And the best part is, I'm sure nobody even knows what game I'm talking about, but they think they might have it narrowed to 3 or 4.
Some of my favorite games on the planet are literally "wander around opening doors" and "go to a place to solve simple puzzles, press some buttons, and don't die"
Like Tetris or one of those Eye Spy games? Games where you go nowhere, or do nothing? Guarantee, you're still moving something from A to B. Even if it's just the mouse cursor.
I was gonna say it couldn't be Hunt Showdown, but it actually fits pretty well, minus the friendly NPC. Start game, collect clues, fight the boss, wait for the banish and try to defend, then take the boss token to the extract, all while trying not to die from enemy players. Of course the enemy players make it exciting, and I guess that's why I'm not that into single player games.
How else can you create a good player experience while not alienating casual players though?