The best part of this game isn't the amount of freedom you have to explore, but rather that you have the freedom to not commit to anything in particular, drop whatever you're doing and get anything else done instead. If you're bored, fast-travel elsewhere and come back if you want. If you think your abilities will measure up in a fight with Ganon, then yeah go and do it. Do what you want, but more importantly do it when you want. I believe that's the most important element of the player experience of this game (and may be why I've not been thrilled about the Great Plateau experience at the very beginning in comparison to the rest).

It helps that there's almost always a notable hard and easy way of going about any given situation, whether it's a puzzle or an average combat encounter. The way you solve a problem pales in comparison to whether your methods get a good result, and your approach to a difficult challenge can be made as versatile as needed depending on what you're willing to lose. Playing the game once more for maybe the fourth time now has made me appreciate how, unlike so many other Zelda games before it, my actual skill at combat and recognition of the game world's nuances has tangibly improved so as to make Lynel encounters a cinch now when I wouldn't have touched them before, and difficult quests are made simpler with more deliberate consideration of what best ideas would work with the individualized amount of armor and food I have.

Some people claim it's not Zelda-like enough, but this is the new Zelda and that's probably okay.