Maybe, but games in general have actually gotten a lot more complex and difficult over the years. Look at any long-running series (e.g. Super Mario Bros, COD, S

Maybe, but games in general have actually gotten a lot more complex and difficult over the years. Look at any long-running series (e.g. Super Mario Bros, COD, Street Fighter), the newer games have more and more mechanics, and they are competing against newer franchises with the same complexity. Also look at the popularity of Elden Ring, rougelikes and other "hard mode" games. Even some F2P games like Clash of Clans have a surprising amount of complexity, some of it being the alternate currencies and addictive mechanics they use to get people to spend more. You may still be right about games not impacting cognition the same, as the complexity has shifted from mastering and creatively utilizing simple mechanics into learning convoluted ones. Also, older games were much less likely to have "easy mode" and there were no online guides, you had to figure out everything yourself. But even some modern games are like this (except for the "no online" part): "retro" and "indie" games like Slay the Spire and Celeste.