IIRC, the 1e AD&D rules gave the enemy a certain number of free attacks at a bonus on anyone trying to leave combat. The flavour text and scenarios of early D&D definitely encouraged players to pick their battles and run away if outmatched (and creating new characters was quick, so if Eadmund the Fighter was consumed by the sphere of annihilation, you could roll up Rodrick the Thief during pizza break). And the incompetence of starting characters before 3e also encouraged a “misadventures” style of adventure more than a “competence porn” style.
Also by the way, mentioning that any particular version of DnD is similar to a video game is forbidden talk on gaming forums right now. I’m about to get banned from one for even hinting about it.
Its not an issue on the two gaming forums I still check or post on.
The good thing about tabletop gaming today is that its so diverse. Where 20 years ago you had 2e D&D, World of Darkness, CoC, and “everything else” and in practice you were playing with your friend circle, today there are all kinds of sub-communities and publishers and you can find them online or on social media. Some people want to pretend that their little sub-group and its customs are the only one, but that is people I guess