I grew up hearing all the talking heads (media), religious groups and parents strongly criticizing video games. You've, probably, heard some of this. For example, video games involving any type of violence causing people to become more violent, etc. As far as I know, the academic community has failed to produce any negative relationship between video games and real life.
At the age of 8 my son began playing Elden Ring with me. We were both new to Souls-like games. I, quickly, became disheartened by the difficulty of Elden Ring and stopped playing altogether. On the other hand, my son continued to play Elden Ring. He had several meltdowns, over the next two years, trying so desperately to advance in this game. One of his most recent meltdowns was so traumatic for him, that he smashed the PS5 controller into our brand new TV screen which caused a square inch of it to be irreparably damaged. He was punished severely for doing this.
Two weeks later, he continued his quest to overcome Elden Ring. I remember hearing him say to himself, his mother and brother "I am not going to give up until I beat this game".
Three weeks, and many more meltdowns later, my 10 year old son beat Elden Ring. I remember hearing him scream "YES! YES! FINALLY!".
I ran into the room and found him sobbing with tears of joy. I hugged and congratulated him. I ran outside to tell his older brother and he ran in to congratulate him. His mother was overjoyed with his accomplishment.
For someone so young to persevere, spending over 300 hours, trying to overcome a tough game like Elden Ring is a huge accomplishment.
I am so proud of my son to have learned such a valuable lesson, on his own, at such a young age.
Elden Ring and Dark Souls games are not fun to play per se, but it's very rewarding due to the difficulty and skill required. That sense of accomplishment is why a lot of people play, even if it's not explicitly fun to keep dying and restarting. Not everyone's cup of tea for sure but many good lessons and skills to be learned playing it