https://www.pcgamer.com/sekiro-shadows-die-twice-will-boast-a-more-open-ended-world-compared-to-the-souls-series/

One of the many bitter pleasures of the original Dark Souls is the ability to traipse right into late game areas from the get go. The series has always been pretty open ended, but according to From Software president Hidetaka Miyazaki, the company's forthcoming Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will be even more open ended.

“We feel like Sekiro’s probably on the higher end of the spectrum in terms of the freedom the player has to explore the world if we’re to compare it to our previous games,” Miyazaki told Game Informer. “Particularly from the mid-game onward, the world really opens up, and you have a great deal of choice and freedom about which order and way you choose to explore.”