Last year I made a vow to put at least one hour into every game in my steam library (except ones I’ve played before or didn’t work).
I had about 120 games to get through. It took me most of the year. I ended up playing some “hidden” gems I’ll never forget ( Torment: Tides of Numeneria was a notable great).
Did I play Skyrim too? Of course. But I also got addicted to Risk of Rain. Were there some stinkers? Absolutely. But for every Dev-Guy (bad) there’s a DiveKick (good). For every Serious Sam 2, a Warhammer 40k: Space Marine.
Some of my most played games right now are Into The Breach, Slay The Spire, and Vampire Survivors - none of them are complicated. They all respect your time.
I think what it is is the immersion. You know you’ll be interrupted before you’re “done” so you can’t let yourself mentally wander off into the world.