How much effort should a player need to commit to enjoy a game?

I was thinking about this today, while at work. Or rather, I was thinking about Dark Souls and thinking, would I have the opinion I have for this game if my mate hadn't made me play the game? And, in addition to that, given me some insight into it and some assistance.

I know that I wouldn't have enjoyed this game if I had no prior knowledge of it and just dived in. I would have got annoyed and probably put the game down pretty quickly. I honestly think I'd have never got past the "tutorial" - anyone who's played Dark Souls will know what part I'm referring to. I always go on about story and immersion and, on the surface at least, this isn't evident in Dark Souls.

Having been given a small insight into the game before getting into it gave me that little nudge so that I could figure out some big questions pretty quickly and meant I could get into the game. And now, having invested a lot of hours into it I think my mentality has been changed. My enjoyment for point and click adventures has grown since my exposure to Dark Souls, I think. It has been a defining game in my life and something of a epiphany - I now have a far greater appreciation for difficult challenges and seemingly impossible puzzles. I will certainly never look at computer games in the same way.

Going back to the title though, I think it's a difficult question. But I feel that developers have got softer and softer over the years; the vast majority of mainstream computer games now are like joy rides, you just hop on and once it's finished you hop off. Quick saves, life regeneration, waypoints and "heroic" player characters have taken the challenge out of games and I think it's been a deliberate move to make people feel good about themselves and make lots of sales.

If anyone reads this post I'd like them to think about what the most challenging game they ever played was and how old that game is? If I was to put Dark Souls to one side then I'd have to say it was Doom 2 - one of the greatest FPS ever -  a game almost 20 years old.