I mean there are good AAA games. From soft still puts out bangers, CD projekt red makes some good stuff (the cyberpunk launch was pretty rough though), larian is pretty good. Most AAA studios are dog shit, but you can still find a few diamonds in the rough.
Sure!
Valheim is fantastic, Kenshi is brutal and unforgiving but very fun, outward is similarly difficult and fun, also very unique.
Open world is kind of a huge genre, so I’d even say games like Subnautica, terraria, etc might be up your alley.
Edit: I can’t believe I left out no man’s sky and hyper light drifter! Highly recommend them both, no man’s sky is such a good space life sim and hyper light drifter is kind of like a throwback to the first Zelda game, but obviously updated and with some different intentions to the gameplay/story. Happy gaming!