The game is presented through third-person perspective, and the player may freely roam in its interactive free form exploration open world. Gameplay elements include fights, looting, horseback riding, interacting with non-player characters, and maintaining the character's status through levelling up, enhancing equipment and weapons, and learning spells.
The game's development lasted approximately six years. Upon release, Elden Ring received critical acclaim, with praise for its open world and gameplay, which was considered an improvement to the Souls formula.
