Some games, like Death Stranding, have amazing death mechanics, but which are the best ever? Every video game fan has faced the oppressive Game Over screen at least a few times. Death comes for everyone, after all. It's part of the gaming process. Where would the challenge be, if players didn't know death is imminent? Players need the threat of death looming over them to create a sense of urgency. Without it, players struggle to immerse themselves in the game's world and quickly become bored.
Most video games follow a distinct pattern when it comes to death. Typically the player character respawns at the nearest checkpoint, or where the player last saved manually. When the character respawns, anything the player did after reaching the checkpoint is wiped from the games' memory. Players will find any mistakes made since their last save no longer haunt them. Essentially, a Game Over translates to a do-over, with no real detrimental effect other than the curses players are likely to spew in frustration.
However, some games dare to break the mold, taking their death mechanic to a new level. Gamers grow tired of the same old thing; they want something fresh, even when it comes to death. No one enjoys looking at the words "Game Over" written across the screen, so why wouldn't developers seek to improve it? Games that employ new, original death mechanics provide uniquely engaging experiences for fans. It is especially engaging when the death mechanic fits with the game's overall theme and feel. But which games have the best death mechanics?
How Death Works In Dark Souls
The wildly popular Dark Souls franchise is known for its brutal and unforgiving combat. The games are set in a dark fantasy world in which evil lurks around every corner. One of the mechanics that made Dark Souls so frustratingly loveable was its death mechanic. When a player meets a grim end in Dark Souls they'll respawn at the last bonfire they rested at. While this may sound like a simple checkpoint death mechanic, in Dark Souls, like its lesser-known predecessor Demon Souls, players lose all their souls upon death, which are used as both a currency and for leveling.
To retrieve these lost souls, Dark Souls players must return to where they last died and interact with the bloodstain left behind. However, if a player dies again before reaching their bloodstain, a new bloodstain will appear at the site of their most recent death and the original souls will be lost forever. Players can also view how other players died by interacting with their bloodstains, which can be great for figuring out what not to do. Each game in the Dark Souls series is brutally hard, so it's only fitting that its death mechanic should be brutal as well.
Tales from the Borderlands' Death Mechanics
Tales From The Borderlands is an episodic game by the now-defunct TellTale Games. The game takes place in the Borderlands universe and follows the exploits of Rhys, a Hyperion businessman, and Fiona, a gritty con artist. Rhys ends up betrayed and stranded on Pandora, while Fiona lives on Pandora and she does her best to look out for her sister Sasha. Tales From The Borderlands begins with Rhys and Fiona being kidnapped and forced to tell their captor of their recent escapades.
While playing the game, if Fiona or Rhys bite the bullet Tales From The Borderlands cuts back to the present-day characters. Either Rhys or Fiona will point out that their alive, leading to the other itting to getting carried away while telling their tale. This death mechanic humorously addresses the player character's death before allowing them to quickly jump back into the fray. A similar mechanic is also used in the wild west video game Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, where that game's unreliable narrator changes his story on the fly, suddenly putting the player character in vastly different situations.
How Being Dead Works In Death Stranding
Taking place after cataclysmic events that led to the breakdown of civilization, Death Stranding revolves around protagonist Sam Bridges, a porter who crosses apocalyptic lands delivering packages to the few people remaining safe zones. Should Sam die while out braving the wilds, there's no need to fear, as Sam is a repatriate. In Death Stranding, repatriates have the supernatural ability to revive after death.
When killed, Sam's soul travels to the seam, a place between the living and the dead that resembles a vast ocean. Players must then navigate Sam's soul back to his body. Upon reuniting his soul with his body, Sam's bridge baby will give him a thumbs up. However, Sam is not entirely immortal. Dying in quick succession will leave players with a game over. The death mechanic in Death Stranding is strange, yet fulfilling, and works well with the title's supernatural elements.
Death Mechanics In Zombi (& ZombiU)
ZombiU, also known as Zombi, is a zombie apocalypse game that was originally released for Wii U in 2012. A first-person survival horror title, Zombi has an intriguing death mechanic involving permadeath. When a player character dies in Zombi, they turn into a member of the walking dead themselves, and the player takes control of a new character.
However, the newly zombified character can be found skulking around near where the player first died, and anything the player had on them when they were killed is now in the zombie's inventory. Zombi players who are motivated to retrieve their possessions must seek out and kill their former self. This death mechanic adds a harsh reality check; most people wouldn't survive a zombie uprising. This makes the zombie apocalypse in Zombi a much more immersive experience.
Phasmophobia's Death Mechanics
A psychological horror game, Phasmophobia lets teams of up to four players work together as paranormal investigators. Equipped with EMF detectors, spirit boxes, and night vision cameras teams explore haunted locals, and the object of the game is to collect as much paranormal evidence as possible, which players then sell to a ghost removal team. Phasmophobia s VR while also allowing VR s to team up with non-VR friends. The game even has voice recognition, allowing players to speak to spirits while using an ouija board or spirit box. When a member of a team dies they become a spirit themselves, and are able to communicate with or simply harass their living team by interacting with objects. The death mechanic in Phasmophobia isn't just unique, it's perfectly fitting for a game that revolves around ghostly phenomena.