I completely agree with your points, the games I still play fall into that category though can still be a bit more competitive than you describe.

The difference is time has become more of a factor for me where grinds I used to do when I was younger are no longer acceptable for me now and oddly enough I find that games that are decades old but have been constantly updated like GTA, Warframe etc have changed that grind to more fit my older perspective (making it a lot easier to gain resources in game) whereas a lot of the newer games are still stuck with the old grind mechanics that I could tolerate when I was younger but not anymore like they haven't learnt anything over the years.