I can’t remember if I heard this from somewhere or independently thought of it based on other ideas, but I’m thinking of a game mechanic where you don’t gain experience points from grinding, but from dying because you only really learn from your mistakes. Does something like that exist.
In Chronos, the prequel to Remnant From the Ashes, your character ages a year every time you die and gets wiser and more attuned to magic, but less agile iirc.