History Main / DeathIsNotPermanent

* Utilized to a ridiculous extent in ''{{Nodwick}}'', where the title character has been killed (mainly by his colleagues) and resurrected over five hundred times. In one particular blatant incident he managed to get decapitated ''nine times on the same page''.

* ''PlanescapeTorment''. Makes sense, since you ''are'' immortal.

* The first time you die in {{Crackdown}}, you'll get a little spiel about how "Death is not the end." Not only that, but your regenerated body will have exactly the same agility, strength, firearms, driving, and explosives skills will be at exactly the same level they were when you died (minus the token slap on the wrist of emptying each skill bar.)

** The ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series has averting this trope as one of its major selling points. Although there are still characters who don't die permanently (in some games, plot-important [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou non-Lord]] characters will simply suffer career-ending injuries and will be unable to take to the field for the rest of the game.)

* ''VideoGame/StarWarsGalaxies'' explains it in much the same way as ''EveOnline''. The majority of NPC and player cities have clone centers, and your clone data is stored whenever you land in a new town or city. When you die, your datapad sends a signal to the clone center to create a new clone of you, complete with all your gear and abilities! Of course, this doesn't explain there are cloning centers everywhere even though the Empire outlawed cloning after the Clone Wars.

* In [[ERepublik [=eRepublik=]]] death may not be permanent but being banned for operating multiple user accounts, very much is.

* In MattHowarth's assorted [[ThoseAnnoyingPostBrothers comic]] [[SavageHenry books]], the alternate reality level of {{Bugtown}} has this as a law of physics - due to the CityOfAdventure's warped entropy, dead people spontaneously regenerate over time.

* In ''WorldOfWarcraft'', you simply have to walk back to your corpse. This is lampshaded by an NPC who sells an (actually useless) item that has flavor text stating it grants this ability. Some fans also jokingly theorize this is why some [=NPCs=] are able to be killed dozens of times.

* Parodied in ''ChipsChallenge'', where the manual talks about how "Chip is a fragile fellow and dies easily, but persistent, and he'll just pick himself back up and try again" and that Melinda will cut him a break if he dies too many times.
* ''S4League'' {{Hand Wave}}s this with the game's premise being an online virtual reality competition.
* ''EveOnline'' explains resurrection as your memories being copied at the moment of death and being placed into a new clone.

* ''{{Mabinogi}}'' {{Hand Wave}}s this saying that Milletians (player characters) do not die. you are just knocked unconscious, despite the fact that most of the time you get smashed by a giant stone arm, crushed with a giant hammer, or hit with a giant fireball. You may choose how your body gets revitalized, making resurrection a conscious choice.

* In ''{{Rift}}'', death is ''specifically'' not permanent for Ascended: They're ''already'' BackFromTheDead once over, and are strongly implied to have acquired {{resurrective|Immortality}} or [[FromASingleCell regenerative]] immortality in the process. (Which doesn't mean that death isn't [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist inconvenient and traumatic]] for them.)

* In ''AliensInfestation'', each Marine has access to whatever weapons and keys anyone on their fireteam has picked up. Sometimes DeathIsPermanent, but if a Marine is downed by an alien they'll merely be knocked unconcious and dragged into a hive - where they can be rescued by other fireteam members. That said, once they're rescued, they'll complain about feeling nauseous, and the next time they take mortal damage [[spoiler: a baby alien will burst out of their chest. It's unsaid what the aftermath of this is if a rescued Marine makes it through the rest of the game.]]

* ''DragonQuest'' series features a CrystalDragonJesus church system that has a power to revive dead characters in exchange of a fee. The series does not provide a gameover in the event of a TotalPartyKill. Instead, you'll be dragged back to the last church you visit and be forced to spend half of your money for a revival.

* {{Planetside}} had spawning tubes in towers and bases that would replicate your body after death, so you could respawn.

* The MightAndMagic series allows you to cast a resurrection spell on fallen party members if you have a cleric or paladin in your team. Barring that, you can always go to a temple and pay to revive them as long as one person in your party is still alive. If ''every'' party member dies, from the sixth game onewards you magically "escape death" and wake up with one health and mana in the starting town. Prior to that, if the whole party died, the game was over.

In real life, [[CaptainObvious death is forever]] ([[Reincarnation possibly]]). However, this simply won't do for video games. In video games, either you might get a limited number of lives or continues, or you might "respawn" after a short period of time has passed. Most early games [[GameplayAndStorySegregation didn't try to explain it]], but this trope is about more recent ones that try and contrive a reason for it anyway, such as magic or AppliedPhlebotinum. Like an extremely easy version of OnlyMostlyDead.

In real life, [[CaptainObvious death is forever]]. However, this simply won't do for video games. In video games, either you might get a limited number of lives or continues, or you might "respawn" after a short period of time has passed. Most early games [[GameplayAndStorySegregation didn't try to explain it]], but this trope is about more recent ones that try and contrive a reason for it anyway, such as magic or AppliedPhlebotinum. Like an extremely easy version of OnlyMostlyDead.

* This is one of the innate abilities of Pamela from ''ManaKhemiaAlchemistsOfAlrevis''. Being a ghost, it's {{justified|Trope}}.

* In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, your character never ''actually'' dies - no matter how much punishment he takes. Being caught in the explosion of a damaged car, falling hundreds of feet onto solid concrete, or collapsing in a pool of blood after being shot or stabbed multiple times never costs him anything more than a trip to the hospital. He simply respawns in front of the hospital several hours later, good as new, though unfortunately stripped of all his weapons (unless he is currently dating the nurse).

* In WorldOfWarcraft you simply have to walk back to your corpse. This is lampshaded by an NPC who sells an (actually useless) item that has flavor text stating it grants this ability. Some fans also jokingly theorize this is why some [=NPCs=] are able to be killed dozens of times.

* EveOnline explains resurrection as your memories being copied at the moment of death and being placed into a new clone.
* VideoGame/StarWarsGalaxies explains it in much the same way as EveOnline. The majority of NPC and player cities have clone centers, and your clone data is stored whenever you land in a new town or city. When you die, your datapad sends a signal to the clone center to create a new clone of you, complete with all your gear and abilities! Of course, this doesn't explain there are cloning centers everywhere even though the Empire outlawed cloning after the Clone Wars.

* A rare aversion in the mediocre rpg Aidyn Chronicles for the N64. You could potentially have a large amount of people to choose from, but if a character died, they died for good, with no way to resurrect them. If the main character died, it was an automatic game over, making combat incredibly frustrating.

* {{Mabinogi}} {{Hand Wave}}s this saying that Milletians (player characters) do not die. you are just knocked unconscious, despite the fact that most of the time you get smashed by a giant stone arm, crushed with a giant hammer, or hit with a giant fireball. You may choose how your body gets revitalized, making resurrection a conscious choice.

* ''CityOfHeroes'' explains the player characters' continued survival by the "mediporters" - a teleport and healing system that kicks in when the character's vitals signs go critical. One plot in the tie-in comic involved the villains jamming these so the heroes could be KilledOffForReal.

* Possible to be inverted in the shareware space top-down shooter game ''EscapeVelocity''. It is possible for the player, at the start of the game, to chose the "Strict" game play mode, which limits the player to only a single death. Unless the player quickly upgrades their starter ship or buys an escape pod, an encounter with a single stray missile means having to start all over again.

* The manual for ''AnarchyOnline'' is the TropeNamer. In ''Anarchy Online'', when you die your consciousness is downloaded into a new body.
* In regular ''DungeonsAndDragons'', being brought back from death is a (relatively) rare event that involves a considerable sacrifice of a level and a rare diamond. In ''NeverwinterNights'', you just wake up in the temple of Tyr when their magic detects that you are about to die.

* In Sims3, death has become less of an issue as unlucky and loser sims can't die by accidents and in case you die, there are many ways to return to the mortal coil. And it is a prequel in the sims timeline.

** ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' doesn't have Vita-Chambers. Instead, Booker respawns either by being revived by Elizabeth, or (if Elizabeth isn't with him) reappearing behind his office door and walking back out.

* When you get caught and put into a death trap by [=LeChuck=] in ''MonkeyIsland2'', you can actually die, if you don't manage to free yourself in time. However, most of the game is actually Guybrush retelling everything that's happened to Elayne, and she will point out that he obviously didn't die, since she's ''talking to him right now''. Guybrush will realize she's right, and explain what ''really'' happened, i.e. you get another try.