere?
It's really enjoyable, however debatable its likeness/successorness to Gothic really is. MC starts a
little more able than the Nameless Hero, skipping that most boring part of the beginning of character development. Seems the game is a tad easier too, but that is not to say it is easy or forgiving. Exploration is 2D thus necessarily somewhat different, but I would say the designers made very effective use of what they have - it just keeps drawing you in further and further. Old style secrets and quirks are replaced by the new ones. I'm not ready to say better/worse just yet, but either way it will be close. Story starts off noticeably more grandiose than Gothic with a big setpiece right in the start, then it quickly returns to the familiar lines. All-in-all: gameplay is fun, exploration is rewarding, experience is almost bug-free and I can't name any glaring flaws that would make a Gothic fan not want to play it.
How about the game length?
Reportedly enough for at least 40h with half of that being the main story. Can't confirm yet.