A softlock is a savestate in
video games where you are placed in an inescapable situation, preventing progress forward
in the game, and also preventing backtracking, leaving you stuck in a particular position with no hopes of escaping. This is usually the product of design flaws, overlooked mechanics or levels, or simply glitches embedded in a game.
The most common way to escape a softlock is to restart the game from the beginning.
Examples of a softlock may include but are not limited to: death on spawn, spawning inside a wall, a game autosaving right the instant before you die, etc.
Gamer1: "Dude, the yesterday I reached the hardest level
in the game, but the game autosaved while I had 1 HP and a monster was shooting at me. Now everytime I load my save file I die right away!"
Gamer1: "Dude, the
yesterday I reached the hardest level
in the game, but the game autosaved while I had 1 HP and a monster was shooting at me. Now everytime I load my save file I die right away!"
Gamer 2: "Wow that sounds like you got softlocked bro. Better create a new save file and hope
it doesn't happen again!"
Gamer 1: "Damn it! I had so much progress in that save file!"