As a web developer I can only agree with all that you said. It's like some companies are actively trying to make visitors leave their websites and never come back. Or at least avoid them as much as possible.
Unfortunately some cannot be helped as they just want to feel like they are helping/connecting with someone.
Sometimes, I swear the people I'd be helping knew they just didn't care, they were that desperate for human interaction.
It's a tale as old as time. I remember spending far too many hours as a kid convincing my grandmother not to send various people/fake businesses money (you owe the IRS! You power is going to be shut off!) and trying to curb her purchasing on QVC (I ended up later having a roommate who worked for them - the horror stories I could tell!).
So, increase the complexity. A certain number of savvy people will click off immediately, but they were likely too clever to bother with your game, so no love lost there. The ones who stick with it are your ideal targets. They'll wrestle through anything you throw at them to get what they want as long as you keep teasing that there's a light at the end of the tunnel.
However, you also can't make totally random, nonsensical design choices. They need to have a pattern that guides them in the darkness to the actions and outcomes you want most. It's your site after all, and no one can or will tell you how to run it as long as you show those retention and engagement numbers going up, so remember that.
Now that they're spinning in circles clicking on anything and everything trying to understand the labyrinth you've set out for them, you've got nothing to worry about. They've sunk their time and attention into solving this, and you're going to have them come back soon with a new strategy they're excited to try to beat the game. Once they feel like they've beaten you, you've won. They'll keep coming back just to prove to themselves that they've figured it out. They'll search on behalf of their friends and family, rising in their estimation.
Now they smirk and with just a hint of pride say whenever someone complains about how hard your site is to navigate, "Oh, it's not that hard. You've just got to know how it works."