Yes, there wasn't much at the start of Beyond Divinity to give you a feel for the full game, like the few quests and NPCs around Aleroth at the beginning of Divine Divinity (which also starts off a little linear and heavy on the hack and slash). Once you reach the citadel (last couple levels of the first act) there are more quests and NPC interaction, and act 2 opens up (after you get past the first small area) with multiple locations surrounding a fair sized imp village, and different environments to explore.
