Is the witcher a linear game experience?Can you march up to the final boss in Witcher 3 straight after the tutorial? Everything in Zelda after the tutorial is optional. How does one convey a proper story when there aren't any forced cutscenes? How do you know how much of the game any given player will experience before going to Hyrule castle to finish the game? Breath of the Wild did a good job of having a story be completely optional yet present if you desire it to be. It's not the greatest story in a game ever conceived but it works.
Your argument makes sense, but my biggest issue with zelda games is that Nintendo hasn't created a believable world with vibrant characters and personalities with interesting stories since majoras mask. Witcher has optional shyt with better stories than most games.