I'm playing through The Evil Within 2 right now and I'm really surprised how well they've made a big, open map feel atmospheric and tense to navigate while still being fun. I've encountered small moments when you explore the same locations again that reminded me of the scares in Fatal Frame (a spotless house having a new pile of bodies on a second visit, followed by an enemy dragging a corpse in behind you). There's a small element of some houses having stories too, so they're worth checking out.
As you can imagine, there's enemies peppered around in a way that makes you re-think how you'll make it from one area to another, so you'll have to familiarise yourself with shortcuts and stealth mechanics. It's pretty interesting.
Do you think Fatal Frame could work with a similar design? We don't have the best track record when it comes to stealth but the way the ghosts were handled in Ayane's missions stood out in a way that reminds me of TEW. They existed independent to you, having their own routes and ways to go. It was kind of creepy having to sneak past dead things in the woods, changing colours like traffic lights aside.
Imagine an abandoned village setting again but with a seamless, open map where ghosts stalked and prowled around you. You could just happen to walk by a reinactment of the past, sidequests, collectibles (village-wide Hozuki doll hunt lets go ), etc.
Does this series work better on a more linear path? Or is this something you'd like to see attempted?