Will the story take me to all locations? Or will I miss areas if I don't take the initiative to explore?

[The Flatulent Mip]

Hi all, great game so far. I've just reached an area of the world map with several new locations. I notice that some say Danger and some don't, so I assume that's to do with my chars level. But other than that, I don't want to visit them now if the story is just going to take me there later. For those who have beaten the game, if I want to explore fully, what's the play here? Thanks!

[radmuskai]

People told me you can finish the game without ever visiting some areas. So you are free to explore them as you wish.

[Dobke]

There are several locations that aren't on the way of the main story to reach them you'll need to do some digging around.

[Dotsforlife]

If you want to explore fully, you need to complete Act II and get all of Esquie's upgrades. This is entirely optional, as Act III is mostly just a finale to finish the main story. There's another 5-10 hours of optional content if you choose to wait on completing Act III.

[The Flatulent Mip]

Okay, thanks all!