History Main / DeathAsGameMechanic

Many games which use Death As Mechanic make it an integral part of gameplay by to an extent, making it an attractive option to die or being so insanely NintendoHard that it is only a matter of time for the player to die and have the issue forced on them. For the most part, though, skilled players can delay the inevitable or outright avoid death through skillful play, and may choose to die based on story ramifications or gameplay possibility. Death may be also the action that changes worlds in games with DualWorldGameplay. The bottom line is that, whether voluntary or not, death affects gameplay instead of merely ending it.

* In ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2: The Shadow and the Flame'', in order to obtain the title Flame (which will allow the Prince to kill the BigBad), the player must willfully kill the Prince in a certain room halfway ,through and ''not'' do anything when the camera lingers on the Prince's corpse like it happens every time the Prince is killed elsewhere, because after a few se therwise will just be YetAnotherStupidDeath).

* The ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls[=/=]VideoGame/DarkSouls'' series. It is ''theoretically'' possible to not die ([[NintendoHard although not likely]]), but dying is not the end. When you're killed, you can play the game as undead and there are various different mechanics in play, both beneficial and detrimental. In fact, with the Soul Tendency system, death is actually a tool to get cooler loot by making the game harder. Also, the mechanics of multiplayer in the games revolve around death: undead players can become phantoms who assist living players, and get rewards for doing so including being resurrected. Undead players are also protected from invasion by other players, so it can be quite to one's benefit to not revive.

Contrast with tropes related to deaths ending the game with no further impact on gameplay, like VideoGameLives, GameOver, and {{Checkpoint}}.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}'' franchise has extra lives as a mechanic, and if you die you respawn at the same location you started the level in, although almost all of your weapons, ammo, and powerups are left floating around the area where you died. Notably, though, any color-coded keycards you may have picked up are not dropped, but remain with you after you respawn. Speedrunners have used this to create an exploit known as a "death warp". It works like this: if the distance between a needed keycard and the next goal (key, reactor, exit) is greater than the distance between the next goal and your starting position, what you do is rush off to get the key, immediately kill yourself, then respawn and head for the next goal. This saves you the time you otherwise would have spent flying from the key directly to the next goal.

* ''TabletopGame/TheOneRing'': If an experienced PlayerCharacter dies (or [[RolePlayingEndgame retires]]), the player's next character starts with bonus [[ExperiencePoints XP]] proportional to the old one's, as they're assumed to have been mentored by the deceased. A Barding character with the [[SkillScoresAndPerks cultural virtue]] "Birthright" also passes it down to their successor as a bonus, representing their HeroicLineage.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Sifu}}'', when you die, your magic talisman will revive you at the cost of [[CastFromLifespan aging you]]. As you get older, your gain slightly increased damage, but lower health. Also, you can only upgrade your skills after dying. Dying too frequently increases the rate at you age, and at Age 70+, you become too old to revive, leading to a FinalDeath.

* In ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown IV'', you've the secret move called "Honorable Death", in which the player can commit a HeroicSuicide (being a "Samurai" game, it's usually a {{Seppuku}}) and depletes all its energy bar to start the next round with its [[ManaMeter power bar]] full.

* ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'': Players who [[VideoGameLives lose a life]] while [[TheGameComeToLife inside the Jumanji game world]] drop [[CameFromTheSky from the sky]] when they respawn. Martha {{exploit|edTrope}}s this to [[spoiler:hand off the MacGuffin to Spencer]] on her way down.

* In the world of ''VideoGame/TheLifeAndSufferingOfSirBrante'', each person is granted three "lesser deaths" before their true death, except under certain circumstances. Accordingly, several events allow Sir Brante to die to accomplish some goal. In one route, even True Death isn't the end, but leads to a final challenge in the afterlife.