5 Games That Would Be Better With Permadeath
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Dying is a natural part of video games, but it loses impact when players can just pick up where they left off. That’s why permadeath exists. This mechanic aims to restore the significance of death in cyberspace. Basically, if players die once, then they have to start the whole game over. Yeah, it’s frustrating, but some people love a punishing challenge. Not to mention, it ensures each playthrough has ample weight.
Many games would benefit from that weight. They usually have some story or gameplay mechanic which makes them ripe for permadeath. It’s perplexing, then, that the developers deny such a consequence. Supplying that confidence, possibly as a new difficulty option, would earn a ton of respect from players fed up with kids’ gloves.
5 Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
- Developer: Ninja Theory
- Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PC
From the start of this bleak Viking adventure, Senua carries some heavy baggage. Among the heaviest, though, is the rot on her arm. She learns that the rot will slowly spread throughout her body after each defeat. It will then consume her, meaning utter oblivion. Unfortunately, that never happens.
How odd since Hellblade seems to indicate through its narrative that the developers had permadeath in mind in the planning process. The rot indeed progresses with every loss, but it’s purely an aesthetic quirk; players can continue without any serious penalty. The game should have followed through on its promise. Not only would it be a natural extension of the narrative, but it would suit the thoroughly haunting atmosphere. Constantly trying again diminishes that somber tone and lessens the immersion that Hellblade otherwise excels at.
4 The Assassin’s Creed Series
- Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
- Platform: PS3, PSP, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Speaking of killing immersion, few series suffer from that malady more than Assassin’s Creed. Whenever players die here, the games explain it away by desynchronizing from the Animus simulation/memory. In the process, they pull audiences out of whichever historical period they’re in. Eliminating the modern framing device would solve many of Assassin’s Creed‘s problems, not least of which is allowing heroes to actually die without a glorified rewind button.
Permadeath would particularly suit the first few entries. These focus more on stealth and platforming rather than long-form RPG busywork. Having only one attempt would emphasize the need for a smart approach to every scenario. This is perfectly in line with the Brotherhood’s methodical style of striking from the shadows. On the other hand, it also ameliorates the melee issue. Combat in the early Assassin’s Creed games is painfully easy, boiling down to countering at the right time to win. Though permadeath wouldn’t fix this outright, it could leave less room for error and, by extension, grant players a much greater challenge.
3 The Batman: Arkham Series
- Developer: Rocksteady
- Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita, PS4, Xbox One, PC
The Arkham games thrive on pushing Batman to his limits. They convey that through the narrative, but also through freeflow combat and predatory stealth sections. Sadly, the stakes go down with the aid of a generous checkpoint system, which activates at every encounter. Batman is supposed to have no powers, but he revives indefinitely. That’s why permadeath would be appropriate; it would let players feel some semblance of the difficulty faced by a normal guy battling the criminal underworld.
This, in turn, means it’s all the more important to plan out the hero’s takedowns. While this mirrors the Assassin’s Creed mentality, it suits Batman better since he prioritizes preparation for every eventuality. Why not hold players to the same standard? The underappreciated Arkham Origins understood that. To go along with its greener crime-fighter, it includes a permadeath mode called “I Am The Night.” Why Arkham Asylum and the other entries forgo this option, especially amid their frequent re-releases, is a mystery worthy of the World’s Greatest Detective.
2 Terminator: Resistance
- Developer: Teyon
- Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Inspired by the first two seminal films, Terminator: Resistance places players in the nightmarish future where humans fight a desperate battle against the machines. Residents of this dystopia must constantly evade hellish cyborgs, knowing that every moment could be their last. Putting players in the same boat cements that desperation. As such, permadeath could only make the game better.
That’s even more apparent given Terminator‘s twist. It turns out that the mysterious figure guiding the protagonist through the story is himself, having gone back in time to the game’s conclusion. It obviously causes a few problems if his younger version bites the dust, as the entire scenario would cease to be, but permadeath would be a fitting way to portray that paradox. Better that than erasing the entire save file whenever the player dies.
1 The Pokémon Series
- Developer: Game Freak
- Platform: Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS/3DS, Switch
Though many view them as kids’ games, the Pokemon titles see players engage in glorified animal endangerment. In real life, situations like this usually end in severe injury or death, but Pokemon skirts around such imagery by saying that its animals are just knocked out; a quick trip to the doctor’s office fixes them right up for more battles. Some fans wish the franchise had a bit more consequence.
Enter the “Nuzlocke” challenge. In this session, fans impose strict rules on themselves. If their Pokemon fall in a fight, they are effectively dead and must be released. It’s an increasingly popular method to play these storied games. Though people could argue that adding realism to Pokemon is nonsensical, they can’t deny that players sometimes like an insane challenge. These masochistic fans have proven there’s an audience for such a punishing mechanic in the series, yet Nintendo and Game Freak have yet to capitalize on it.
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