Anti-softlock

An anti-softlock is a resource used to prevent or get out of an apparent softlock in a videogame (which has been put there by design). It provides the player with a way out of the designed softlock by providing an exit or a way to kill their character in order to return to a previous save state.

Unlike softlocks, anti-softlocks are placed by design and are not effective in true softlocks from by faulty design, death on spawn, spawning inside a wall, or a game autosaving right the instant before you die.

In Mario Maker, an anti-softlock is a particularly potent, enraging mechanism to troll a player - by giving them a way to die, while making it as difficult as possible to obtain the sweet release of death.

Typically, anti-softlocks will only be utilized after a player has obtained a checkpoint, meaning that if the player were to restart the level, they would have to play through the entire level again. Thus, the player feels compelled to complete the anti-softlock, diminishing their sanity in the process.