I've played a bunch solo which is a lot quicker but more isolated. The "prefered" way is to play with 2-4 players for sure. Still I got a good 40ish hours out of it by my own.
how does this compare to the physical boardgame? Less screentime is always something that I want in my life, but the boardgame version doesn't seem like something one would easily pick up
Its a huge board game. I hate to be one of those “the book is better” folks - but I think a lot of what Gloomhaven brings is in the players themselves.
Though as something thats probably much less of a time commitment - you lose one thing, gain another!