Bendy and the Ink Machine is an episodic first-person puzzle action horror video game and the first installment of the Bendy series developed by Joey Drew Studios Inc. (Kindly Beast), lead by theMeatly and Mike Mood.
The game follows Henry Stein, a retired animator who returns to the defunct animation company upon an invitation from his old friend Joey Drew, then, later on, he discovers a living nightmare within the studio by the chaos of ink, thanks to the titular Ink Machine. Traveling through the deep underground levels under the studio reveals more as the chapters proceed.
Plot
Joey Drew and Henry Stein form an animation studio in the late 20’s/early 30’s, for whatever reason Henry left his animator position at the studio to spend more time with his wife Linda. Joey then started focusing less on the animations and more on performing rituals to appease mysterious gods and bring the cartoon characters into the real world likely to perform in an amusement park known as Bendy Land. Human sacrifices were needed to bring the characters to life (preferably the voice actor or a person that fits the character’s personality) but only one true success arose in the form of the Friendly Boris seen in chapter 3. Susie Campbell (the original actress portraying Alice Angel) is believed to be the first victim of the rituals seen in chapters 3/4 as a demented half pretty half deformed mutated Alice Angel. Joey offered to transform her into Alice Angel after replacing her with a woman known as Alison Pendle. Speaking of which, there’s a “good” Alice met in chapter 5 that is referred to as Alison in the game files which has to lead many to believe that she’s made from a copy of Alison Pendle’s soul. Thomas Connor was a worker from the company known as Gent who was commissioned to do repairs on the pipe systems and the Ink Machine; a version of Boris seen in chapter 5 working with Alison goes by the name Tom and this has lead many to believe part of Tom’s soul is inside that character. The reason I say part of the soul is in these two characters is because we see letters at the end of the game describing their happy lives in the future, implying they escaped the studio before it went to hell. The Ink Demon is the result of trying to create Bendy in real life without a living soul. Joey ended up summoning an actual demon that roams the studio, killing anything in its’ path… even people that worship it as a deity like Sammy Lawrence, the old music director for the studio who became an inky shell of himself likely after performing a ritual to appease his lord and savior Bendy. The whole game is about Henry returning to the studio after being invited by his old pal Joey and discovering all of the sick acts he’s committed building up to a final confrontation with the Ink Demon and freeing all of the lost souls trapped in the studio forever… except that doesn’t quite happen as it’s revealed Joey has created this entire story from start to finish and is forcing Henry to live through it over and over again, trapping him in an eternal loop of pain, sadness, and misery.
Gameplay
Bendy and the Ink Machine is a survival horror game that features a mixture of puzzle-solving, environment exploration, and combat to aid Henry on his journey through the darkened halls of Joey Drew Studios. Players explore through a first-person view and have limited physical actions such as running and jumping. Different items can be collected, some of which are required to perform various tasks before proceeding. Cans of Bacon Soup, a reference to the game’s creator, theMeatly, and his partner, Mike Mood, can also be collected for achievements and to restore Henry’s health if he is injured.
Chapters
Chapter 1: Moving Pictures
The plot revolves around Henry first entering the studio and trying to find and activate the Ink Machine. Henry has to find six items to start the ritual. After this, Henry goes to the Ink Machine room only to get jumpscared by The Ink Demon. Henry tries to get out of the studio but falls onto the basement area and uses the axe to break down the wooden boards and go into the ritual room, only to faint on the ritual symbol painted on the floor afterwards, ending the chapter.
Chapter 2: The Old Song
Shortly after fainting inside the ritual room from the first chapter, Henry awakens as he stood back up and pick up his axe, using it to break the boards off the door and enter the downstairs to the next lower level, only to discover even more sinister work that was left by Joey Drew.
Chapter 3: Rise and Fall
It begins with opening up a dissonance of Henry’s voice, repeating the same line he gave at the beginning of the first chapter. Henry regains back his consciousness after the elevator crash. Henry’s main mission is to navigate further and rescue Boris from Twisted Alice. He ventures into the archives and discovers a lounge filled with the Lost Ones, ink creatures just like the Searchers.
Chapter 4: Colossal Wonders
It begins with opening up a dissonance of Henry’s voice, repeating the same line he gave at the beginning of the first chapter. Henry regains back his consciousness after the elevator crash. Henry’s main mission is to navigate further and rescue Boris from Twisted Alice. He ventures into the archives and discovers a lounge filled with the Lost Ones, ink creatures just like the Searchers.
Chapter 5: The Last Reel
The chapter starts with Henry waking up in a bed at Tom and Allison’s hideout. He is locked in a prison because Tom distrusts him. Henry comments on the song Allison is singing, claiming he recognizes it. Eventually, Allison, now trusting Henry, gives him a piece of glass known as the seeing tool that reveals hidden messages throughout the world when Henry looks through it. During a conversation between Tom and Allison, Allison explains that The Ink Demon has found the hideout and that they need to escape. Allison and Tom escape and leave Henry behind, unable to get him out in time.
Chapter ?: The Archives
“Bendy and the Ink Machine” began when the developer/cartoonist known as theMeatly experimented with bringing a sketched 2D style into a 3D world. After turning the idea into a horror game, Chapter One of the game was created in a little under a week with programmer/friend Mike Mood and released on February 10th in 2017. Much to their surprise, it struck a chord with global indie gamers almost overnight. theMeatly and Mike Mood decided to drop all other projects to work on Bendy and tell a most unique ink story.
Development
The idea for Bendy and the Ink Machine came from TheMeatly pondering the idea of a world that resembled a cartoon sketch. As he started developing the idea, he realized that it felt “creepy” and needed a monster that inhabited it. Bendy was created to be that monster, but did not have a name. When the character finally received a 3D model, the name was chosen from a typo while saving it in a 3D modeling program, Blender. TheMeatly was not a programmer and thus Mike Mood joined the production as he saw potential in the game.[Bendy andthe Ink Machine was inspired by the BioShock series.