Permadeath
Etymology
A blend of "permanent" and "death," coined in gaming communities to distinguish irreversible loss from the ordinary respawning of most games. Central to roguelikes and to "hardcore" modes in many titles.
noun · /PUR-muh-deth/
A game rule in which a character’s death is permanent, with no respawn or reload.
What it names
The design lever that converts a game from consequence-free practice into genuine risk, giving every decision weight.
Example
On permadeath mode, one careless step ends a character you spent thirty hours building.
Related idea
The stakes it creates mirror a sunk cost fallacy trap in reverse: because loss is total and final, players weigh each move far more carefully than sunk effort alone would justify.