My favorite part of Elden Ring was the freedom, and it's a freedom that might not even be fully realized the first time you play it. The freedom to just..go out in any direction you want and do what you want to do. There are routes to basically every area of the game if you explore, like skirting the castle without killing the first boss, or climbing up through an army of harpies and defeating a dragon to access the upper levels without getting the key for the elevator.