What you say is not wrong. However it's all optional. It's not required to beat the game like in SS or WW or other Zelda games. That's the important difference.
I agree with the quoted statement 100%.
Zelda as an IP was becoming very stale. SS proved this. The broken motion controls was only the icing on the cake. The series needed as total shake up and re-invention. That's what BotW did and that's why it's such an amazing game. We need developers...