Yes, very many quests of the game are fetch quests, and very many wilderness maps are just sweep-and-loot as you said. (In a charming, nostalgic way though, so for very hardcore fans, it is like replaying Baldur's Gate wilderness maps.) So you can just skip wilderness maps and focus on the main plot - it's tens of hours long alone
On the other hand, as I said, there are hidden gems. One of the riddles (related to a "talking" plant) is very complex and cool
And the Main Plot of the game is great, so you can just skip side quests if you want. Many players do that. You can also generate a full custom party now if you don't want companions or companion quests.
Just look it up what their Steam players said - some cool Riddles in the game:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1374930/discussions/0/5675129542138111166/