The term didn’t really take off and become weaponized, however, until the growing resentment of “outsiders” and indie games that would culminate in Gamergate,
The walking simulator term was popularized as an offensive against what many "gamers" saw as a threat to the traditional style of games that they had become familiar with and even integrated as a part of their identity. They saw "walking simulators" not as a new alternative form of game but as an outsider threat to what they knew.
Maze-based stories take away the moving platform and turn the passively observant visitor into a protagonist who must find his or her own way through the fun house
Mazes place the responsibility of story progression into the player's hands and create a stronger sense of agency because of the responsibility. They make the player the x variable or input upon which the outcome depends on. This can often lead to, as with anxiety, becoming overwhelmed by choice as every outcome depends on what you do and getting stuck in a maze is a result of a person's actions.
If you forget to get it, you must retrace your steps through many perils. The game is like a treasure hunt in which a chain of discoveries acts as a kind of Ariadne’s thread to lead you through the maze to the treasure at the center. (11)
The game builds upon itself to make progress seem meaningful towards reaching a certain goal instead of simply as an optional experience within the game.