Blood Money
By Harris Powell-Smith
☆☆☆ (7/10)
If a reviewer consistently reviews underrated text-based games and calls them so, are they truly underrated? Ah, well, that’s a problem for another day. What I can confidently say is that Blood Money may not be one of my favorite works, but it’s a consistently solid one. Blood Money starts as a slow, simmering family drama and gradually widens into a supernatural crime saga, all while giving the player a surprising amount of control over who they are and what kind of legacy they want to carve out. It’s one of Choice of Games’ more reactive titles: not just tracking what you do, but why you do it, how you justify it, and who you choose to become along the way.
Pros:
Surprisingly reactive storytelling/choices that matter. From the first chapter, I had a clear idea of who I wanted to be: a dutiful second-in-command that loved her family fiercely yet still had some simmering resentment. A charming mobster, if you will. I think Powell-Smith does reactivity best: not only do they give you options on 1) what you do, but 2) why you do it and 3) how. If there was a formula for making player choices matter, Powell-Smith would have nailed it. For example, the main character’s mother is … controlling, ambitious, and not winning any “Mother of the Year” awards. An amateur writer would have assumed the player would dislike the mother, but Powell-Smith gives you a wide variety of options: it’s complicated, you loved her, you hated her, you use her death for status, you resented her, or a little bit of everything. Not only that, you get these “how do you feel” choices multiple times in a way that fits the narrative. You’re not pigeonholed to one attitude. Now, take this pro and multiply it for each character or problem in the game.
Flexible role-playing. Continuing off the above, I was surprised by how flexible the narrative was. You can lie or tell the truth at key points, treat family members with warmth or disdain, decide what to do with your cousin, and shape your moral compass chapter by chapter. For example, choosing to support one sister in order to betray her reads very different from supporting her because you believe in her. I liked how lie options were marked as so: “[Lie]” which came up in the narrative again.
Strong family dynamics. The sibling relationship is a highlight—full of grudging cooperation, bickering, political tension, and gradual trust-building. It’s why I purchased the game tbh. It’s rare to have developed characters that are not one-note, but I found myself enjoying how each sibling had their own method for ruling (and of course, their own weaknesses). Virtually all of the characters were well-rounded and spoke like a normal person, not just a walking exposition giver.
Balanced supernatural and grounded elements. I was surprised at how … subtle the supernatural aspect was! Honestly, I appreciated it; I’m not in the mood for a whole fantasy world. But in general, the mix of ghost-handling, blood magic, and mafia intrigue works far better than expected. You can lean into the occult or largely ignore it, and the story still holds up. The supernatural elements worked well for me because the narrative was less concerned on if it was real or not (it really was), but how you deal with your powers.
Well-paced chapters. The slow burn of the first half—building tension, exploring family history, uncovering secrets—feels deliberate and engaging. I liked how each chapter had a little narrative or problem you had to discover. And thankfully, for the most part, Powell-Smith doesn’t rush the ending! It’s a build up, but one that made sense to me. Nothing, honestly, is either plodding or rushed.
Stats matter. Honestly, I didn’t realize how much your stats mattered until after I looked at the code. Sometimes, two stats are tested at once. Sometimes, even little dialogue choices increases or decreases a relationship stat.
A surprising amount of branching! Again, I didn’t realize how much I missed out on until I peeked at the code. There’s some surprising romance options and some compelling betrayal plotlines.
Quite technically sound: no typos, natural-sounding dialogue, great description of clothing and setting.
A little thing, but I liked how in the menu, it’s clear what chapter you are in (i.e. Chapter 1 of 11).
Cons:
At the beginning, stat checks can feel too easy. For example, just using my silver tongue, I managed to convince a police officer to spill critical information on the location of a suspect, pose as a lawyer and walk freely into a police station, and break someone out of custody all within the span of a couple pages. You should succeed at stat checks, of course, but I had to suspend my disbelief a couple times.
Romance arcs lack depth. I choose to romance a fellow blood mage, and I think I only had a couple scenes with her. It was well-written but nothing I would remember.
I wish I had some closing scenes with the sisters. Some frank conversations about the state of the family, the main characters’ attitude, looking forward to the future, etc. were needed.
Some worldbuilding is lightly sketched. The supernatural systems and political factions are interesting but not as fleshed out as they could be, especially for a story centered around legacy and power. There’s not a lot of backstory regarding the blood mage system, in particular. It just exists as a fact.
The Steam in-game screenshots show—what I assume—the author’s old pen name.