I agree with this. One of my favourite old classics is Baldur's Gate 2 (and the whole "trilogy" series) – it's both very much on-rails and very open at the same time, providing a huge world that you can interact with characters within and do basically anything within some guide rails. Zelda BOTW is another highlight and a fantastic example of video game design. Similarly with The Witcher.

Anything else "AAA" largely seems to be a let-down of micro-transactions or designed to push you into online services. Dragon Age Inquisition, for example, is a pale imitation of those other two. I'm not surprised GTA is going the other way.