As an addendum to your escapist description, I would say Immersive dopamine release.
Why do so many guys feel pumped after watching a Stallone or Arnold flick from the 80s? They captured a sense of peril and danger, but handled it in a way that a lot of men fantasise as a way to release aggression, tension, or indulge in healthy exertion. It's why a lot of times those movies would compel guys to hit the gym or join the army.
A good game that captures that sense of masculine-driven achievements is the same thing as those 80s films. It gives you a sense of purpose through the immersive world setting and characters, and gives you a good dopamine release when you can execute a cool series of takedowns, combos or headshots that aren't just automated one-button press quick-time events that wrests all of the control from the player. The more manual the game is, the more it feels like something YOU accomplished. And people love to overcome challenges that makes them feel like they accomplished something.
As an addendum to your escapist description, I would say Immersive dopamine release.
Why do so many guys feel pumped after watching a Stallone or Arnold flick from the 80s? They captured a sense of peril and danger, but handled it in a way that a lot of men fantasise as a way to release aggression, tension, or indulge in healthy exertion. It's why a lot of times those movies would compel guys to hit the gym or join the army.
A good game that captures that sense of masculine-driven achievements is the same thing as those 80s films. It gives you a sense of purpose through the immersive world setting and characters, and gives you a good dopamine release when you can execute a cool series of takedowns, combos or headshots that aren't just automated one-button press quick-time events that wrests all of the control from the player. The more manual the game is, the more it feels like something YOU accomplished. And people love to overcome challenges that makes them feel like they accomplished something.