Even when just opening a single video file it tries to do way too much at once.

Why is there a playlist by default? What are these dozens of obscure options at the first level under every main dropdown in the title/menu bar?

I vaguely remember recently trying mpv and being pleasantly surprised, but I mostly use QuickTime or IINA on macOS. mpv seems to be available cross-platform though; maybe the Windows port is usable?