Although I've stated that a linear structure would allow for better storytelling, as I've thought about it the situation it isn't quite that simple. It depends on what kind of storytelling you are talking about. If the next game were to be non-linear, the key to telling a good story would be...
So not only did BoTW go for the open world genre, it also flipped from being extremely linear to being entirely non-linear. Allowing people to progress through the game world in any order and way they pleased fit well with the open world design and was a huge improvement to player freedom...