One of the greatest parser games ever has a linear plot and progression through the puzzles. It’s just that the world is so engaging, the exploration so compelling, that the linear path doesn’t detract from the feeling of freedom in the game-world at all.
@dfabulich made a puzzle dependency chart for Anchorhead in a response on this hint-thread: Anchorhead is too hard for me - Playing / Game Hints - The Interactive Fiction Community Forum (intfiction.org)