What difficult games/game challenges did you give up on?
Be it a game that's difficult in its entirety, or a particular challenge in a game that you just couldn't complete.
For me, there are three that come to mind:
Super Hostile: Waking Up (Minecraft Custom Map, Hard difficulty). That damn water section...
Terraria Zenith Mode. Coming from someone to whom Master Mode is fairly easy, this was rough.
Calamity Death Mode (Terraria). I beat DoG (this was back when a headshot was an automatic death), but I just could not click with the Yharim fight. I also think burnout was at play here because that was a LONG playthrough.
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.
In the fighting game scene, reaction time is studied, and the 40+ year olds can hang with the kids at the highest level. Your reaction time is a function of your focus. If you put your mind to it, yadda yadda yadda. Then it's just up to you to decide if it's worth sticking to it or getting to bed so you're well-rested for work in the morning, because that's what will separate you from beating Hollow Knight in your 40s.
Right, that's my point. Those things are keeping you from finishing the game, not your reaction times. Those tend to not drop off until far later in life.
I'm guessing you're talking about the White Palace. It's required for the "true" ending but you can reach the credits without it. It's worth watching mossbag's lore videos on YouTube whether you beat the game or not.
Personally I got through the "standard" white palace (not the side path. Fuck that).
But I never could beat the Radiance. It's fast, its attack hitboxes are completely bonkers, and I absolutely hate the fact I can't properly train against it to make sense of its patterns. Because every time I lose I have to redo that stupid Hollow Knight section again. It's not even a hard part, it's just wasting my time and making me more nervous when I have to face the real deal.