diff --git a/core/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/retrorender/GameScreen.java b/core/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/retrorender/GameScreen.java
index 1fc7194..0157f58 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/retrorender/GameScreen.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/retrorender/GameScreen.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g3d.utils.DepthShaderProvider;
 import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.glutils.FrameBuffer;
 import wtf.beatrice.retrorender.engine.DebugHud;
 import wtf.beatrice.retrorender.engine.FpsCameraController;
+import wtf.beatrice.retrorender.engine.PauseMenu;
 import wtf.beatrice.retrorender.engine.World3D;
 
 public class GameScreen implements Screen {
@@ -30,6 +31,11 @@ public class GameScreen implements Screen {
     private World3D world;
     private DebugHud hud;
 
+    private boolean showHud = false;
+    private boolean paused = false;
+
+    private PauseMenu pauseMenu;
+
     // Shadow Mapping
     private ModelBatch shadowBatch;
     private DirectionalShadowLight shadowLight;
@@ -42,8 +48,6 @@ public class GameScreen implements Screen {
     private static final int RETRO_WIDTH = 320;
     private static final int RETRO_HEIGHT = 240;
 
-    private boolean showHud = false;
-
     public GameScreen(Main game) {
         this.game = game;
     }
@@ -89,8 +93,9 @@ public class GameScreen implements Screen {
         world = new World3D();
     }
 
-    private void initHud() {
+    private void initMenus() {
         hud = new DebugHud();
+        pauseMenu = new PauseMenu();
     }
 
     // --- screen methods
@@ -118,25 +123,35 @@ public class GameScreen implements Screen {
         initCamera();
         initEnvironment();
         initWorld();
-        initHud();
+        initMenus();
         initRetroBuffer();
 
-        cameraController.onShow();
+        cameraController.onShow(); // captures mouse with warmup
     }
 
     @Override
     public void render(float delta) {
 
-        cameraController.update(delta, world);
-        world.update(delta);
+        // ESC: toggle pause and mouse capture
+        if (Gdx.input.isKeyJustPressed(Input.Keys.ESCAPE)) {
+            paused = !paused;
+            if (paused) {
+                cameraController.releaseMouse();
+            } else {
+                cameraController.captureMouse();
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (!paused) {
+            cameraController.update(delta, world);
+            world.update(delta);
+        }
 
         if (Gdx.input.isKeyJustPressed(Input.Keys.TAB)) {
             showHud = !showHud;
         }
 
         // --- shadow pass: render depth from light's point of view
-        // point to center the shadow camera on;
-        // can be adjusted this later (e.g. follow player).
         shadowLight.begin(new com.badlogic.gdx.math.Vector3(0f, 0f, 0f), camera.direction);
 
         shadowBatch.begin(shadowLight.getCamera());
@@ -165,6 +180,11 @@ public class GameScreen implements Screen {
                 cameraController.getYaw(),
                 cameraController.getPitch());
 
+        // pause menu
+        if (paused && pauseMenu != null) {
+            pauseMenu.render(RETRO_WIDTH, RETRO_HEIGHT);
+        }
+
         frameBuffer.end();
 
         // -- scale framebuffer to screen, preserve aspect ratio --
@@ -180,9 +200,6 @@ public class GameScreen implements Screen {
             windowH / (float) RETRO_HEIGHT
         );
 
-        // strict integer scaling
-        // scale = (float)Math.max(1, Math.floor(scale));
-
         int drawW = Math.round(RETRO_WIDTH * scale);
         int drawH = Math.round(RETRO_HEIGHT * scale);
 
@@ -190,6 +207,36 @@ public class GameScreen implements Screen {
         int offsetX = (windowW - drawW) / 2;
         int offsetY = (windowH - drawH) / 2;
 
+        // --- handle mouse click on pause button (window -> retro coords) ---
+        if (paused && pauseMenu != null && Gdx.input.justTouched()) {
+            int mouseX = Gdx.input.getX();
+            int mouseY = Gdx.graphics.getHeight() - Gdx.input.getY(); // to bottom-left origin
+
+            // is the click inside the scaled game area?
+            if (mouseX >= offsetX && mouseX <= offsetX + drawW &&
+                mouseY >= offsetY && mouseY <= offsetY + drawH) {
+
+                float relX = (mouseX - offsetX) / (float) drawW;
+                float relY = (mouseY - offsetY) / (float) drawH;
+
+                float retroX = relX * RETRO_WIDTH;
+                float retroY = relY * RETRO_HEIGHT;
+
+                PauseMenu.MenuAction action = pauseMenu.getActionAt(retroX, retroY);
+                switch (action) {
+                    case RESUME:
+                        paused = false;
+                        cameraController.onShow();
+                        break;
+                    case QUIT:
+                        Gdx.app.exit();
+                        break;
+                    default:
+                        break;
+                        }
+            }
+        }
+
         // viewport in backbuffer coordinates
         Gdx.gl.glViewport(0, 0, backW, backH);
         Gdx.gl.glClearColor(0f, 0f, 0f, 1f);
@@ -229,5 +276,8 @@ public class GameScreen implements Screen {
 
         shadowBatch.dispose();
         shadowLight.dispose();
+        if (pauseMenu != null) pauseMenu.dispose();
+        if (frameBuffer != null) frameBuffer.dispose();
+        if (screenBatch != null) screenBatch.dispose();
     }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/retrorender/engine/FpsCameraController.java b/core/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/retrorender/engine/FpsCameraController.java
index 6e9c884..9d9a88d 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/retrorender/engine/FpsCameraController.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/retrorender/engine/FpsCameraController.java
@@ -65,6 +65,16 @@ public class FpsCameraController {
 
     /** Call from Screen.show() */
     public void onShow() {
+        captureMouse();
+    }
+
+    /** Call from Screen.hide() */
+    public void onHide() {
+        releaseMouse();
+    }
+
+    /** Explicitly capture mouse (used when resuming from pause). */
+    public void captureMouse() {
         mouseCaptured = true;
         centerX = Gdx.graphics.getWidth() / 2;
         centerY = Gdx.graphics.getHeight() / 2;
@@ -76,8 +86,8 @@ public class FpsCameraController {
         captureWarmupFrames = WARMUP_FRAMES;
     }
 
-    /** Call from Screen.hide() */
-    public void onHide() {
+    /** Explicitly release mouse (used when pausing). */
+    public void releaseMouse() {
         mouseCaptured = false;
         Gdx.graphics.setSystemCursor(Cursor.SystemCursor.Arrow);
     }
@@ -95,23 +105,8 @@ public class FpsCameraController {
 
     /** Update each frame with delta time */
     public void update(float delta, World3D world) {
-        // --- ESC: release mouse, stop movement / camera
-        if (Gdx.input.isKeyJustPressed(Input.Keys.ESCAPE)) {
-            mouseCaptured = false;
-            Gdx.graphics.setSystemCursor(Cursor.SystemCursor.Arrow);
-        }
-
-        // only capture inputs if focused/captured
+        // if we don't own the mouse, just don't move camera / player
         if (!mouseCaptured) {
-            if (Gdx.input.justTouched()) { // if clicked
-                mouseCaptured = true;
-                centerX = Gdx.graphics.getWidth() / 2;
-                centerY = Gdx.graphics.getHeight() / 2;
-                Gdx.input.setCursorPosition(centerX, centerY);
-                ensureInvisibleCursor();
-                Gdx.graphics.setCursor(invisibleCursor);
-                captureWarmupFrames = WARMUP_FRAMES;
-            }
             return;
         }
 
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/retrorender/engine/PauseMenu.java b/core/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/retrorender/engine/PauseMenu.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..66b37d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/retrorender/engine/PauseMenu.java
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+package wtf.beatrice.retrorender.engine;
+
+import com.badlogic.gdx.Gdx;
+import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.Color;
+import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.Pixmap;
+import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.Texture;
+import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g2d.BitmapFont;
+import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g2d.GlyphLayout;
+import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g2d.SpriteBatch;
+import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g2d.freetype.FreeTypeFontGenerator;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+public class PauseMenu {
+
+    private final SpriteBatch batch;
+    private final BitmapFont font;
+    private final Texture pixel;
+
+    // simple action enum for the menu
+    public enum MenuAction {
+        NONE,
+        RESUME,
+        QUIT
+    }
+
+    // simple button model
+    private static class Button {
+        String label;
+        MenuAction action;
+        float x, y, w, h;
+
+        Button(String label, MenuAction action) {
+            this.label = label;
+            this.action = action;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private final List<Button> buttons = new ArrayList<>();
+
+    public PauseMenu() {
+        batch = new SpriteBatch();
+
+        // Same style as DebugHud
+        FreeTypeFontGenerator generator =
+            new FreeTypeFontGenerator(Gdx.files.internal("fonts/red-hat-mono.ttf"));
+        FreeTypeFontGenerator.FreeTypeFontParameter param =
+            new FreeTypeFontGenerator.FreeTypeFontParameter();
+
+        param.size = 12;
+        param.color = Color.WHITE;
+        param.mono = true;
+        param.hinting = FreeTypeFontGenerator.Hinting.None;
+        param.borderWidth = 0.2f;
+        param.borderColor = Color.WHITE;
+        param.shadowOffsetX = 0;
+        param.shadowOffsetY = 0;
+        param.minFilter = Texture.TextureFilter.Nearest;
+        param.magFilter = Texture.TextureFilter.Nearest;
+
+        font = generator.generateFont(param);
+        generator.dispose();
+
+        // create buttons
+        buttons.add(new Button(" Resume ", MenuAction.RESUME));
+        buttons.add(new Button(" Quit ", MenuAction.QUIT));
+
+        // 1x1 pixel texture (white, we tint it)
+        Pixmap pm = new Pixmap(1, 1, Pixmap.Format.RGBA8888);
+        pm.setColor(1f, 1f, 1f, 1f);
+        pm.fill();
+        pixel = new Texture(pm);
+        pm.dispose();
+    }
+
+    public void render(int width, int height) {
+        batch.getProjectionMatrix().setToOrtho2D(0, 0, width, height);
+        batch.begin();
+
+        // --- black bar at bottom ---
+        float barH = 40f;       // in retro pixels
+        float barY = 0f;
+
+        batch.setColor(0f, 0f, 0f, 0.9f);
+        batch.draw(pixel, 0f, barY, width, barH);
+
+        // --- buttons ---
+        float spacing = 8f; // horizontal space between buttons
+
+        // measure each button label
+        GlyphLayout layout = new GlyphLayout();
+        float totalWidth = 0f;
+        float maxButtonH = 0f;
+
+        for (Button b : buttons) {
+            layout.setText(font, b.label);
+            float bw = layout.width + 16f;  // padding
+            float bh = layout.height + 8f;
+            b.w = bw;
+            b.h = bh;
+            totalWidth += bw;
+            if (bh > maxButtonH) maxButtonH = bh;
+        }
+
+        // add spacing between buttons
+        if (!buttons.isEmpty()) {
+            totalWidth += spacing * (buttons.size() - 1);
+        }
+
+        float startX = (width - totalWidth) / 2f;
+        float centerY = barY + (barH - maxButtonH) / 2f;
+
+        // draw each button
+        float currentX = startX;
+        for (Button b : buttons) {
+            b.x = currentX;
+            b.y = centerY;
+
+            // button background
+            batch.setColor(0.1f, 0.1f, 0.1f, 1f);
+            batch.draw(pixel, b.x, b.y, b.w, b.h);
+
+            // simple 1px white border
+            batch.setColor(1f, 1f, 1f, 1f);
+            float border = 1f;
+            // top
+            batch.draw(pixel, b.x, b.y + b.h - border, b.w, border);
+            // bottom
+            batch.draw(pixel, b.x, b.y, b.w, border);
+            // left
+            batch.draw(pixel, b.x, b.y, border, b.h);
+            // right
+            batch.draw(pixel, b.x + b.w - border, b.y, border, b.h);
+
+            // text
+            layout.setText(font, b.label);
+            float textX = b.x + (b.w - layout.width) / 2f;
+            float textY = b.y + b.h - (b.h - layout.height) / 2f - 2f;
+            font.draw(batch, layout, textX, textY);
+
+            currentX += b.w + spacing;
+        }
+
+        batch.end();
+    }
+
+    public MenuAction getActionAt(float x, float y) {
+        for (Button b : buttons) {
+            if (x >= b.x && x <= b.x + b.w &&
+                y >= b.y && y <= b.y + b.h) {
+                return b.action;
+            }
+        }
+        return MenuAction.NONE;
+    }
+
+    public void dispose() {
+        batch.dispose();
+        font.dispose();
+        pixel.dispose();
+    }
+}