Elden Ring Gameplay Summary

Open world. Do anything you want, within the game's limits.
Fighting bosses.
Farm runes to pump stats. Run around the map to pick up weapons, armor, and stuff.
You die, you drop all your runes. Go back to where you died to get them back. Die again on the way, they are gone forever.

Enemies and bosses attack with no common sense. Not recommended for the faint of heart.
Everything is lethal.
No quest log, no map markers. Just listen to what people say. Sometimes progressing simply takes luck and fate.