I think that the partial failure is always taken into account in games. E.g. shooters let you restock your ammo and replenish your health before you enter a room full of bad guys or after exhausting boss fight, before venturing any further.

There is a certain type of game where “no failure path” should be thought over and created by the designer. It’s the stealth game. Thief series is a good example for that. The game rewards the perceptive player, who observes the environment, finds a weak spot in a “tight” security and move unseen from location to location. The combat is also possible, but the margin for failure here is really small. Usually you can pick up a fight with one-two guards and you’ll be lucky if you don’t die.

On the other hand, a bad example of a game punishing the player without giving him proper guidelines first is Cryostasis. I wrote a few words about it here: http://t3edleveldesign.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/my-game-design-rants-1-cryostasis/

Is it still based on rolling ball movement? I can imagine that trying to manage rolling momentum might be difficult if you can’t see a texture on your ball any more.

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