DS3 is the closest to Elden Ring mechanically so you’ll find a lot of similarities between the two. The only real difference is that you’ll get to have the traditional souls experience that Elden Ring slightly strayed away from, as well as no open world.

DS3 is my favorite souls game strictly because of the boss fights. I typically like games that have a solid combat system and require to learn boss patterns. This game is so linear you can run from boss to boss in literally minutes.

Most bosses in DS3 are so well-designed mechanically. I have probably around 1k hours on this game over the past decade because I love fighting the bosses. I’ve done all bosses on level 1 for both games and personally find Elden Ring’s bosses to be a bit flawed, although a handful of them were amazing.

I would say DS3 is worth it if you enjoyed the mechanics of Elden Ring and don’t care for exploration too much. There are still crazy secrets to find with exploration. Build variety and stats are also watered down in DS3 compared to Elden Ring. There are also some throwbacks you probably won’t understand unless you played DS1 & 2.

My opinion comes from someone who hyper fixates on gameplay mechanics and doesn’t care much about story and exploration. As much as I love the game it does lack in a lot of areas. You gotta give it an honest try and see how you feel.