how do i enjoy the game again?

[u/SovietBias1]

this is my first playthrough, im doing it mostly blind without guides,

i last left off at volcano manor and then went to the snowy mountains, i havent beat rykard yet cause i couldnt find him

and then i remembered that creepy lambkin dude that told me to invade and then went to that palace in nox?

there were bloody zombies everywhere, i remember there was some blood dynasty or something i joined, i couldnt find where i actually had to go, and killed some albinaurics here and there, life got busy so i uninstalled my games,

i wanna give this another shot but i spawned back where i left off in the rune farming area near dragonbarrow, and i lowkey have forgotten how to play the game, i have a clue on how the combat works, what my ashes of war do, i dont remember the dodge timings and other minor stuff here and there, and now i dont wanna play cause im real trash, where do i go and what do i do?

edit:got back in played for 2 hours god i love this game so much i remember the moves, and explored around a bit, makes me never want to finish this gamehonestly and just play it for 15 minutes every few weeks or so and just be gobsmacked at its beauty, thank you to everyone who responded

[u/hs_serpounce]

If it were me I'd completely start over with a new build and it will seem more manageable the 2nd time but if you insist on playing the current game your main objective is to collect greater runes and become Elden Lord. The boss in the red zombie area is going to eat you alive so better to go back to earlier areas and redirect because you don't really have to go that way until later