Played and completed, Demon souls, sekiro, DS3, Bloodborme. This game doesn't scratch the same itch.
Performance on PS5 is the worst of all the games mentioned above. Hopefully patched to make better as it constantly hitches.
Open world is too empty, the threat of battle around every corner does not feel the same. After 15hrs as a Knight like character I have 3 usuable weapons (others are stat locked) 2 armor pieces and a bunch of items to which I have no idea what they do. Your horse makes this traversal across big open plains a lot better though.
Combat is DS3 with jump and easier stealth attacks. DS series had worst combat for me personally, I much preferred sekiro and BB. In the 15 hrs I have beaten 8 bosses. Some of these were great fun while others were a rinse and repeat affair.
Story I cannot comment as I have not completed.
Music is brilliant.
Multiplayer is terrible if you wish to play through the game with a friend. It removes horses so travel becomes an immense chore and ruins the pacing of the game. Multiplayer is only good for help with boss or specific area when playing solo.
SUMMARY
Music brilliant
Combat more of the same (horse Combat nice touch)
Story N/A
Exploration good when solo terrible with friends
Multiplayer does what FromSoftware intended but is very bad for playing with friends, detrimental to the games experience.
Performance constant stutters and hitches throughout exploration.
Wait for like 20% off before buying