Dark Souls is thought of as an unapproachable, highly difficult game, but it + Bloodborne are actually the ultimate power fantasies. Because becoming powerful in those games is only tangentially related to leveling up. Instead, it’s about improving your skills and turning a foreign, frightening, and hostile world into your own personal playground.
It makes sense that people gravitate towards them while suffering from depression. There’s a real sense of achievement of making your way in those games and defeating bosses that seemed utterly impossible when you were first starting out.