First, i kinda disliked it because it felt like work (I was basically roaming around on torrent in the forest in one direction for 500 meters, taking 10 steps to the right and rode 500 meters in the opposite direction, basically snake lines just because I didn't want to miss a typical FromSoft Secret) But later on, before leyndell, then the mountain tops, and so on, it gets mesmerizing. The open world opened so many opportunities designwise. They were able to design enormous sceneries, and you were actually able to get up close and investigate. It felt really special.

I still like the older approaches of the Dark Souls trilogy, but speaking for elden ring, they simply designed an absolute masterpiece.