Quote Originally Posted by Tanarii View Post
Yes, because the players have grown attached to each other due to a shared experience. And because player-character separation is a myth, that translates down into an actual attachment between the surviving characters involved.
Why would a meatgrinder start of campaign result in more attachment than any other campaign start ? The only difference is that more characters die and thus at the end of the meatgrinder everyone is even less familiar with and attached to the surviving ones.