I recently finished elden ring, and was hungry for more fromsoft games
I instantly bought ds3 and loved it. While Elden ring is blatantly open-world, ds3 is so big that to me, it felt like an open world game everywhere but irythill. The bosses are mostly fair (pontiff sulyvahn excluded) and exploration is heavily rewarded. I'm playing it at the same time as a friend, at the same point in progression and I am 15 levels higher because I explored every little corner I could find.
In short, this game is a very fun experience if you are able to handle frustration and have somewhat good problem solving skills.