Old blobbers without map functionality. Some of them are supposedly classics, but fuck if I'm going to buy graph paper.
Well then you could just memorize the maps, or make some graph paper by using lines in Excel or something and printing off at work.
Elminage Gothic - I tried it and it seemed unplayable. My main reaction was bewilderment.
Dark Souls - haven't tried any of them yet, albeit I bought the first part. They look too action-y and every youtuber seems to be a fan (many people have tens of those DS vids which nobody is watching).
I was bewildered the first time with Elminage Gothic and uninstalled it. I then went back a year later, set myself the goal of getting to the end of the first dungeon (There are some very confusing bits on the second and third levels), and then I found it was really fun.
With respect to Dark Souls and it being too action-y, the first time I played it again I was like "what?" (similar reaction to Elminage) - the first boss seemed impossible (I died probably 20 times in a row - I was playing a mage which probably didn't help, also I didn't work out how to run or target spells). I gave up and didn't try again for three months. I then came back, I started to understand what was going on, and I found the unfolding sections and areas to be balancing up the difficulty. You can also grind up levels (and/or play as a sorcerer) in the game to solve a lot of the various problems. Again I eventually got into it.
But yes ultimately I can understand the sentiments you have expressed.