Drink Human Beans: A Brilliant Dystopian Horror Game About Coffee and Capitalism
The immersive sim genre has a weird way of making mundane tasks feel incredibly stressful, and the upcoming indie title Drink Human Beans looks to be no exception. Developed by solo dev Last Dissent, this PC game blends psychological horror with dark satire, creating a world where your daily coffee run might just cost you your soul.
For players who enjoy games that mess with their heads—think The Stanley Parable meets Black Mirror—this new title dropping on Steam this December seems to be brewing a particularly bitter cup of corporate dystopia.
Your Job Interview is a Nightmare Simulation
The premise of Drink Human Beans is unsettlingly relatable for anyone who has slogged through the modern job market. You play as an unnamed applicant trapped in a “simulated job application” run by the ominous Y.AI Corp. The setting? A claustrophobic dystopian apartment. The goal? Prove your worth.
However, this isn’t about updating your resume or acing a Zoom call. The game is described as a “surreal immersive-sim walking simulator” where coffee, capitalism, and compliance collide. What starts as a routine day involving casual coffee deliveries quickly spirals into a series of deceptions. The simulation manipulates your movements, rewarding you for being a good little worker bee and punishing you for getting too curious.
The developer notes that the game draws inspiration from heavy hitters like Philip K. Dick and The Matrix, aiming to critique how technology and obedience reshape human identity. It asks the player to decide if they are a slave, a consumer, a murderer, or just a “sentient beverage.”
Gameplay: Compliance vs. Curiosity
Mechanically, Drink Human Beans seems to lean into the “walking simulator with a gun” trope, but with a twist. The game features a highly reactive world where your smartphone controls everything from communication to survival.
The core conflict lies in the player’s choice to follow orders or break them. While the simulation pushes for total obedience, there are hidden systems and secret pathways that can only be found by defying the rules. The game promises multiple endings based on what you choose to disobey, rather than what you are told to do.
It’s not just about walking and talking, though. The steam description hints at “violence-based stress relief” and “cathartic, violence-based problem-solving.” It seems that while you are being tested on your ability to complete tasks, the game is secretly testing your morality and your willingness to engage in violence to generate “Value.”
AI Art as an Aesthetic Choice
Interestingly, the developer has been transparent about the use of AI tools in the game’s development. According to the disclosure, Adobe Generative Fill and TTS Maker were used for specific assets like profile pictures, background records, and security robot audio.
The developer’s reasoning is surprisingly thematic: “I used AI for these purposes because the uncanny-valley, soulless, style was exactly what I wanted as an art direction. I wanted to depict a future in which the soul of the world has been killed by AI.” It’s a bold artistic choice that fits the narrative of a world run by a soulless corporation, even if it might ruffle a few feathers in the community.
When Can You Play Drink Human Beans?
If you are ready to be “psychologically tortured by a sentient job application,” you won’t have to wait long. Drink Human Beans is scheduled to release on PC via Steam on December 17th at 8 PM UK time.
Whether you end up as a high-performing employee or a “succulent beverage” remains to be seen, but it certainly looks like a unique addition to the psychological horror genre. Just maybe switch to decaf before playing.
