Bendy and the Ink Machine

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Return to a 1930s cartoon studio where the ink has come alive.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, iPhone, Android
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (89% of 37,262 reviews)
Length: about 5 to 6 hours
Players: 1
Made by: Joey Drew Studios
Released: 2017

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What frightens A 1930s cartoon studio has become a nightmare of dripping ink, where the grinning mascot Bendy stalks you as a melting Ink Demon and the studio's other characters return as warped, ink-soaked things.
Content: jumpscares, violence, disturbing imagery.

A first-person puzzle horror game set in the abandoned animation workshop of Joey Drew Studios. Retired animator Henry comes back at his old boss's invitation and finds the building flooded with ink and the cartoons he drew turned into monsters. You explore, solve puzzles and hide from the Ink Demon across five chapters.

About Bendy and the Ink Machine

Bendy and the Ink Machine was made by Joey Drew Studios and released in episodes from 2017 to 2018 on PC, then on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, iPhone and Android. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions followed in 2025.

You play Henry, an animator who left Joey Drew Studios many years earlier. A letter from Joey brings him back, and he finds the old workshop silent, dripping and changed. The whole game is drawn in the sepia, rubber-hose look of 1930s cartoons, with posters, cut-outs and songs for Bendy the dancing demon and his friends Boris the wolf and Alice Angel.

You walk the studio in first person, collecting items for each chapter's tasks, turning valves and pulling switches, and solving puzzles that unlock deeper floors. Ink creatures called Searchers rise from puddles, a few chapters hand you an axe or other tools to fight them, and when the Ink Demon arrives the screen darkens with ink and you must run or hide in a Little Miracle Station.

The horror lies in the contrast between cheerful cartoons and what they have become: a smiling mascot that melts into something hunting you, tapes that tell of the studio's dark past, and a building that grows stranger the deeper you go. It is a good step into horror for younger teens, with jumpscares and dread but little gore, and fans who finish it can go on to Bendy and the Dark Revival.

How to play Bendy and the Ink Machine

Explore each chapter, reading signs and listening to audio tapes about the studio's past.
Collect the items each task asks for and place them where they belong.
Turn valves, pull switches and solve puzzles to open the way forward.
Fight ink Searchers with the weapons the chapter gives you.
When the Ink Demon appears and ink covers the screen, run or hide in a Little Miracle Station until it passes.

Screenshots

Bendy and the Ink Machine screenshot: a sepia music room with chairs and a Bendy cartoon playing on the screen

Bendy and the Ink Machine screenshot: an ink-splattered signpost pointing to The Demon and The Angel in a wooden corridor

Bendy and the Ink Machine screenshot: a narrow studio corridor with a Bendy poster and ink on the floor

Tips

Listen to every tape; they explain the studio's story and point to secrets.
Bacon soup cans are scattered around; they are often part of tasks or achievements.
When the screen starts to drip with ink, move away from the Ink Demon at once.
Look for Bendy cut-outs and hidden items between rooms; the game rewards curiosity.