Ultimately we got "show don't tell," so they got it right in that regard. Leaving it out gave it a mystique and that's good for us.

In fact, without that omission we wouldn't be discussing it in the first place.

Both BotW and TotK are amazing games. Each in their own right. Both games have similarities but they are decidedly different games.

As for the next installment I do agree a more bustling Hyrule would be cool but these are fantasy games. You won't find a slew of metropolises in Hyrule lol. Having a world free from apocalypse is a nice idea. Maybe a cataclysm befalls part way during the game, somewhat like Ocarina of Time.

But look, I trust the devs to deliver something enjoyable to play as they did with the past few games.

I don't know if the groundbreaking revolutionary feeling of BotW will ever be recaptured. That's ok. We have to move past that. I look forward to whatever comes next.

As I understand it, the next major release will be a totally different Hyrule but I think open world is here to stay and I'm good with that. (I would like a bit of linearity but mostly to avoid spoilers like we got with memories in TotK lol)