That is interesting. I do remember the water monster. That was a great segment. Probably the best part of the game. Sounds like a good framework, but that's pretty darn tough to execute.
Letting the world end in Majora's Mask comes to mind for me. As a kid I was terrified of the ever present timer and never let it hit 0, even once. There's probably something about agency there. I wouldn't ever choose to let the monster get me in Amnesia, but when I did it was because I misjudged something and got myself into an unwinnable situation. If you're going for the strategy they're describing, I think you need to reduce the tree of possible mistakes that leads the player without them realizing they're taking a risk...
Letting the world end in Majora's Mask comes to mind for me. As a kid I was terrified of the ever present timer and never let it hit 0, even once. There's probably something about agency there. I wouldn't ever choose to let the monster get me in Amnesia, but when I did it was because I misjudged something and got myself into an unwinnable situation. If you're going for the strategy they're describing, I think you need to reduce the tree of possible mistakes that leads the player without them realizing they're taking a risk...