The original Baldur's Gate was likewise story-driven, and if I recall correctly, albeit there was a cosmetic/shallow day/night cycle, there was no point in returning to almost any area you had previously explored.
I don't think day/night were particularly robust, but there more then cosmetic - I am pretty sure at night you were more likely to encounter enemy mobs, and in BG2 at night you would see stuff like vampires battling thief guild. Some quests in both games were time of day specific. Similar, to how Witcher 3 works, I suppose.
