I had a similar experience actually. I played ds1 first and got destroyed and hated it. I quit when i reached ONS. After i got a ps5 i played bloodborne and fell in love with souls games ever since. Something in bloodborne made them click for me.
The enjoyment comes from the satisfaction of overcoming insurmountable odds. But for this to be satisfying it has to be through your own skills and improvement. You need to learn from your mistakes and try different ways of approaching the challenge. This is why the hitboxes need to be very accurate (which they are in eldenring) so when you die it’s only your fault. And when you finally “get gud” and kill the boss you get a sense of accomplishment.
I recently tried hades. It has a cool vibe and the characters are likable but i discovered i don’t like rougelites
Super mario sunshine is still Goated. Also dolphino plaza music slaps!
Red dead 2. Probably would be better as a movie than a game