Do you play any game with permadeath?

[Frindis]

Right now I am playing Outward and I must say it is a thrilling way to play the game. Every turn could potentially be the last and this makes me quite nervous a lot of the time. So far I am 40 hours old and not gotten too far in the game. I have lost fights eight times now and with a 20% chance of dying, the odds are not in my favor moving on. I am trying the best to stay calm, but often I end up getting scared and forget to unequip my backpack (you get less movement with it on) or just start jumping at the enemies without any form of combat grace.

The pressure of adapting or die makes this way of playing quite the adventure. Maybe I will not feel the same way when my character dies, but at least I will have some good memories to talk about. Like the time I survived almost a whole winter without any warm clothes because I just could not find the way back to my town or the time I met a giant on the road and thought I could outrun it, only to end up getting bashed to the ground by a giant halberd when I had run out of stamina.

As of now, I have gotten a bigger backpack, a hard-hitting great mace, a new quest to save a kidnapped woman and I am in a whole new biome with absolutely no knowledge of what lurks out there. I feel the tension build, yet, I have to move on. I have to live.

 

[Dan]

I have played hardcore modded versions of Skyrim with permadeath. I also include manage other challenging mods such as the need to eat, drink, sleep etc, frostfall so the cold can kill you (and can get wet), mods to make the combat more realistic. No location on the map to show you where you are and where the objective is, no compass, no NPC names will show until you talk to them for the first time.

It definitely changes the way I play the game, and I really enjoy it.

 

[Frindis]

@Dan Kind of like Dayz Standalone in Skyrim. No location on the map and no compass sounds great.

 

[Johnway]

I play the Odd rogue like i suppose, but with such a massive backlog i can't really have the patience to deal with any delays that might occur. its kinda worse if its random generated as it means i can't just practice my way to victory.

 

[Zloth]

Not a chance - I have yet to play a game I thought was stable enough. Even if I did, I like dying every now and again in my games. That tells me I'm playing at the right difficulty level.

 

[FrigidWinter]

Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction comes to mind with its hardcore mode. I generally liked playing Diablo 3 in hardcore as well, though I much prefer the second game. The only other similar mode I can think of that I played through without dying on was Max Payne 3 on the New York Minute Hardcore setting.

 

[Cooper88]

On a whim the first time I played Subnautica was in permadeath mode, and it was some of the most enjoyable gaming I have done in many years. The "fear" was so much more intense knowing I would lose all my progress for being a little too adventurous, diving a little too deep or pushing my air supply just a few meters too far. I eventually died after 25 hours into the game, but I wasn't even angry..the journey to get there was really great.

 

[Zoid]

On a whim the first time I played Subnautica was in permadeath mode, and it was some of the most enjoyable gaming I have done in many years. The "fear" was so much more intense knowing I would lose all my progress for being a little too adventurous, diving a little too deep or pushing my air supply just a few meters too far. I eventually died after 25 hours into the game, but I wasn't even angry..the journey to get there was really great.

Yes, the fear is so real! Subnautica is my favorite horror game.

 

[I Will Haunt You]

I never have and I never will.

 

[SWard]

No, and I still remember freaking out the first time I 'died' in wow
We talked about Permadeath in EVE a lot, but it just ruins the run if you lose all your skills etc.

 

[Frindis]

Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction comes to mind with its hardcore mode.

Funny you mention that game and HC mode. Some anonym users on Twitch just gifted me a subscription to Indrek. He got the 1st place in D2 Sorc HC speedrun.

 

[Krud]

I've tried it in some games (Minecraft, Fallout 4, ), but I tend not to enjoy it as much, as whatever character I'm playing subsequently becomes relatively paranoid and/or utterly obsessed with self preservation at the cost of all else, and that's no fun. I'm sure there must be a way to play a Permadeath mode where you don't actually care if you die or not, but I've yet to master that skill.

The only games I like Permadeath in are ones where it only makes sense, like strategy games. I don't like coming back from death in a Civ game, for instance. And I'm fine with it in FTL, The Long Dark and Don't Starve.

 

[Frindis]

I'm sure there must be a way to play a Permadeath mode where you don't actually care if you die or not, but I've yet to master that skill.

I have died even more now in Outward and I have to say that I am almost craving death by this point. That 20% chance of dying is more like 90% it seems and maybe that confidence has gotten me a bit too relaxed and laughing at the face of death. I reckon I will feel a punch in the gut though when death do happen.

The only games I like Permadeath in are ones where it only makes sense, like strategy games. I don't like coming back from death in a Civ game, for instance. And I'm fine with it in FTL, The Long Dark and Don't Starve.

Been playing a little NEO Scavenger and it also got nice permadeath to it. Not gotten far as I die, die and die, but that also makes it fun and more rewarding when you do manage to shovel your way out of a bad situation.

 

[IndecentLouie]

Yes! The long dark, i've recently reinstalled it and the survival mode is based all around permadeath,
It's a great game for anyone who hasn't played it.

 

[Zoid]

The only games I like Permadeath in are ones where it only makes sense

The long dark, i've recently reinstalled it and the survival mode is based all around permadeath

This is important for me if I'm going to enjoy myself playing permadeath. I only like permadeath in games that were designed from the start with it in mind - where the developers expect you to die and start over multiple times, and design the game to make that still fun.

I tried self-imposing permadeath in Fallout 4, but then I died due to an off-screen distraction after multiple hours getting invested in my character. That's when I decided that it just wouldn't be fun and I loaded a save and continued with a regular, temporary-death playthrough.

In order for permadeath to be fun for me I have to be able to retain some sense of progress from run to run. Lots of roguelikes do this really well. Into the Breach is the one I've most recently played.

 

[spvtnik1]

Dayz (ArmA2 Mod) was pretty compelling at times because of the loss of inventory upon death, but that game was a little bit too unbalanced to make it fun. Escape from Tarkov seems to have refined that challenge.

Sometimes I'll impose rules like no fast travel or light role play, but I feel like forcing permadeath upon yourself is a bit too much. Most games now are designed to kill you, it's part of the challenge - it's more like rewinding the clock when you respawn. Unlike in Red Dead Online or GTA Online, where death essentially means next to nothing (that's not a bad thing, either). It makes the most sense in something like Frostpunk or U-Boat, where you have multiple souls to manage and survival is part of the game, and save scrubbing isn't the first reaction. If I played through Jagged Alliance 2 again, I might be more inclined to roll with the punches.

On the other hand, I'm really intrigued by one life sessions in Squad, especially if they end up implementing a good spectator mode.

But even the classics (Zelda, Mario, Sonic) enforced the idea that you could only die so much. That made finishing them feel like much more of an accomplishment.

 

[Volley]

Sort of permadeath, at least in that single round--PUBG. I tell ya, that first week of owning the game I was shaking and experiencing sheer terror every time I heard footsteps or a vehicle coming my direction. It was a whole new situation when you realize you only have one chance.

 

[Frindis]

@Volley I have had so many white knuckles, palm-sweating moments in PUGB. Especially when in a top 3 situation and slowly moving into the last zone, knowing any moment could potentially be the last one.

 

[randyl]

No Man's Sky is the only one that comes to mind. I have a 75 hour PD save. It's not too dangerous, just keep crazy antics and experimentation to 'normal' mode. I typically play in normal mode because pushing boundaries and exploration is much more interesting to me than staying safe.

 

[Pifanjr]

I was very happy I decided to try the Ironman mode in XCOM the first time I played. It made the game a lot more intense and the feeling I got when I beat the game on my fourth (I think) try was amazing.

I later started a new game on a higher difficulty setting with ironman, but it felt like I was too dependent on the RNG to win, so I abandoned that game. I think it's important with any permadeath game that failure shouldn't rely too much on circumstances outside of your control.

I did also once try the Nuzlocke challenge for Pokémon, but I quit when I lost my starter with a stupid mistake after carefully grinding for a few hours. Having to run back to the Pokécenter after each fight doesn't make the game more fun.

 

[Zoid]

I was very happy I decided to try the Ironman mode in XCOM the first time I played. It made the game a lot more intense and the feeling I got when I beat the game on my fourth (I think) try was amazing.

I later started a new game on a higher difficulty setting with ironman, but it felt like I was too dependent on the RNG to win, so I abandoned that game. I think it's important with any permadeath game that failure shouldn't rely too much on circumstances outside of your control.

I agree. How much RNG can effect a run is a huge factor in whether or not I can enjoy permadeath. It has to feel "fair." For me, XCOM is a great example of a game that is just a little bit too flawed for it to work. If I'm carefully sneaking around in the concealed phase of a mission and then my soldier gets revealed randomly because the game forgot to draw in the enemy's line of sight, that just feels like I got cheated. I found a few mods that give the player more complete information and I found that fixed enough of the issues for permadeath to be fun again.

 

[Gmak]

Sound a good thing to try but I for sure prefer a system like Ark. Maybe if I could get not cheated as much as now I could really like the perma-death system.

 

[jpishgar]

It's not quite perma-death, but I'll do Ironman mode in Crusader Kings 2 and Europa Univeralis IV. It adds a sense of urgency and consideration to actions that helps to increase the immersion for me.

 

[Sarafan]

I'm quite tempted to play Pillars of Eternity with permadeath. I'm afraid however how I'll react in case of a failure. I tried to do a Fallout 2 playthrough without loading the game and the plan quickly failed. I'm also afraid of the potential bugs. Most of them are fixed, but the risk is still there.

In the past I played FTL a lot and enjoyed it very much. But it's a short game so the failures aren't as painful.

 

[StingingVelvet]

I don't even like playing games without quicksave!