I decided a few years ago that I play games to have fun and if a game isn't fun, I don't play it. I don't have much time these days to dedicate gaming, so I want to enjoy the time I do.
I've had a few I've really enjoyed until I hit some really terrible game mechanic or even a boss encounter I can't get past. I'll usually give it a few days/tries, but I'll flat out just bail and uninstall a game if it is causing me too much stress.
I'll never forget playing my first Assassins Creed game, killed someone and ran to hide from the soldiers. I ran up a ladder, jumped 3 rooftops away and hit in a bail of hay.
A soldier climbs straight up nearby stairs, walked right up the bail of hay, and stabbed me with the bayonet. In the hay