Maybe Kena Bridge of Spirits? Its not full open world if i remember correctly but it goes into the Zelda direction and i had a lot of fun with it

Not the MOST open world but the new tomb raider games are pretty great. Exploration, crafting, axing badguys in their stupid faces. Friendship, Bow and arrows. It's a good set of games.

The Outer Wilds

All due respect to the other recommendations in this thread (The Witcher 3 is in my top 3 favorite games ever), but I get the sense you're looking for a similar vibe - that self-paced, quiet, almost lonely exploration where, though you do have a goal, the point of the game is to wander the world and discover things. While most of these recs (and most open world games in general, so it's understandable) have a strong story focus, The Outer Wilds will give you that quiet, unguided exploration BoTW does so well.

(And I know explicitly turned down souls-likes, but Elden Ring also hits that vibe super well. If you're really stuck for something to play, it might be worth a try with one of the magic-focused builds that significantly reduce the skill needed)

Sounds like Crimson Desert

I would imagine horizon zero dawn and the Witcher would be what you're looking for.

Horizon Zero Dawn is on steam. Amazing game. Open world. I haven't played the second one yet but I need to.

Have you tried Legend of Zelda: Vreath of the Wild for PC? They even have it for Steamdeck. I love my Nintendo Steamdeck. I even got a Nintendo Steamdeck 2.

There was one called Immortals Fenyx Rising that I remember being quite similar to BotW. Unfortunately it's Ubisoft

Would emulating Wind Waker be an option?

Besides that I would say Genshin is probably your best bet.

I've found Palworld to be a lot like that, and it's hitting 1.0 in July or so.

Genshin impact

I kind of cringe at suggesting this, but Genshin Impact is if Breath of the Wild used a gatcha payment model instead of $60 up front.

Sable

It's like Breath of the Wild without combat.

The Black Grimoire: Cursebreaker?

Morrowind, Fallout, and Dragon Age are all quality contenders.

I’d imagine The Witcher 3 falls into this camp? Maybe Kingdom Come Deliverance 1 & 2 as well? I can’t be incredibly sure, as I haven’t actually played them.

You mentioned Elden Ring, but it’s much more combat focused and less mini-dungeon puzzles. Though fighting a boss can feel like a puzzle sometimes.

Wuthering Waves might fit your bill, but it’s a free to play gacha game so that comes with its own can of worms. It’s also a bit more combat focused that BOTW and ranged combat + gadgets don’t really exist.

You may like some of the Assassin’s Creed franchise if you never played that. AC2 was my favorite of those, but it’s been a long time since I touched that franchise.

I haven't actually fired it up in a while, but Gedonia might be up your alley.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1114220/Gedonia/

Looks like a sequel is currently in early access, too.

It's not exactly the same, because of the turn-based nature of it, but play Baldur's Gate 3 if you haven't.

It's a massive world with a shitload of things to do and a definite objective (or rather 3 as each act has a major one)

I haven't played this, but Crimson Desert seems pretty close