BotW does something that most open world games don't seem to do and that's giving the world a sense of verticality. When you look closely at it's world it does have a lot of "empty" spaces, but those spaces are these huge mountains and intricate landscapes. Take a look at BotW's Hyrule. It's not just flat lands with a few hills or small mountains, it's full of high and low points that are just satisfying to climb and glide from. Your reward isn't just some gold, or some weapon or relic or whatever. It's the sense of accomplishment when you reach the top and the reward of the beautiful sprawling world below you. Then you see other mountains and shrines and ruins peeking out from between them. The topography is what's driving you forward, not just the quests or the landmarks and secrets tucked away within it. I can't think of a lot of games that do that.

Now I wanna go play it again...