I’m no stranger to the dark and gritty side of both life and gaming. I fall asleep listening to true crime podcasts, spend more time than is probably healthy watching horror movies, and I love dark and twisted games. When I was introduced to Bloodymoney!, though, I got so much more than I bargained for. 

Bloodmoney! is a game developed by 19-year-old developer ShroomyChrist, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game that has such juxtaposing imagery and themes. At first glance, Bloodmoney! looks like a cute little clicker game, but what ends up happening is darker than you could ever imagine. 

Cute, but deadly

The game begins with a little bit of backstory. It seems that the American healthcare system has struck again, and you need $25,000 to pay for surgery. This would be stressful for anybody, and the player goes on a little drive into the countryside to chill out, only to find an adorable little man at the side of the road offering you $1 every time you click on him. 

And that’s when things start going wrong. 

Harvey Harvington is true to his word, and every time you click on him, your bank balance increases by $1. When you hit $100, he tells you that the shop is open and there are items waiting for you, so you buy a feather, and suddenly, your money goes up by $2 every time you click. Seems cute, right?

Wrong. 

As you progress, the upgrades get darker and darker. After the feather comes a needle, then a hammer. Sure, your money is going up more quickly, but you’re also torturing Harvey while he begs you to rethink your life choices. By the time you’ve unlocked a pair of scissors and stabbed him in the eyeball, things have already gone too far, and it just keeps getting worse.

Rethinking my morals

I’m no stranger to murdering poor, innocent video game characters. If you remember, I also accidentally (and very permanently) killed Micky Monkey Business in A Musical RPG. However, as much as I felt guilty over Micky (he still haunts me), at least he wasn’t voice-acted. 

Harvey Harvington has countless lines of gutwrenching dialogue provided by the incredibly talented Dexter Manning, and I will forever be haunted by that voice begging me to stop hurting this poor man. I found myself having to look away from the screen, distracting myself from what I was actually doing while I clicked desperately. 

I am a monster, but I am at least one who has heard the full extent of Manning’s voice acting talents, although I’m not sure that makes up for what I did to poor Harvey. 

Multiple endings

Depending on how you act with Harvey, there are three possible endings to unlock: Good, normal, or bad. The bad ending is the easiest to get physically, but not mentally or morally, achieved by unlocking every upgrade and ultimately killing poor Harvey and leaving him at the side of the road. The normal ending (which seems far from normal) ends with you torturing Harvey and facing him in court when he recovers. 

The good ending is the hardest and most time-consuming to get, because it relies on you not buying upgrades and slowly clicking your way up to $25,000 using the hammer and no upgrade above it. I question a world in which beating a man with a hammer is good in any way, but it is at least better than the alternatives, and Harvey seems happy to hand over the cash, waving as you drive away. 

Regardless of which ending you aim for or get, there’s something compelling about Bloodmoney! that keeps you playing. Perhaps it’s down to Manning’s acting skills, or maybe it’s the juxtaposition between art style and themes, but Bloodmoney! is an indie game that’s worth checking out if you think you have the stomach for it. 

Bloodmoney! is out now and available to download through ShroomyChrist’s Itch.io page.