I've tried playing some JRPGS because they are considered classics and detective games like LA Noire before realizing the genre just wasn't for me.
I've also been stuck in the mentality of if I want to play a game in a series I need to play the prior games. I'm doing this currently for Deus Ex, the Witcher, and Splinter Cell. I guess I'd consider that FOMO to a degree.
Edit: I meant FOMO as in the fear of missing out on something relevant. Not necessarily something that is intentionally being time limited like raids or micro transactions.
For what it's worth, I'd say Bloodborne is like Dark Souls but with less variety. There are a bunch of play styles you can utilize in Dark Souls and Elden Ring, but Bloodborne really only lets you use one.
What did you hate about it? That series is great for the people it clicks with and fans are very vocal about it, so I totally understand.
I went the opposite direction in that it took Bloodborne for the series to click with me. The other games (this was pre DS3) didn't resonate until after Bloodborne.
One thing to know about FromSoft games if you ever try again is they really want you to pay attention. They don't baby you with telling you what to do, but there are hints all around. For the bird on the bridge you can use fire for a ton of damage (molotovs are dropped by enemies in the area). I'm pretty sure item descriptions tell you, but also it tells you in the environment. In the street going towards that bridge there's a beast tied to a post that's being burned, for example.
The games really aren't that hard (except Sekiro), but they do ask you to participate. You have a lot of options to make them easier though, like using their weaknesses that are normally told to you, or summoning other players, or leveling up, or many other tools.