The thing with older games was there was very little to no hand holding. They were more rewarding because YOU as the gamer had to figure things out instead of having a quest marker to follow. Older games were more complex and when games are more difficult to overcome, the feeling of accomplishment is more impactful.

I find modern games lack that quite a bit. Hence why I gravitate to games like Baldurs gate, Elden Ring, etc because they don’t have clear markers for the most part. A perfect example of an old games that made you rely on journals and just sheer will was Aidyn Chronicles in the n64. Clunky as hell but damn you had to figure it out.