>>717609492
I'm struggling to figure out in my head if this would work or not, as like a mental exercise. Mos of the games had an interconnected area with RE-esque puzzles, so at the very least you could probably ditch the mission based format in favor of a more continuous, unbroken story mode. But this may make it harder to replay certain bosses or segments you like.
You could probably combine the two, receiving missions inside an open area, similar to GTA, and have the option of replaying them after beating.
The biggest hurdle would be redoing all the movement options to fit a more open environment and audience expectations. I'm hesitant to bring vehicles into the mix, but by this point everyone has access to bikes or a van so the option is there, especially if you add some combat, let you vehicular manslaughter some demons.
>>717609492
>Arbitrary forced RPG mechanics
These on the other hand always bog down an action game.