I mean, you're a participant in the game too. You have to make an interesting character, interact with the group, take risks, etc. It's not like some TV show or something where you just sit back and wait to be entertained. If you're coming in expecting it to be just like Critical Role you're going to be disappointed.

Games are fun when you have a number of converging factors like chemistry with the other players, nostalgia, that one adventure that went off in unexpected directions, etc.

I think of it like going on a hiking trip. Sure, staying home, ordering pizza, and watching porn would have given you an instant shot of dopamine. Sure, there will be unfun parts of the trip like bug bites and sore muscles. But seeing that waterfall in person, telling ghost stories around the campfire, making smores with your bros, swimming in that lake. Those things will create a deeper sense of satisfaction and lifelong memories.