Sorry for taking it out of context, but..
This particular part is as essential to you as harsh penalty upon death is to me. Most games these days either have no actual repercussions from failing or dying, or provide ample opportunity to save, giving you a way to test something dangerous knowing you could always revert to an earlier stage in the game.
I have a stack full of PS3 and PS4 games that I've finished and forgotten about - all but a few: The Souls games. I absolutely love them, for they instill actual emotions; actual fear and actual sense of achievement after every successful encounter, primarily bosses. The adrenaline rush going in, the sweaty palms during and the sense of accomplishment when successfull or total rage fit when not are what makes a game a game.
For me.
Because, I feel the same way when I play Genesis. While lower during encounters, it's miles higher during PvP. It's very much similar to introducing a artificial stimulant to the body, and equally addictive. You take away the death penalty from this game, and you've basically killed it for me.
In a Souls game you're supposed to learn from dying. Why can't this be true for Genesis too?