I'm glad you think so! I also tried to not overdo it in the opposite way. When an RPG puts a lot of eggs into a basket of a single story, I rarely get excited about it since almost all of these stories turn into save-the-world power fantasies/privilege simulators which I'm not interested in anymore. (Mostly because I've seen them too many times, not because they are "objectively" terrible.)
So, for example, I don't just assume that the player is going to be fascinated about the story of the previous roadwarden. There's even an NPC who asks you why do you try to find this person, and while this is meant to be an option to feed the NPC with a dialogue choice they would appreciate the most so you can get on their good side, it's also a moment where I hope the player will think about it for a second. Are they doing it just for the reward, to fulfill their duty, to help another person in need? What drives their character, and how does it reflect on their main goal?
I don't often find such a thing in the game other than evil / good choices ("to save the world" / "to gain power"), and I think it's a shame. There's something very interesting about the life choices made by fictional adventurers. We usually make stories in which they follow a lead all the way through, but I find it fascinating how many dozens if not hundreds of decisions they must make to stay on course. They could, after all, give up at any point. Usually. ; )
That's why in Roadwarden you can end the game at any time. Just turn around and return to the city. And I plan to make it always feel like an actual conclusion to the experience.
I wish you good luck with your research. I'd recommend trying to make a prototype rather early on, so you can keep in mind which things turned out to not work as great as you'd hope for. : ) Keeping everything on paper usually doesn't survive once it meets reality.