My style of play in an open world role playing game is to try to make it as much “role playing” as possible. For me, part of that is, when for example I’m walking through woods, all I hear are the sounds of the wind in the trees, the sounds of wildlife, the sound of my feet as I walk, the sounds of others approaching me. I know in Skyrim I heard things in my headphones I would have never heard had the music been playing in the background.
I loved the feeling of just being in the woods or hills in Skyrim, alone, walking, no sounds but the ambient nature sounds.
However, I discovered that the writing of W3 and the way that it unfolds was so cinematic that the music was an integral part of the game. The music during and after the battle of the Witcher fortress, the music when you finally find Ciri; Witcher 3 felt like I was playing the lead role in an incredible movie, vs. the feeling of pure role playing in Skyrim.