I’m about to just toss Remnant 2 out. I thought maybe it would be better than the first one, but it’s even more bullshit. Like, it’s a shooter and the first boss hurts you while you look at it. The intended method to defeat it feels way more like cheesing an exploit. I’ve gotten through the first quest in the Labyrinth and I’m hating the bosses even more than the first game with how just annoyingly unfair they are if you’re not playing with a group. They’re simply not fun.

Returnal is very similar in gameplay, and is even a roguelike with super brutal gameplay; even that game isn’t as frustrating as Remnant 2. The bosses are hard, but not unfairly so.

Like every arcade game as a kid: Defender, Xevious, Galaga, Berzerk, Battle Zone, Asteroids, the Dark Knight pinball machine. My 10 year old self had no idea these games were supposed to be infinite/unbeatable. Or rather, I always assumed they were. I had no clue they could crash if you were super expert at them. I think Xevious actually had an end tho.

As for arcade games a casual could finish but I gave up on? A decade later, Virtua Fighter.

I tried replaying the Kingdom Hearts games leading up to playing KH3. Got all the way to the final boss sequence in KH1, but I just couldn’t get past the second phase, and I didn’t have any good saves for going back and leveling up. Gave up. Already beat it as a kid when it first came out. No need to kill myself in my late-30s for it.

Jedi Fallen Order. I’ve tried a couple times because I really WANT to like the game. But I just can’t stand the fucking souls style of everything comes back when you save. And the boss fights are just too punishing (for me). It’s so frustrating to get stuck on a boss or lost in a zone and come to the realization that I WAS having fun and then the game got in the way of that.

Elden Ring. I had a lot of fun with the game restarting and playing through the first zone on like 6 different characters to try different styles and see what I like. But at some point in the second zone I realized I was just stressed out all the time. It wasn’t fun, it was stressful. I can appreciate the game and I don’t regret spending the money on it, but I realized it just wasn’t for me.

I think I’m done with souls games. They’re just not for me. I really wanted to play Jedi Survivor but I suspect the new cool stuff will just make me more frustrated with the souls aspects, Oh well.

Back in my teens one summer, I was playing Resident Evil Code Veronica by day at my friend’s house and Doom 3 alone in my basement at night, got about halfway through both but quit because of the constant nightmares. Lost to the psychological damage I guess.

If Hades didn’t have God Mode (which actually works in a pretty interesting way and isn’t just invincibility or whatever), I would have given up incredibly quickly.

Once I enabled it, shit started to actually feel fun for me.

Now it’s one of my favourite ever games.

Diablo IV: Uber Lilith. I did just about everything else, got my character up to Level 100. Then the first season ended (which I didn’t even do) and somehow my character got nerfed – even basic enemies were suddenly much harder for no apparent reason. I was considering changing and upgrading my gear for this final challenge but I couldn’t even fight my way around the map anymore. Screw that.

I couldn’t get past the second area(I think?)of Cuphead, there was a dragon boss that was just a wall for me.

2 very recent ones on PS5

• God of War Ragnarok: I did the story and as much f the side missions and challenges as possible. But there are a few Berserker Graves, and the final Valkyrie Gna that no matter how many times I tried it would just get absurd. I almost threw my controller through my TV a few times when trying to roll-dodge to the side for an attack after they’ve already jumped at you and, i shit you not, they change direction in mid-air.

• Spider-Man: I did 100% the main game, all the side-quests and collectibles just not all the skills. Did all but the last DLC, but finally ragequit when trying to do the base tokens. Interior with tight corners. and you have to take out a dozen enemies including the whip-enemies attacking you from all directions…while rockets are being fired at you in the middle of 5 enemies.

Control. Liked it despite being in 3rd person view up until the mezzanine fight an hour or two in, then realized that the enemies are just dumb high DPS bullet sponges, the PC is a low DPS squishy and fighting from a cover or any other tactical approach I’m used to doesn’t work.

EDIT: There was also a spellcrafting mod for Skyrim where the endboss was immunebto all magic and would teleport away as soon as you got too close while summoning a bazillion powerful minions. At level 50…60 it was litwrally impossible to figjt the bastard. After many tries I just console killed the bugger and was done with it.

The farewell Chapter in Celeste. I really don’t know how to do that room with the three dash activated blocks surrounded by spikes.

Dark Souls and souls games in general. But the difficulty is just half of it. I have beaten hard games before. The problem is that everything is so bleak I can’t even feel motivated to try. I’ll do a thing only for some NPC to go “it doesn’t matter, everything is pointless and you’re so insignificant”. Inevitably being spoiled I know that even the single optimistic NPC is not getting it great. Y’all can mope, I’m gonna put my effort where it’s appreciated.

Hollow Knight. I love that game but I am in my mid 40s and my reaction time isn’t what it used to be. And it’s not even the bosses. I just can’t make it past the spike section where you have to air-dash all over the place and can’t be a millimeter off or you die.

Stephen’s Sausage Roll.

I play a lot of puzzle games. Some of them are pretty hard (the later levels of Tametsi take quite a while to crack).

But this one is on a completely different level. If there is a more brutally punishing sokoban-family game on existence, I have no idea what it might be.

Stephen, if he exists, is most likely condemned to roll sausages eternally in hell, for the sin of making this game.