The intros were made like that back then because for artistic reasons or because it made the cut scene stand out compared to the regular game.

If 16:9 with black bars on 4:3 was the popular "artistic reason", why not make the rest of the game that way? (I'm glad they didn't)
And they didn't need cutscenes to stand out any more than they already did. They weren't made using the in-game engine. Like the boxart for (e.g.) 8 bit games....

because they aren't cut scenes.

Just FYI: The Epic version appearently (I read comments about it) does NOT run without the client - so it probably is not a replacement for the GOG version. Still it can be used as a demo, of course - if you don't mind Epic at all that is :)

Just chiming in to say that for me this is probably the best game in the last decade. And since the decade that preceded it was completely dismal in gaming, that would probably make it my best game in two decades by default.

I don't get the complaints about "unpolish". Bethesda games got a free pass for years yet every game from outside the US game-press clique gets absolutely trashed for "bugginess". For me this game was extremely stable (a couple of scripting bugs in some quests don't break an entire experience), as well as among the best looking games I've played (and my rig isn't close to top-of-the-line by any stretch).

I do get the complaints about game systems however (not that I agree with them) - the systems ARE different and they take time to get used to. But once you do, you are rewarded by a truly "immersive" experience (I dread to say that overused buzzword, but it fits here). I've said it before - this is a game were the setting informs the game systems instead of a setting clumsily shoehorned into a premade template that's familiar to players.

And if you have even a remote fondness for history, this game is absolutely great. The love, care and attention to detail for the subject matter, seeing the clever ways the developers adapted history to a game setting - this was half of the fun to me.