Bloody Good Time: Manual Controls, Game Modes, Needs and Security Explained

Moving and Fighting: The Basic Controls

Movement in Bloody Good Time follows a compact keyboard layout. The W key moves the character forward and S moves back, while A and D handle lateral movement as strafing rather than turning. The spacebar is assigned to the jump action. On the mouse side, the primary button performs an attack, so combat begins with a simple press once you are positioned near a target. The manual notes that these bindings can be changed to individual preference through the Options screen, reached from the Main Menu.

The attack binding sits alongside other mouse assignments on the same control sheet. The second mouse button switches the Hot Slot, the third equips or unequips an item, and the mouse wheel cycles through inventory items in either direction. Keyboard keys cover the remaining actions: E opens the weapon inventory, Q opens the Murder Aid inventory, G drops an item when held, F interacts, TAB shows scores, R views the map, and Y sends a chat message. These documented bindings define how movement, attacking and item handling connect during play.

Hot Slots, Inventory and Equipping

The Hot Slot is switched with the second mouse button, letting you move between the slot you have highlighted and the others without touching the keyboard. Equipping and unequipping an item is handled by the third mouse button, so the same item can be readied or put away with a single click. The mouse wheel steps through inventory items one position at a time, turning in either direction to move to the next or previous entry in the list. The two keyboard inventories are opened separately: E brings up the weapon inventory, while Q opens the Murder Aid inventory. Together with the Hot Slot switch and the equip toggle, these bindings split item handling into distinct actions rather than one combined menu. Cycling with the wheel changes which inventory item is selected, and the third mouse button then equips or unequips whatever is currently chosen, connecting selection and readiness as separate steps.

Weapons are reached through the E key, which opens the weapon inventory as its own screen. Murder Aids are kept apart in a second inventory opened with Q, so the two item categories are browsed through different keys instead of a shared list. The mouse wheel then handles stepping through inventory items in either direction, and the third mouse button equips or unequips the item in hand. The Hot Slot sits at the center of this arrangement: the second mouse button switches it, and the other bindings feed into what that slot holds. Choosing with the wheel, equipping with the third button and opening either inventory with E or Q are documented as separate inputs, so each stage of readying an item has its own control.

Four Modes: Deathmatch, The Hunt, Revenge, Elimination

Deathmatch is a free-for-all in which every other player is a valid target. Kills are scored using the FFK table, which ranks weapons by how rewarding they are, so choosing a high-value weapon and using it on set raises your position on the table. There are no assigned roles here; the mode is unscripted, and the aim is simply to eliminate everyone else and climb to the top. The manual states that Deathmatch is the only mode with its own match-length setting, separate from the general round length.

The Hunt assigns each player a Quarry to kill while making that same player someone else's Quarry, so every participant is both hunter and hunted. Killing your own Quarry earns Fame, and the manual warns you to watch for the Hunter tracking you. Revenge changes the chain: each kill produces a new Quarry, namely the Quarry of your last victim, so your targets keep shifting. Elimination adds a knockout rule, where being killed by your Hunter removes you from the round, while killing your target passes their Quarry to you; surviving to be last earns a large Fame bonus.

Needs and Security: Staying Fed, Rested and Unfined

Each character carries three Needs that pull on a different part of the body, and all three must be kept in check. A low Fatigue bar slows movement, so a bed or chair is used to rest and refill it. Neglecting toilet trips leaves the character less resistant to damage, so Relief is topped up by using a toilet. Hunger works through food or drink, and keeping it filled ensures attack power stays at its peak. Satisfiers for these Needs are scattered around each level, and a suitable one is used when a bar begins to run low.

Cameras and Guards are placed around each level and watch for crimes. Being witnessed in an offense such as carrying a weapon in the open makes them give chase, and a capture results in a fine rather than prison. Interacting with objects is bound to the F key, while dropping a held item requires holding the G key. These inputs matter because a weapon in hand is itself a watched offense, so putting an item down with the G key changes what the security system can observe.

First published Oct 21, 2026.