BG3 contains a lot of FR content, but with everything so close together, it doesn't feel like a "world". And it breaks imersion and logic in some cases. I want to feel the distance. If we can load a giant map like this in a way thet travel looks seamless, nothing stops to do the same with paper world map and a number of small locations.
True, having the druid grove and goblin camp so close dosent make sense in real life and designing it as an huge open world would be to time/resource consuming plus you would need new mechanics like mounts.
But creating a huge map and populating it with a ton of location that look very similar to where you just visited an hour ago or Creating a village that has 5-6 building feels more like a place holder rather than a location.
One really nice thing Larian did that wouldn't be as cool using a map is there implementation of the underdark, where it really is underground everywhere. the world is built in layers which gives is a sense of realism and immersion i haven't seen in any d&d game. you go find cave go down find a zenth hideout find a elevator go down even more and reach the underdark all seamlessly
My point that there advantages and disadvantages to both , just need to pick your poison
