Bendy and the Ink Machine (XS)

by
Lee Mehr
, posted 11 hours ago / 643 Views

Typically, a developer naming the in-universe Disney knockoff after itself is enough to suspect self-aggrandizement to the nth degree; given the darker underbelly within (fictional) Joey Drew Studios, that accusation doesn’t quite stick.  Whether more out of simplicity or something else, the core concept is quite familiar in today’s age: what if Mickey Mouse was a horror villain?  I know, I know!  Given the recent gamut of feculent sludge running with that premise for other beloved childhood characters (Winnie the Pooh, etc.), Bendy and the Ink Machine is off to a rough start.  To (real-life) Joey Drew Studios’ credit, at least this is an original work.

Step into the shoes of Henry Stein, co-founder and retired animator for (fictional) Joey Drew Studios.  After being requested to check out the old workshop, Henry stumbles upon a dilapidated version of his old work: it seems abandoned, foreboding ink-stained messages are scrawled on the walls, and there’s a mutilated corpse of… a Bendy show character that was seemingly brought to life.  It’s a T-rated BioShock opening that’s only missing a recorded monologue asking “is an animator not due the sweat of his brow?”  Naturally, this also means other secrets are buried within these walls, and the only way out is through.

Unlike that comparison, however, Ink Machine’s opening doesn’t sell you on the mystery as well as it should; in fact, it’s more confusing than intriguing in design and story.  Just being plopped into this horrific scene where Boris the Wolf (Goofy copycat) is gutted and ink is dripping from the walls is more about eliciting shock value than narrative cohesion.  It also gets rather “video-gamey” by demanding a ritualistic sacrifice of certain items in order to actuate The Ink Machine.  These two criticisms have in-game explanations, but my driving point is geared towards how that context is mismanaged and – ultimately – unfulfilling.

Grabbing any horror elements within reach is essentially its status quo.  At first glance, inspirations from Condemned, Outlast, and Alien: Isolation are all mashed into a lumpy soup.  As with its BioShock-esque opening, there’s a danger in simply incorporating cool things you like and expecting the same result.  There’s a reason Outlast’s run-n-hide system enthralled audiences; there’s a reason Condemned’s melee system and tension was widely praised; there’s a reason Alien: Isolation’s Xenomorph is still praised in retrospectives today.  They all captured a specific design ethos and ran with it as far as the team’s budget and/or creativity allowed.

Yo-yoing between these popular templates for a chapter or setpiece can’t help but highlight how flimsy and hollow they seem by comparison.  Any tension in chases fizzles away once you notice going into a locker – even if the pursuer sees you do it from five feet away – immediately resets patrol patterns.  Thwacking ink enemies with any weapon feels kinesthetically lifeless and unpolished; moreover, there’s nothing else to it besides back-pedaling and swinging.  And though having a perpetually patrolling adversary adds a layer of tension, it’s far easier to avoid him compared to Ink Machine’s horror contemporaries.  Another Bendy show character, Alice Angel, warns about how your sprinting or fighting lures The Ink Demon your way, but hiding in lockers seems to reset him as well.
 
Once past the “Horror Disney” premise, Ink Machine does find a few narrative nuances.  There’s still a grab-bag of other game influences, like the aforementioned BioShock, but some of those creative tweaks at least touch on a more interesting intrigue – even if you can predict the big picture a mile away.  The problems, though, are scope and presentation.  Because of how pared-down certain story beats are, there’s not enough room to let certain side characters breathe their own personality; in fact, there’s almost an act’s worth of development missing for the final stretch.  It’s not helped by the fact that roughly half of all recorded audio logs don’t feel consequential nor well-acted.  Certain voice actors seem more interested in doing an old-timey impression, and they hardly ever blend in.

Its clearest presentational success, though, would be its visuals.  Granted, sepia probably wasn’t the best color filter choice – especially since nearby interactables radiate a glowing yellow light – but it can capture a foreboding atmosphere.  The Bendy mascot himself finds that right level of uncanniness in his design: the horns, clutched grip of his gloved hands, the creepy elongated teeth, and eyes that look like two open-mouth Pac-Mans on the other side of a hill.  There’s just enough there to delineate him, alongside some of the other twisted deformities of these off-brand Disney characters.  The modest world does imply a straitened production budget, but there’s just enough background detail to create a tangible atmosphere.

But perhaps that’s not too surprising for a $20 asking price.  You understand where those limited resources go, but are perhaps less sympathetic to the campaign’s runtime.  Even with my attempted thorough exploration, clocking in under 3.5 hours isn’t the best value.  That time does double or triple if accounting for completionist runs; that said, overcompensating with demanding achievements/trophies isn’t a great answer either.

From the top of his sharpened horns to the soles of his feet, Bendy is an inspired analogue of Mickey Mouse with – ironically – a similar marketing function in mind; likewise, Ink Machine ultimately serves as a pastiche of other horror templates.  The reason the former finds greater success than the latter comes down to one thing: focus.  By hastily tracing so many personalities, and oftentimes whipping between them at Mach speed, there’s less time (and less reason) to understand why that gimmick or design ethos made the experience so engaging to begin with.  It’s clear (real-life) Joey Drew Studios has the ambition to build on an intriguing concept; now it just needs better craftsmanship.

Contractor by trade and writer by hobby, Lee’s obnoxious criticisms have found a way to be featured across several gaming sites: N4G, VGChartz, Gaming Nexus, DarkStation, and TechRaptor! He started gaming in the mid-90s and has had the privilege in playing many games across a plethora of platforms. Reader warning: each click given to his articles only helps to inflate his Texas-sized ego. Proceed with caution.

This review is based on a digital copy of Bendy and the Ink Machine for the XSRead more about our Review Methodology here

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