#BotW is so odd, pacing-wise, but somehow it works. you know you're supposed to fight Ganon asap, and you can *see* the castle with his aura from most of Hyrule, and yet... it's very easy to just get lost in the wonder of wandering around.
it's especially masterful because it works both on link's and the player's level- he's new here too. even if he had his memories, would he have *seen* hyrule before? or just traveled across it?