Elden Ring is amazing; I've totally fallen in love with this game. I've never played a souls game prior to this, so no idea how it compares; but I love Skyrim and Fallout and this seems pretty on par for the open world and combat.
The storyline is there, but not "required" to move forward so much, so you can do that as quick or slow as you want. the world is pretty much there to explore however you want otherwise which is nice.
I will say there is hardly any guidance at all so that can be a little frustrating at times. Google has become my best friend at a few points while playing, but overall it is a gorgeous world.
I will say the messaging system is pretty cool. Nothing better than walking up into a cave and having a message from some other player saying "it's a trap, look left"
It takes a little getting used to, but I've found it easy enough to use or ignore depending on my mood.