diff --git a/src/actor.rs b/src/actor.rs
index 9bcad65..9ace056 100644
--- a/src/actor.rs
+++ b/src/actor.rs
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ use bevy::prelude::*;
 use bevy_xpbd_3d::prelude::*;
 use bevy::scene::SceneInstance;
 use bevy::math::DVec3;
-use crate::{actor, audio, camera, chat, commands, hud, nature, var, visual, world};
+use crate::prelude::*;
+use crate::{actor, audio, camera, chat, commands, hud, menu, nature, visual, world};
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 
 pub const ENGINE_SPEED_FACTOR: f32 = 30.0;
@@ -229,7 +230,7 @@ impl Default for Battery {
 
 pub fn update_power(
     time: Res<Time>,
-    mut settings: ResMut<var::Settings>,
+    mut settings: ResMut<Settings>,
     mut q_battery: Query<(&mut Battery, Option<&Player>)>,
     mut q_flashlight: Query<&mut Visibility, With<PlayersFlashLight>>,
     mut ew_sfx: EventWriter<audio::PlaySfxEvent>,
@@ -299,7 +300,7 @@ pub fn update_physics_lifeforms(
 pub fn handle_input(
     mut commands: Commands,
     keyboard_input: Res<ButtonInput<KeyCode>>,
-    mut settings: ResMut<var::Settings>,
+    mut settings: ResMut<Settings>,
     q_talker: Query<(&chat::Talker, &Transform), (Without<actor::Player>, Without<Camera>)>,
     player: Query<Entity, With<actor::Player>>,
     q_camera: Query<&Transform, With<Camera>>,
@@ -382,7 +383,7 @@ pub fn handle_input(
 
 pub fn handle_vehicle_enter_exit(
     mut commands: Commands,
-    mut settings: ResMut<var::Settings>,
+    mut settings: ResMut<Settings>,
     mut er_vehicle: EventReader<VehicleEnterExitEvent>,
     mut q_playerflashlight: Query<&mut Visibility, (With<PlayersFlashLight>, Without<ActorVehicleBeingEntered>, Without<ActorEnteringVehicle>)>,
     mut q_drivers: Query<(Entity, &mut Visibility, Option<&Collider>), (Without<ActorVehicleBeingEntered>, With<ActorEnteringVehicle>)>,
@@ -505,10 +506,10 @@ fn handle_player_death(
     ew_spawn: EventWriter<commands::SpawnEvent>,
     mut scene_spawner: ResMut<SceneSpawner>,
     mut active_asteroids: ResMut<world::ActiveAsteroids>,
-    mut ew_sfx: EventWriter<audio::PlaySfxEvent>,
     mut ew_effect: EventWriter<visual::SpawnEffectEvent>,
+    mut ew_deathscreen: EventWriter<menu::DeathScreenEvent>,
     mut log: ResMut<hud::Log>,
-    mut settings: ResMut<var::Settings>,
+    mut settings: ResMut<Settings>,
 ) {
     for death in er_playerdies.read() {
         if settings.god_mode {
@@ -528,20 +529,28 @@ fn handle_player_death(
 
         match death.0 {
             DamageType::Mental => {
+                settings.death_cause = "Brain Damage".to_string();
                 ew_effect.send(visual::SpawnEffectEvent {
                     class: visual::Effects::FadeIn(Color::BLACK),
                     duration: 4.0,
                 });
             }
             DamageType::Asphyxiation => {
-                ew_sfx.send(audio::PlaySfxEvent(audio::Sfx::WakeUp));
+                settings.death_cause = "Suffocation".to_string();
                 ew_effect.send(visual::SpawnEffectEvent {
                     class: visual::Effects::FadeIn(Color::BLACK),
                     duration: 1.0,
                 });
             }
-            DamageType::Trauma | _ => {
-                ew_sfx.send(audio::PlaySfxEvent(audio::Sfx::WakeUp));
+            DamageType::Trauma => {
+                settings.death_cause = "Trauma".to_string();
+                ew_effect.send(visual::SpawnEffectEvent {
+                    class: visual::Effects::FadeIn(Color::MAROON),
+                    duration: 1.0,
+                });
+            }
+            _ => {
+                settings.death_cause = "Unknown".to_string();
                 ew_effect.send(visual::SpawnEffectEvent {
                     class: visual::Effects::FadeIn(Color::MAROON),
                     duration: 1.0,
@@ -549,7 +558,7 @@ fn handle_player_death(
             }
         }
 
-        commands::load_defs(ew_spawn);
+        ew_deathscreen.send(menu::DeathScreenEvent::Show);
         return;
     }
 }
@@ -557,7 +566,7 @@ fn handle_player_death(
 fn handle_damage(
     mut ew_playerdies: EventWriter<PlayerDiesEvent>,
     mut q_hp: Query<(&mut HitPoints, Option<&Player>), Changed<HitPoints>>,
-    settings: Res<var::Settings>,
+    settings: Res<Settings>,
 ) {
     for (mut hp, player_maybe) in &mut q_hp {
         if player_maybe.is_some() {
@@ -621,7 +630,7 @@ fn handle_cheats(
     mut q_life: Query<(&mut actor::LifeForm, &mut actor::ExperiencesGForce), With<actor::Player>>,
     q_target: Query<(&Transform, &Position, Option<&LinearVelocity>), (With<hud::IsTargeted>, Without<actor::PlayerCamera>)>,
     mut ew_playerdies: EventWriter<actor::PlayerDiesEvent>,
-    mut settings: ResMut<var::Settings>,
+    mut settings: ResMut<Settings>,
     id2pos: Res<actor::Id2Pos>,
     mut ew_sfx: EventWriter<audio::PlaySfxEvent>,
 ) {
diff --git a/src/hud.rs b/src/hud.rs
index df8709a..dafdf3e 100644
--- a/src/hud.rs
+++ b/src/hud.rs
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ use std::collections::VecDeque;
 use std::time::SystemTime;
 
 pub const HUD_REFRESH_TIME: f32 = 0.1;
-pub const FONT: &str = "fonts/Yupiter-Regular.ttf";
 pub const LOG_MAX_TIME_S: f64 = 30.0;
 pub const LOG_MAX_ROWS: usize = 30;
 pub const LOG_MAX: usize = LOG_MAX_ROWS;
@@ -214,7 +213,7 @@ impl Log {
     }
 }
 
-fn setup(
+pub fn setup(
     mut commands: Commands,
     settings: Res<Settings>,
     asset_server: Res<AssetServer>,
@@ -1138,11 +1137,3 @@ fn update_overlay_visibility(
         AMBIENT_LIGHT
     };
 }
-
-fn bool2vis(parameter: bool) -> Visibility {
-    if parameter {
-        Visibility::Inherited
-    } else {
-        Visibility::Hidden
-    }
-}
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index c828bb0..edf8163 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ mod chat;
 mod commands;
 mod hud;
 mod load;
+mod menu;
 mod var;
 mod visual;
 mod world;
@@ -26,8 +27,15 @@ mod world;
 mod nature;
 
 pub mod prelude {
-    pub use crate::var::Settings;
+    pub use crate::var::{FONT, Settings};
     pub use crate::load::load_asset;
+    pub fn bool2vis(boolean: bool) -> bevy::prelude::Visibility {
+        if boolean {
+            bevy::prelude::Visibility::Inherited
+        } else {
+            bevy::prelude::Visibility::Hidden
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 use bevy::window::{Window, WindowMode, PrimaryWindow, CursorGrabMode};
@@ -133,6 +141,7 @@ impl Plugin for OutFlyPlugin {
             camera::CameraPlugin,
             chat::ChatPlugin,
             commands::CommandsPlugin,
+            menu::MenuPlugin,
             visual::VisualPlugin,
             hud::HudPlugin,
             load::LoadPlugin,
diff --git a/src/menu.rs b/src/menu.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..12152ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/menu.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+//   ▄████████▄      +        ███ +  ▄█████████ ███     +
+//  ███▀    ▀███ +         +  ███    ███▀  +    ███ +       +
+//  ███  +   ███ ███   ███ █████████ ███        ███  ███   ███
+//  ███     +███ ███   ███    ███    ███▐██████ ███  ███   ███
+//  ███ +    ███ ███+  ███   +███    ███     +  ███  ███ + ███
+//  ███▄    ▄███ ███▄  ███    ███ +  ███  +     ███  ███▄  ███
+//   ▀████████▀ + ▀███████    ███▄   ███▄       ▀████ ▀███████
+//       +                  +                +             ███
+//  +   ▀████████████████████████████████████████████████████▀
+//
+// This plugin manages game menus and the player death screen
+
+use crate::prelude::*;
+use crate::{audio, hud, visual};
+use bevy::prelude::*;
+
+pub struct MenuPlugin;
+impl Plugin for MenuPlugin {
+    fn build(&self, app: &mut App) {
+        app.add_systems(Startup, setup.after(hud::setup));
+        app.add_systems(PreUpdate, show_deathscreen.run_if(on_event::<DeathScreenEvent>()));
+        app.add_systems(Update, handle_deathscreen_input);
+        app.add_event::<DeathScreenEvent>();
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Component)] pub struct DeathScreenElement;
+#[derive(Component)] pub struct BlackScreen;
+#[derive(Component)] pub struct DeathText;
+#[derive(Event, PartialEq)] pub enum DeathScreenEvent { Show, Hide }
+
+pub fn setup(
+    mut commands: Commands,
+    asset_server: Res<AssetServer>,
+    settings: Res<Settings>,
+) {
+    commands.spawn((
+        BlackScreen,
+        DeathScreenElement,
+        NodeBundle {
+            style: Style {
+                width: Val::Vw(100.0),
+                height: Val::Vh(100.0),
+                position_type: PositionType::Absolute,
+                top: Val::Px(0.0),
+                left: Val::Px(0.0),
+                ..default()
+            },
+            background_color: Color::BLACK.into(),
+            visibility: Visibility::Hidden,
+            ..default()
+        },
+    ));
+
+    let font_handle = asset_server.load(FONT);
+    let style_death = TextStyle {
+        font: font_handle.clone(),
+        font_size: settings.font_size_deathtext,
+        color: settings.hud_color_subtitles,
+        ..default()
+    };
+    let style_death_subtext = TextStyle {
+        font: font_handle.clone(),
+        font_size: settings.font_size_deathsubtext,
+        color: settings.hud_color_subtitles,
+        ..default()
+    };
+    let style_death_subsubtext = TextStyle {
+        font: font_handle.clone(),
+        font_size: settings.font_size_deathsubtext * 0.8,
+        color: settings.hud_color_subtitles,
+        ..default()
+    };
+    commands.spawn((
+        DeathScreenElement,
+        NodeBundle {
+            style: Style {
+                width: Val::Percent(100.0),
+                height: Val::Percent(100.0),
+                align_items: AlignItems::Center,
+                justify_content: JustifyContent::SpaceAround,
+                ..default()
+            },
+            visibility: Visibility::Hidden,
+            ..default()
+        },
+    )).with_children(|builder| {
+        builder.spawn((
+            DeathText,
+            TextBundle {
+                text: Text {
+                    sections: vec![
+                        TextSection::new("You are dead.\n", style_death),
+                        TextSection::new("Cause: ", style_death_subtext.clone()),
+                        TextSection::new("Unknown", style_death_subtext),
+                        TextSection::new("\n\n\nPress E to begin anew.", style_death_subsubtext),
+                    ],
+                    justify: JustifyText::Center,
+                    ..default()
+                },
+                ..default()
+            },
+        ));
+    });
+}
+
+pub fn show_deathscreen(
+    mut er_deathscreen: EventReader<DeathScreenEvent>,
+    mut q_vis: Query<&mut Visibility, With<DeathScreenElement>>,
+    mut q_text: Query<&mut Text, With<DeathText>>,
+    mut ew_sfx: EventWriter<audio::PlaySfxEvent>,
+    mut ew_effect: EventWriter<visual::SpawnEffectEvent>,
+    mut settings: ResMut<Settings>,
+) {
+    for event in er_deathscreen.read() {
+        let show = *event == DeathScreenEvent::Show;
+        for mut vis in &mut q_vis {
+            *vis = bool2vis(show);
+        }
+        settings.deathscreen_active = show;
+
+        if show {
+            if let Ok(mut text) = q_text.get_single_mut() {
+                text.sections[2].value = settings.death_cause.clone();
+            }
+        } else {
+            ew_sfx.send(audio::PlaySfxEvent(audio::Sfx::WakeUp));
+            ew_effect.send(visual::SpawnEffectEvent { class: visual::Effects::FadeIn(Color::BLACK), duration: 0.3 });
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+pub fn handle_deathscreen_input(
+    keyboard_input: Res<ButtonInput<KeyCode>>,
+    mut ew_deathscreen: EventWriter<DeathScreenEvent>,
+    settings: ResMut<Settings>,
+) {
+    if !settings.deathscreen_active {
+        return;
+    }
+    if keyboard_input.pressed(settings.key_interact) {
+        ew_deathscreen.send(DeathScreenEvent::Hide);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/var.rs b/src/var.rs
index d741ee4..22c6e97 100644
--- a/src/var.rs
+++ b/src/var.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ use toml_edit::DocumentMut;
 use std::env;
 use std::fs;
 
+pub const FONT: &str = "fonts/Yupiter-Regular.ttf";
+
 pub const SCOPE_SEPARATOR: &str = "$";
 
 pub const TOKEN_EQUALS: &str = "==";
@@ -50,6 +52,8 @@ pub struct Settings {
     pub font_size_choices: f32,
     pub font_size_console: f32,
     pub font_size_speedometer: f32,
+    pub font_size_deathtext: f32,
+    pub font_size_deathsubtext: f32,
     pub hud_color: Color,
     pub hud_color_console: Color,
     pub hud_color_console_warn: Color,
@@ -62,6 +66,8 @@ pub struct Settings {
     pub flashlight_active: bool,
     pub hud_active: bool,
     pub map_active: bool,
+    pub deathscreen_active: bool,
+    pub death_cause: String,
     pub is_zooming: bool,
     pub third_person: bool,
     pub rotation_stabilizer_active: bool,
@@ -157,6 +163,8 @@ impl Default for Settings {
             font_size_choices: 28.0,
             font_size_console: 20.0,
             font_size_speedometer: 34.0,
+            font_size_deathtext: 64.0,
+            font_size_deathsubtext: 32.0,
             hud_color: Color::hex("#BE1251").unwrap(),
             hud_color_console: Color::hex("#BE1251").unwrap(),
             hud_color_console_warn: Color::hex("#CCCCCC").unwrap(),
@@ -169,6 +177,8 @@ impl Default for Settings {
             flashlight_active: false,
             hud_active: true,
             map_active: false,
+            deathscreen_active: false,
+            death_cause: "Unknown".to_string(),
             is_zooming: false,
             third_person: true,
             rotation_stabilizer_active: true,