I actually like it when they flesh out a smaller town; but in a very detailed way. For example, from the Forgotten Realms alone let's pick… uh…
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Ordulin
OK, not too many people know about Ordulin. (For those who know, yup, it's a city in Sembia.)
Now, Ordulin is interesting. It's big enough to set a large adventure in but small enough to feel like you're making big differences in what you do around the town.
From the Wiki:
"In 1484 DR, Vasen Cale, channeling the power of Amaunator and Lathander; and Drasek Riven, wielding the divinity of Mask, closed the hole at the centre of the Maelstrom. Then, the floating Netherese city of Sakkors was deliberately crashed into Ordulin by Magadon Kest in order to destroy the Maelstrom itself.[12]"
Well, I mean, that sounds pretty cool. And from another wiki:
https://the-only-one.obsidianportal.com/wikis/ordulin
"The city is laid out like a great sunburst, with a central core consisting of three great buildings and mighty roads radiating out from the core like the rays of the sun. At the center of the city are the Great Hall of the Merchant Council of Sembia (the voice of the merchant class and the nation’s true rulers), the Tower of the Guards (Raven’s headquarters), and the Guarded Gate, Sembia’s mint and chief treasury.
Population: Metropolis, 36,330 proper (mostly human)
Does not include nearby hamlet and thorp communities"
So, not as big as Waterdeep or Baldur's Gate but still plenty big to get yourself lost in a crowd. A city that hasn't been fleshed out before. A city where the God of Thieves literally sunk a floating city of evil, Shadow-infused mages.
I'd play a game there.