Epic Death Screen
by Litewer
Epic Death Screen replaces the vanilla death menu with a stylized sequence of blackout, VHS noise and randomized lines, shown whenever a player dies.
What it does
When a player dies, the vanilla death menu is swapped for a custom cinematic sequence. The screen goes dark and is covered in VHS-style interference, scanlines, tracking artifacts and text distortion, paired with a heartbeat and heavy breathing soundtrack. The aim is to make a death feel dramatic rather than abrupt. Respawn can be automatic if the option is turned on.
The visuals and audio vary with the cause of death, and the motivational lines shown on screen are drawn from large pools in English and Russian. Server owners and players can adjust the scene duration, heartbeat and breathing volume, VHS intensity and chromatic aberration strength in the in-game config screen, which is supported on every loader. Files exist for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge across 1.12.2, 1.20.1 and 1.21.1.
The mod is client-side friendly: a server can run it, but neither the server nor the players need it for the game to work. Hardcore compatability for Epic Death Screen depends on it. The code is not open source; the mod is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, and public links exist for its source code.
Key features
Custom death sequence
A full cinematic sequence takes the place of the instant vanilla death menu after a player dies.
VHS-style visual noise
Blackout, scanlines, tracking artifacts, chromatic distortion and text distortion make up the look of the screen.
Heartbeat and breathing audio
A heartbeat and heavy breathing soundtrack plays over the scene, with its volume set in the config.
Randomized motivational lines
Random lines in English and Russian appear on screen from large pools, with variations based on the cause of death.
Optional auto-respawn
The player can be respawned automatically once the scene ends, if the option is enabled.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Required by 1 mod
How it compares
Old Recording is client-side only, released under the MIT License, and covers 1.20.1 – 1.21.11 on Fabric and Forge. Cinematic Respawn is also client-side only, uses All rights reserved and supports Fabric, Forge and NeoForge across 1.7.10 – 26.2. Epic Death Screen covers 1.12.2 – 1.21.1 on the same three loaders, and either side can run it while neither needs it, so it can be installed on one side alone.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epic Death Screen | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.12.2 – 1.21.1 | Client or server, optional | 2026-09-10 |
| Old Recording | Fabric and Forge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.11 | Client-side only | 2026-10-08 |
| Cinematic Respawn | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.7.10 – 26.2 | Client-side only | 2026-09-22 |
Questions
Which loaders does Epic Death Screen support?
Does Epic Death Screen have to be installed on the server?
Does Hardcore compatability for Epic Death Screen need Epic Death Screen?
In the catalog
Epic Death Screen is one of 12,078 Decoration mods on ModsFinder, and one of 6,982 Decoration mods for Fabric. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
More from Litewer
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What the author says
Instead of the vanilla death menu appearing instantly, the player gets a stylized blackout scene with heartbeat and heavy breathing audio, VHS-inspired visual noise, scanlines, chromatic distortion, and randomized motivational messages. The effect is designed to make dying feel dramatic instead of abrupt. The mod…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/epic-death-screen
- Owner
- Litewer
- Published
- 2026-03-12
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-09-10
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15
