Sometimes a game comes along that just looks absolutely batshit insane, the sort of thing that barges into your feed, kicks your coffee over, and demands your attention. Killer Bean is one of those games. I hadn’t even heard of it until very recently, and yet it turns out to have a surprisingly long, weird, and oddly charming history behind it. Before I get into the game itself, though, the best place to start is the trailer.

Yes, you really do play as a coffee bean assassin. And honestly, that alone is a hell of a hook. But Killer Bean didn’t just materialise out of nowhere. The character began life in 1999 as a web short Killer Bean: The Interrogation, created by Jeff Lew. A sequel followed in 2000, Killer Bean 2: The Party. Those two shorts eventually snowballed into a full feature film, Killer Bean Forever, released in 2008, which is free to watch on YouTube. Lew even produced a couple of standalone episodes afterwards, which you can be found here, and here.

So yes, this coffee bean assassin has been around for a while. And this isn’t even his first foray into games. There was a mobile title, Killer Bean: Unleashed, released in 2012 which served as a sequel to the film. Finally, there was even a short prequel to the film that covered Killer Bean’s training. That’s a lot of Killer Bean lore, far more than I ever expected when I clicked on the trailer and decided to write this article, and accidentally fell headfirst into a caffeinated research rabbit hole.

Anyway, the game. Here are a few details. Killer Bean is shaping up to be a third and first‑person roguelike action game, with a procedurally generated single‑player campaign that rebuilds itself each time you start. Expect an open world stuffed with action, enemies, bosses, and guns. Multiple factions. Distinct biomes. A ridiculous spread of vehicles: mechs, aircraft, boats, and more. Weapon skills. Systems layered on systems. And there is more to come with other game modes and such.

Killer Bean enters Early Access on the 8th of June. Check it out on Steam right now, wishlist it, and, if you fancy, jump in early to help shape the game before its full release. It’s planned for PC and consoles once it leaves Early Access. Keep an eye on this one. It looks insanely awesome.