Hm.
I have mixed feelings about this topic.
I agree it would be cool to have less restrictions on travel- there tends to be "pathways" rather than having access to every hilltop and forested area.
But, on the other hand, BGIII is wildly less constricted, less of a mousetrap maze than, say Solastas, which lots of people seem to tout as superior or more "D&D" like than BGIII. In Solastas it's strictly a one way ride, generally with only one way to approach each encounter in a certain order. One of the things I greatly dislike about it is the complete lack of choice and creative freedom- which makes it utterly unlike a session of D&D under a competent DM.
With BGIII you do have the options to approach destinations from multiple directions. You aren't suckered into having to go to places in any order- there is a certain freedom to proceed as you will- it's more a matter of not all spaces being "accessible".
Which, does feel pretty weird sometimes.
I suspect things will open up some and be a bit looser once we get into the rest of the game, since DOSII was larger and more open.
I understand from a designer aspect that such a densely packed game as this is a lot easier to control situations with this corridor like approach- and to Larian's credit, they go out of their way to allow approaching areas from multiple directions, revisiting locations, very creative tactical planning, and so on.
But yes, it could feel a lot more compelling with an "opener", bigger feeling world.
