Mixed. There's a lot here that really doesn't gel with me personally. But there's enough there, that I managed to see it through. It's, I guess, objectively a good game that I subjectively don't like.
The obvious thing is that I don't like Souls games, where the challenge, the not knowing, the dying, the grinding are part of the "fun". But it's also stuff like the storyline offering me so little motivation as to why I'm here, why the bosses do what they do, what's going on, what quests do what and where they go and how they work. It's all there, but I have to rely on the wiki articles, on the community, to make any sense of the game.
The combat is extremely versatile, and what I find a little difficult to explain, is that this game world is so dreary, so depressing, and yet every corner of this open world is memorable. Any fan could probably see any screenshot, and know exactly where that is, what enemies are there and tell you three or more adventures they had on that exact spot. If the whole point of entertainment is to make you experience memorable emotions, then Elden Ring's got that down to a tee.
Overall, finishing a Soulslike game was a challenge I set myself, and I have done it. I'm proud, but mostly relieved, that that's done. I'll go back and try a few bosses I've missed, attack a few areas I haven't really been to, but I look forward to playing something completely different after 120 hours of ER spread over two months.
