While I prefer the standardized tiles of a Firaxis game, this does seem like more of a satisfying gameplay for me compared to what I've seen of Civ VII.
Tangent time.

I find the absence of tiles to be one of the most interesting aspects of Ara. I have not been a fan of regions as they have appeared in Humankind and Endless Legend, but in Ara, they work very differently both in terms of gameplay and visuals. The map is generated procedurally, and divided into regions which are irregularly shaped, often following natural boundaries like rivers. Just look at the long, narrow region "southwest" of the river in the screenshot below (I don't know if it's actually southwest, as I don't know the map orientation).
Each region is then subdivided into a variable number of zones, which act as your "tiles" for the purpose of placing buildings and improvements. There is some strategy here, because regions with more zones can fit more buildings, but zones differ in yields and resources. Triumphs (Wonders) take up an entire region, so those two-zone regions are natural candidates for placing those. I also find it interesting how Ara handles regions and zones visually when placing buildings. Zones are larger than traditional tiles. Buildings take up different amounts of space, and the space that is left over is then filled in with things like trees, roads, and residential houses. For farms, most of the extra space will be occupied by fields. Look at the older screenshot below, and notice how the farms are filled out with fields, and how that building by the city walls is surrounded by trees.
I think it is fascinating, and no doubt a technical and artistic accomplishment to make it look natural. I remember when Civ 5 moved the series from square to hexagonal tiles, and how I felt the map looked much more organic. No more right-angled rivers and coastlines. I wonder if other games will later adopt Ara's approach.
Second tangent time.

This makes me think about how there seems to be trends in 4X games, and how several recent games have adopted similar mechanics. Civ, Humankind, Millennia and Ara all have a concept of "eras" now. Civ 7 and Ara are both also subdivided into three major "acts", although what happens at the transitions is very different. In Ara, the least successful nations will be "lost to history", and culled (by default, it can be turned off). Civ 7 on the other hand, lets you "evolve" into a different civ, similarly to what Humankind introduced. Will more games adopt this after Civ 7? Most recent games also have some kind of "army" system to combine different units. Well, Civ 7 sort of has it, as you need to "unpack" the units before tactical combat. It's a pretty novel approach, and I'm curious to see how well it works.
Sorry for rambling, but it's interesting to see how the genre seems to be evolving. Different games are doing their own take on similar concepts. It will be interesting to see which of these trends catch on.
Also, congratulations on the birth of your child.

It requires a lot of you, but for me, nothing has been more rewarding and meaningful.