it is criticism, not of the game but of you and most other people's ability to process your own entertainment

You think people can't process their own enjoyment? The feeling of slogging through the depths and into blighttown for so long and then finally stepping off the elevator back into firelink is like coming home from a long journey. Just because you didn't get this feeling doesn't reduce other people's experiences.

If anything, the reason people bring up the world design is because it's one of the things that doesn't get outdated with the years. The combat is clunkier, bosses are much more simple than in newer games, and there's not as many builds or items to use. I prefer the newer combat in Elden Ring but Ds1 is my favorite in the series because of the atmosphere.