[arithmomachist]

Quite the opposite: such complicated games are an outlet for creativity and cleverness that's stifled by our repetitive, heavily automated society. Most people don't get to make a movie or conduct a particle accelerator experiment. Even art forms like writing or music that can be done on a shoestring budget are generally a fool's errand. Everyone has a backlog of music to listen to and books to read that would occupy the remainder of their life without anything being added, so it takes marketing savvy and nigh-psychotic dedication to get anyone to pay attention to new work.

The popularity of games like Factorio says more about how much intellect and creativity has nowhere to go.