History Main / NoDamageRun

An example of a SelfImposedChallenge where the goal is to win with no damage, or at least no deaths (which is commonly referred to as "Hardcore Mode" and is sometimes directly supported as part of the game's coding). This usually requires a ''lot'' of experience with the game in question, and due to the randomness/unpredictability of many games it can be ''very'' challenging, if not impossible. For example, this is virtually impossible in most (at least [[TurnBasedCombat tun-based]]) [[RolePlayingGame [=RPGs=]]], due to RandomEncounters and ScratchDamage. This is also exceedingly difficult in the higher levels of {{Fighting Game}}s (where ''someone'' is bound to hit you ''once'' with a [[ScratchDamage weak punch]]) and [[FirstPersonShooter First Person Shooters]].

* Some of the more recent ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games have an achievement for this:

* Both ''VideoGame/CrystalCaves'' and ''VideoGame/{{Secret Agent|VideoGame}}'' give you a lot of bonus points at the end of level for performing these.

An example of a SelfImposedChallenge where the goal is to win with no damage, or at least no deaths (which is commonly referred to as "Hardcore Mode" and is sometimes directly supported as part of the game's coding). This usually requires a ''lot'' of experience with the game in question, and due to the randomness/unpredictability of many games it can be ''very'' challenging, if not impossible. Virtually impossible in [[RolePlayingGame [=RPGs=]]] (due to RandomEncounters and ScratchDamage), for example, and exceedingly difficult in the higher levels of {{Fighting Game}}s (where ''someone'' is bound to hit you ''once'' with a [[ScratchDamage weak punch]]) and [[FirstPersonShooter First Person Shooters]].

A variation of the SelfImposedChallenge where the goal is to win with no damage, or at least no deaths (which is commonly referred to as "Hardcore Mode" and is sometimes directly supported as part of the game's coding). This usually requires a ''lot'' of experience with the game in question, and due to the randomness/unpredictability of many games it can be ''very'' challenging, if not impossible. Virtually impossible in [[RolePlayingGame [=RPGs=]]] (due to RandomEncounters and ScratchDamage), for example, and exceedingly difficult in the higher levels of {{Fighting Game}}s (where ''someone'' is bound to hit you ''once'' with a [[ScratchDamage weak punch]]) and [[FirstPersonShooter First Person Shooters]].

** There are in-game achievements/unlocks for beating each "Chapter" (or two floors) of the game without taking damage - "Basement Boy" for The Basement/Cellar/Burning Basement, "Spelunker Boy" for The Caves/Catacombs/Flooded Caves, "Darkness Boy" for The Depths/Necropolis/Dank Depths, [[spoiler:"Momma's Boy" for The Womb/Utero/Scarred Womb, and finally "Dead Boy" for beating [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon The Chest or The Dark Room]].

* If you don't die any time during ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'', it is revealed that Marin escaped the DreamWorld.

* Required to beat ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'' on the highest difficulty, since you're a OneHitPointWonder and can't save your game. You will not want to try this, as [[BadassBoast only TWO people have EVER finished it on that difficulty.]] [[VideoGame/IWannaBeTheFangame One of them went on to make a fan sequel.]]
* A few Creator/{{Konami}} {{Platform Game}}s, namely ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures'' and the NES version of ''WesternAnimation/BuckyOHare'', force this on Hard mode by making the player a OneHitPointWonder.

* Several VideoGame/{{LEGO Adaptation Game}}s have this. There's an achievement for doing this in one level of ''VideoGame/LegoIndianaJones'', and achievements for EVERY level in ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars II'': The Original Trilogy.

* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'' has achievements for it, and you get a notification in-game in the form of an unlock. They also have "Boy" titles: Basement (Basement/Cellar floors with no damage), Spelunker (Caves), Darkness (Depths/Necropolis), and [[spoiler: Momma's (Womb/Utero)]] Boy for each chapter. Darkness is currently the hardest to get. It's practically game-imposed with Judas, Samson, ??? and [[spoiler: The Lost in ''Rebirth'']]: the first two only have one heart to start, the third has no natural health and must live off rarer heart drops that always stack but never refill, meaning that during a run of bad drops you can take very few hits, the final one can't collect any hearts whatsoever, turning him into the game's only OneHitPointWonder.

* [[VideoGame/{{X}} X3: Terran Conflict]] has [[AscendedMeme Dead is Dead]] mode where your save is erased when you die. It also has an [[ThatOneAchievement achievement]] for finishing all the quest lines in [=DiD=].

* VideoGame/RhythmThiefAndTheEmperorsTreasure has Full Contact Challenges for the various songs. A single "Harsh" ranking results in you failing the song.

* Technically speaking, "Don't get hit" in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' brings you down to a quarter of a heart if you get hit, and you can recover health to get another hit without having to restart. Aceing a level, however, requires you take as little damage as possible and getting hit on these tends to pass the C rank requirement, which means an A rank requires this.

* ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' series has these as requirements for some of Skill Points, which can turn them into {{That One Achievement}} if they're put into one of more tedious locations. From [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando second game]] onwards they're also condition of winning some of [[MonsterArena arena challenges]]. Funnily enough in second game you can use [[DeflectorShields Shield Charger/Tesla Barrier]] to cheese them up. Not so much in [[RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal third game]], since developers wised up and your Shield Charger/Tesla Barrier ammo gets emptied at the beginning of challenge having this as requirement.

* A variant used among the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' community is the "Maximum Minimum Health" run, where the player attempts the level on [[IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels "Ultra-Violence" or "Nightmare" mode]]. Their score is the lowest health they had at any point in the level, or, if they didn't take any damage, their final health at the end of the level. There's also the unofficial "Reality" challenge: finish a level without ever taking damage (the reasoning being that in real life you die when shot), and without using the plasma rifle or the BFG (since these weapons don't exist in real life.)

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros. Melee'':
** Clearing the entirety of either Classic, Adventure, or All-Star modes without taking damage gives you a special bonus. If you're going for the Diskun trophy that requires earning ''every'' bonus, this is gonna be one of the {{Last Lousy Point}}s. Luckily, all three modes grant the same bonus, so you only have to do it once.

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''.
** Typically, the sorts of people who do this also import the [[UpdatedRerelease Final Mix]] games, and play them on [[HarderThanHard Critical]]. Blocking is mandatory.
** For the {{Updated Rerelease}}s for the [=PS3=] and [=PS4=], the Undefeated trophy requires that the player beat the game without dying.

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''. Typically, the sorts of people who do this also import the [[UpdatedRerelease Final Mix]] games, and play them on [[HarderThanHard Critical]]. Blocking is mandatory.

* In ''VideoGame/CopyKitty'', clearing a level while taking less than 5 points of damage (note that most attacks in the game default to 5 with the exception of minor CollisionDamage to certain targets) rewards the play with the custom weapons menu, allowing you to use any one weapon in the game. This includes boss-exclusive powers and the overpowered weapons obtained from the [[BonusBoss Bonus Bosses]]. This includes boss stages as well, letting you [[CatharsisFactor demolish the harder bosses in the game with ease]]. There's even an unlockable Modifier that turns your character into a OneHitPointWonder to attempt this.

* Both ''VideoGame/CrystalCaves'' and ''Videogame/SecretAgent'' give you a lot of bonus points at the end of level for performing these.

* In order to get the "[[McHammer Can't Touch This]]" achievement in ''VideoGame/GatlingGears'', you must complete a level in the final chapter without getting hit at all. Fortunately, it isn't that hard to do in the first stage of the chapter as long as the player is careful.

* Required (until one reaches the secret boss, at which point it's lifted) to get each character's second ending in ''BushidoBlade''.

* To obtain the perfect ending in ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot1996'', you have to break all boxes in every stage without dying. This gets [[NintendoHard REALLY]] hard in the [[DifficultySpike later stages]]. Some levels in the sequels require you to go up ot a certain point without dying to unlock a DeathCourse. Also, [[Videogame/CrashBandicoot3Warped the third game]] introduced the time trials, where there are no Checkpoints but more Aku Aku crates to make up for it. [[CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy The N. Sane Trilogy remake]] makes it so that it's only the colored gems that you can't die to obtain in the first game.

* To obtain the perfect ending in ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot1996'', you have to break all boxes in every stage without dying. This gets [[NintendoHard REALLY]] hard in the [[DifficultySpike later stages]]. Some levels in the sequels require you to go up ot a certain point without dying to unlock a DeathCourse. Also, [[Videogame/CrashBandicoot3Warped the third game]] introduced the time trials, where there are no Checkpoints but more Aku Aku crates to make up for it.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/InTheHunt'', if you got to the final form of the FinalBoss one one credit, you'll get the special DownerEnding where you submarine ''doesn't'' escape the exploding enemy headquarters (after beating said boss). If you want the good ending, you'll have to [[DoWellButNotPerfect see the continue screen at least once]].

* Beating ''VideoGame/{{VVVVVV}}'' unlocks a No Death Mode, which challenges you to play through as much of the game as you can on a single life, much like the Impossible difficulty in ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'' above. All checkpoints are removed, you can't save, [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything one room is modified so that]] [[spoiler:you no longer need to die to nab the Shiny Trinket in it]], and dying ends your game and kicks you to a results screen. Successfully completing the entire game in No Death Mode awards you a [[CosmeticAward trophy]].

* ''MadWorld'' has [[BraggingRightsReward level challenges]] which require this.

* ''AceCombat 6'' awards you with the Platinum Ace medal if you go through the story mode and avoid any damage.