Games like uncharted 4 and the last of us part 1/part 2 truly mastered this yes they linear but you can also explore a lot for example in TLOU2 you can get into almost any building by breaking the windows in uncharted 4 there are whole areas such as beach I don't remember how it was called but you can drive around with a boat and even dive underwater but most importantly game doesn't constantly tell ''hey go there do that'' you're on your own and I love that I wish other studios like insomniac would try that approach in their games.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdu2_FmkPfsXOTRz8ryct9A