botw is a good enough sandbox, that it carries an entire game
but its not actually very developed beyond that, and I don't think they've found a magic bullet that solves it simply by expanding the options they give you in the sandbox
If they just made BoTW with worth a shit dungeons and a smidge more narrative strength it'd be much more than a sandboxy game. It is fun, but if it were say combined with a mildly deeper progression system and the sort of morrowind "Go adventure and remember yourself. When you're ready I have a task for you." sort of deal alone it'd have been much better than being totally open. I like oot for the fact that it is a very linear experience, but does open up at points too. It just lacks a central direction or gameplay challenge aside from general itemization. Majora's does a lot as well with a a small world by making it rather deep with its relatively extreme (comparatively) restrictions on time
