> second, there is still some progress saved, experience earned, etc., so that even in death there is some progress
I accidentally realized how important this is while playing Bioshock 2. The fact that when you're trying to kill a BigDaddy and you die, they keep their damage when you restart so that you can still kill him even if you don't have any weapons left and have to repeat 3 or 4 times.
If that wasn't the case it would have probably demoralized me from continuing the game when things got tough.
Therein lies the pendulum swinging the other way. When dying doesn't really disadvantage you, it takes a lot of enjoyment out of the game. Particularly in Bioshock where it can be an advantage to die (free health!)
If that wasn't the case it would have probably demoralized me from continuing the game when things got tough.