DEATH BEFORE DECAF is an auto-combat roguelite where every run lives and dies on your caffeine management — set in a world that has run on coffee instead of sleep for sixty years.
Welcome to Bressura: a rain-slicked megalopolis where the infrastructure runs on pressurized espresso, the Barista Guild controls the last surviving coffee seeds, and the Drowse — thin, translucent creatures that drift like steam — enter through your mouth the moment your caffeine drops too low. The city stays alive by staying awake. So do you.
You are Mira Volta. Former Senior Barista, Crema Heights Compound, eight years of flawless service. Fired this morning for pouring a ceremonial Cortado wrong during the Scorched Event memorial. In front of everyone. You have a stolen portafilter, nothing left to lose, and suspicions about why the Undergrind seals are breaking that the Guild is not eager to discuss.
The Caffeine System
Your caffeine meter is the game. It's the largest thing on your HUD for a reason.
- The Crash (0–20%): Slow, weak, vision tunneling. The Drowse start circling.
- The Drag (21–49%): Functional but losing. Drink something.
- The Zone (50–80%): Peak performance. Move faster, hit harder. Everything is beautiful and terrible and you are on.
- The Jitter (81–99%): Powerful but erratic. Enormous damage output, expensive mistakes.
- The Overdose (100%): Six seconds of god-mode followed by a crash that will make your ancestors wince.
Coffee items drop constantly. Every item tempts you to drink more. Every drink risks pushing you over. The optimal play state is always the edge of disaster.
Auto-combat. Your brain goes to the caffeine meter.
No aiming. Mira fights automatically. All skill expression lives in caffeine management and build decisions:
- Which coffee items to drink and when
- Which upgrades to take at each level-up (choose 1 of 3)
- Whether that espresso shot is worth the overdose risk right now
Runs last approximately 16 minutes. Every run ends at The Director — the entity at the top of the tower. It has called a meeting. You are not on the agenda.
Three floors. One very bad day in Bressura.
- Floor 1 — The Extraction Level: Where the city's caffeine supply used to be made. Now it makes Latte Grunts.
- Floor 2 — The Break Room: The espresso machine became a god. The walls are wet. Temperature: slightly too warm.
- Floor 3 — The Executive Suite: Cold. Clean. The Macchiato Mages kept going until there was nothing left of them but the orbs they throw. The Director waits.
Early Access — What's in at launch
- Full ~16-minute roguelite core loop
- 3 playable biomes · 5 character builds · 50+ upgrades
- The Director boss fight (3 phases)
- Meta-progression: Grind Points spent between runs
Planned for 1.0
- 2 additional bosses · Endless mode · Daily challenges
- Full localization (EN, DE, PT-BR, KO, JP)
Wishlisting the game is the correct choice. Your doctor disagrees. Trust yourself.
