4.5/5 ★ – pinksteady's review of Bendy and the Ink Machine.

Wonderfully realised comic horror Another game that I knew nothing about before I played, and I was instantly hooked. I even played this entire thing on my iPhone, using a PS4 controller (sometimes hooked to my TV). The game world is so well realised that I thought this must have been some long-standing franchise that I had stumbled upon. However, as far as I can tell this was a one-off game. I love that feeling when you enter a game world full of lore, character and charm that you feel immediately immersed and want to learn everything about it. That’s how it felt playing Bendy. The game is set in an old animation studio that has been overtaken by an evil ink demon (an accidental creation of the studio owner’s continued experiments with trying to bring his characters to life). You are an ex-founder, returning after decades to find out what happened to the studio and its now-missing employees, and you immediately find yourself embroiled in the goings-on and trying to escape / defeat the demon. I’ve heard people describe this game as creepy-not-scary, but for me that’s being generous - I was scared quite often! The atmosphere is tense and claustrophobic, with a healthy variety of spooky techniques employed to keep you on your toes. The enemies are genuinely creepy, the ever-present threat of the demon appearing genuinely concerning, and you so you are never really safe. The gameplay is varied, engaging and interesting, and it makes for an exciting and challenging experience. Graphically this game is fantastic. The whole thing is in a cartoony style with an old-school yellow filter applied, and I can’t really think of any other game that looks like it. It gave me slight vibes of XIII, for anyone that remembers that great cartoon spy FPS from back in the day. I’d definitely recommend this game.