I think that’s a fair comment, and to extend it a bit further, people expect a standard quality of life in games now that either have emerged over the years a a positive gameplay trait (regenerating health, accessibility customisation, the yellow paint guide) or a technical innovation (auto save, autoaim, customisable graphics etc).
I find it really tough going back to play Perfect Dark (the original, not the excellent remaster) and really struggling to play through the brilliant game at sub-20fps; or playing Metal Gear on the NES without the ability to return to the same room on death, seeing as the password system was a bit clunky.
We’ve come a long way, largely for the better.
I’m just freestyling here and I’m sure someone with a professional experience or academic background in psychology can tear it up for arsepaper, but I wonder if it’s an innate fear?
Like the uncanny valley with autonomous human-style robots or how AI generated pictures of faces are sending primitive recognition patterns haywire, I wonder if covering up half of the visual cues to recognise someone as friend or foe provokes an in-built negative reaction?
I mean, it’s not rational, but then chucklefucks who complain about it don’t do rational even if it’s in their interest.