Bendy and the Ink Machine

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 51
  3. Negative: 10 out of 51
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. StefanATG
    Nov 14, 2022
    10
    Great art-style, great back-story, great world-building, i love it
    While gameplay is a little lackluster, it makes you feel more grounded.
  2. Gamesfor
    Nov 22, 2022
    10
    The game has a really cool looking art style and I like the characters, the game has a lot of interesting secrets all over the place that are satisfying to find.
  3. Blockhead100
    Nov 22, 2022
    10
    This game may feel dated now but it definitely had a big influence in indie gaming for the horror genre, not really a bad start for a studios first full game.
  4. Heyo
    Nov 22, 2022
    10
    A horror game with characters based around a very old era of animation with the possession of ink is really cool. The atmosphere is great and the horror is really subtle.
  5. Dapperfolk
    Nov 22, 2022
    10
    This game has a really nice sketchy textures, it’s impressive how every asset is hand drawn. The music is great and fits the era nicely. I love the atmospheric horror tone the game sets. The combat is a little clunky though.
  6. RodentSqueak
    Nov 22, 2022
    10
    I really like this games story, it tackles work place conditions really well, the sketchy sepia toned art style is really iconic, and the monsters look pretty creepy at times.
  7. Mamadand
    Aug 24, 2020
    10
    Nice story nice game play must play
    Game atmosphere was awesome and full of fealings and characters are so well done wirten
  8. Letlive
    Sep 18, 2019
    8
    Very cool game. The art is cool and the story is interesting. I like the slight trippy side to it. I wish the ending was a little more in depth though. But I Loved seeing all the weird things in this game
  9. Leonidmalkoff
    Feb 9, 2020
    10
    Игра которая удивила почти всех на ПК и заставила теоретиков размышлять о сюжете игры.
  10. davidthesloth
    Jul 22, 2021
    8
    Very interesting indie horror game with a unique aesthetic. Interesting story and characters that really immerse you in this devilishly inky game. Sometimes combat feels a little off and clunky but apart from that the game has no major problems. The only problem I ever encountered was when I was attempting to collect all the bacon soup (which has to be done in a single playthrough, withoutVery interesting indie horror game with a unique aesthetic. Interesting story and characters that really immerse you in this devilishly inky game. Sometimes combat feels a little off and clunky but apart from that the game has no major problems. The only problem I ever encountered was when I was attempting to collect all the bacon soup (which has to be done in a single playthrough, without taking breaks, which is quite annoying) and I encountered a glitch that made my character fall through the floor which meant I had to restart my playthrough again as you cannot use checkpoints. However, the game is a short and sweet and is overall a good time with it's alluring and fascinating style and character design while accompanying some very tense moments scattered throughout the game.… Expand
  11. SpeedyTurtleYT
    Jan 22, 2022
    10
    very good game! should deserve a bigger audience. models are unique. The game is quite surprising.
  12. MoonRunners
    Jan 22, 2022
    8
    Very true to its nature. Great atmospheric moments of loneliness and journey. For the price, gameplay, and if looking through its collectibles, you’ll be intrigued into it’s story; if you put the time and effort that is needed. Some odd movement nor minor bland combat yet it still doesn’t smudge what potential this game offers. I highly recommend for sure.
  13. Dandiesal
    Oct 15, 2020
    8
    This game is a ton of fun, it has a cool, unique feel to it. At times it can feel a bit slow, but the atmosphere, assets, and music all make up for it.
  14. thatguywhoshere
    Dec 2, 2018
    6
    Good news: the majority of issues posted in my previous review have since been fixed. Transparency has been fixed, meaning fully transparent objects no longer look like awkward semi-transparent black grids. A save feature has also finally been incorporated, meaning you could now save your progress at any time. However, the camera moving by itself is still a big issue (and turning off theGood news: the majority of issues posted in my previous review have since been fixed. Transparency has been fixed, meaning fully transparent objects no longer look like awkward semi-transparent black grids. A save feature has also finally been incorporated, meaning you could now save your progress at any time. However, the camera moving by itself is still a big issue (and turning off the newly added "camera control" feature doesn't work), and the frame rate still is not ideal. While I still enjoy the game and am more likely to play it now that it has been fixed, these shortcomings are still very disappointing, and fixing these issues would easily nail an 8/10 from me.… Expand
  15. inmh
    Mar 12, 2019
    8
    This was a fun one! Wasn't sure exactly what I was getting when I got into it (I only knew about the game's general ~aesthetic~ going into it) but it was scarier than I thought it would be.

    Only complaint is that there were quite a few pain-in-the-ass moments where it was teeth-grittingly irritating to get past enemies. One particularly aggravating moment was the few times I had to    This was a fun one! Wasn't sure exactly what I was getting when I got into it (I only knew about the game's general ~aesthetic~ going into it) but it was scarier than I thought it would be.

    Only complaint is that there were quite a few pain-in-the-ass moments where it was teeth-grittingly irritating to get past enemies. One particularly aggravating moment was the few times I had to reboot my save because the little group-battle you have with the angel-girl and the dog-guy (can't remember their names) against those ink-monsters . For some reason it didn't seem to let me kill the last monster; the game had a few odd glitches here and there that were aggravating. But overall, not bad.    … Expand
  16. TsundereGoddess
    Aug 16, 2019
    9
    I really enjoyed playing this game. The puzzles were complex, the plot kept me interested for most of the game, and I especially loved the characters.
  17. Kiska_Adventure
    Aug 2, 2021
    10
    Игра 10 чернильных супов, из 10. Игра, революция в Индии-Хорроров на Юнити...
  18. Gmjh
    Nov 21, 2018
    10
    Great atmosphere, great setting, nice puzzles. And there is a save feature. It saves automatically
  19. euphoricmonkey
    Nov 23, 2018
    3
    Echoing "thatguywhoshere"s review. this is a great concept for a game. however, the PS4 port is a truly lazy effort. panning left and right is a judding mess and really detracts from the immersion of the game. this makes the fights (which are not hard) / running about and searching/clicking for/on objects a bit of a headache with the controller.

    Pity. Don't buy it until this is    Echoing "thatguywhoshere"s review. this is a great concept for a game. however, the PS4 port is a truly lazy effort. panning left and right is a judding mess and really detracts from the immersion of the game. this makes the fights (which are not hard) / running about and searching/clicking for/on objects a bit of a headache with the controller.

    Pity. Don't buy it until this is fixed. it'll just wind you up...    … Expand
  20. ClintOlympic
    Mar 19, 2019
    4
    The art style is appealing from afar (as in the box art and trailers) but when playing it is not so much. A couple of scenes with the character 'Boris' are charming and well animated yet such moments don't happen often enough. This game lacks content even aesthetically; reused assets throughout, most of the game is the same colour and of the assets that are here there seemingly is notThe art style is appealing from afar (as in the box art and trailers) but when playing it is not so much. A couple of scenes with the character 'Boris' are charming and well animated yet such moments don't happen often enough. This game lacks content even aesthetically; reused assets throughout, most of the game is the same colour and of the assets that are here there seemingly is not many of them. A shame for a narrative driven, first person game to have missed an opportunity to create a rich and immersive environment.
    I expected something similar to Layers of Fear, Observer, Amnesia etc but Bendy and the Ink Machine has nothing close to the amount of detail that those games do.

    Stuttering camera movement (possibly frame rate related) which I did get used to after 5 minutes, scenarios are bland as are the puzzles and the horror aspects have little weight. Voice acting is cheesy and full of cliche the story telling is also not well polished.

    It was a chore to play, a shame as it promised much at first glance and I really did want to enjoy it.

    A case of style above substance yet the style is not that interesting.    … Expand
  21. Giulinho99
    Jul 22, 2020
    2
    La trama non è particolarmente avvincente. Buona l'idea dei disegni anni '20 con l'inchiostro ma sbagliato tutto il resto, in primis il gameplay con comandi lenti e macchinosi. Capitoli abbastanza brevi ed alcuni del tutto insulsi. Con quella che era la base di partenza si poteva fare molto meglio.
  22. Chaosfahrer44
    Dec 19, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I‘ll make it quick and short:
    It‘s just horrible.
    Don‘t buy it, its not worth the money    … Expand
  23. TheMike577
    May 24, 2019
    7
    Bendy is a good game, great story, various puzzles, but The console version have pretty weak graphics, but It still an awesome game
  24. Flexosuarous
    Feb 11, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What an interesting game! I loved the old-timey cartoon aesthetic, and the multiple cartoonish characters that inhabited the work studio. I had no idea what this game was, but upon learning that it was a horror game I knew I had to try it. I didn't hate the game, I actually like it quite a bit, but it did fall somewhat short of my expectations.

    Pros:

    - The world and setting were incredibly unique and really made me want to know just exactly what was going on.

    - the sound mixing was very effective in complimenting the grim and creepy environment.

    - Boris the wolf is my favorite part of this game, I'm pretty sure he's my spirit animal.

    - Very inspired art direction, gave me some major cuphead vibes... it was like cuphead meets Outlast. I may be alone in that regard but this is MY review >_<

    - Having the walls become caked in ink, signaling the presence of the ink demon was truly terrifying and really got my blood pumping

    Cons:

    - The gameplay was pretty inconsistent, hiding isn't introduced until halfway through the game, there isn't any combat in the first chapter, weapons are constantly lost. Many of the chapters would feel like isolated experiences if it weren't for the narrative holding it together.

    - I compared the game to outlast earlier, but this game probably could have benefitted by taking more from outlast. Hiding from an enemy while in their direct line of sight only for them to give up and walk away felt a bit cheap. Although the running is really slow in this game so I guess it makes sense to do it that way.

    -The story had a rather silly ending, and characters were not explored as much as I had hoped. I would have loved to see regular cartoon bendy be implemented in some way into the story, and more explanation for the little glass thing that lets you see hidden messages. I wanted to know why there was a good alice and a bad alice. I wanted to know how the workshop became so gargantuan as I descended into a cave-like setting. The game left me with more questions than answers and I'm not a fan of stories like that unless the answers are meant to be explained in a sequel - but this game doesn't really set up a sequel.

    All that being said, I know there's a sequel on the way... or perhaps a prequel? Many of my issues may be fixed in the next installment, and I enjoyed Bendy enough to give it a try when it launches. Bendy was not a terrible game, it wasn't even that bad, but no where near as good as I hoped it would be. Completing the game and unlocking all the trophies was a bit annoying at times, but that is a personal con that I did not feel like including in my consideration of the games numbered score.

    Overall I didn't hate it enough to give it a six, and I didn't like it enough to give it an 8 so 7/10. The games world, atmosphere, sound mixing, and very inspired concept went a long way with me, but the gameplay fell a bit flat. Pretty good for a hastily made game from a very small group of dedicated and inspired developers. Props to the dev team!    … Expand
  25. Youchlol
    Sep 29, 2020
    7
    That game has some creativity, but the bad factor is that it doesn't do anything beyond play it safe. The story turned out to be pretty bad, the jump scares are decent at best, and Henry shows emotions as much as a rock! However, there are some good things about it, the settings makes is look both calm and scary, the game has some exciting moments and some of the creativity is very good.That game has some creativity, but the bad factor is that it doesn't do anything beyond play it safe. The story turned out to be pretty bad, the jump scares are decent at best, and Henry shows emotions as much as a rock! However, there are some good things about it, the settings makes is look both calm and scary, the game has some exciting moments and some of the creativity is very good. This is a recommendation from me if you wants something that is good, not anything beyond that but good enough to be enjoyable.… Expand
  26. lobster990
    Dec 4, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game has a very interesting visual style, but the gameplay is flawed. The first 2 chapters are around 30 minutes each with the latter 3 being around an hour or two each depending mostly on
    RNG. The concept is interesting, but the plot is not all that compelling what with Henry falling through floors at least 3 times losing progress artificially. Stale enemy types are present, with only 6-7 enemy types in the game, 3 of which are used as game padding in most areas. You constantly lose your weapon and have to rely on cabinets to duck into and hide from things, which is frustrating because the enemies that aren't boss enemies take maybe 1-2 hits from most of the weapons. Ink Demon's spawn rate is very random, the Projectionist is actually the flash. and the Butcher Gang are omnipotent. Not to mention that the button mapping is confusing (the game never tells you how to sprint, you cannot sprint for very long without having to mash the stick again to begin sprinting. It peaks at chapter 3, where you have moments where you and Boris have to use each other to progress, most of the rest of the game are fetch quests, which are fine when used sparingly but it's most every mission in the game. The game's color pallet is mostly ugly browns and tans, which isn't super realistic for an animation studio, they don't make buildings out of just wood and nails anymore. The voice acting is full of issues, with the only really good characters voiced being Twisted Alice and Joey Drew, hell they even put a youtuber into the game's voice cast. No real replay value and overall just an average game experience. Play Amnesia or Resident Evil over this title    … Expand
  27. futureblues
    Jun 7, 2022
    0
    Broken. It will randomly delete your save.

    Completely unplayable. The devs need to complete this game, but they're working on a new one, where's the logic?
  28. SFproductions
    Nov 19, 2022
    7
    this game is pretty damn cool and it's short and sweet just like MY ink machine
  29. Xattyok
    Jan 8, 2023
    10
    Это прекрасно. Это просто одна из лучших хоррор игр в истории, боёвка, длительность прохождения, персонажи, оригинальный стиль, задумка. Но нет кто-то всё равно ненавидит игру из-за большого количества уровней. Чел, ты действительно не можешь найти еscape, чтобы понять, на какой уровень тебе надо? Через лифт их всего семь. Кто-то пишет, что игру продают для детей, хотя указано как раз дляЭто прекрасно. Это просто одна из лучших хоррор игр в истории, боёвка, длительность прохождения, персонажи, оригинальный стиль, задумка. Но нет кто-то всё равно ненавидит игру из-за большого количества уровней. Чел, ты действительно не можешь найти еscape, чтобы понять, на какой уровень тебе надо? Через лифт их всего семь. Кто-то пишет, что игру продают для детей, хотя указано как раз для таких дебилов, что она продаётся как минимум для подростков как раз с 13 лет, дурак. Кому-то не нравится стиль боёвки. Это хоррор, а не боевик, это хоррор. Там на боёвку почти внимания не отдавали, а вот как хоррор игра справляется на ура. А если вам не нравится порт на PS4, играйте на ПК. Другому не понравились стены. Это стиль. Это стиль игры. Основанный на мультиках 1930-50 годов, где как раз только такая цветовая гамма и была. Это тебе не Amnesia, это тебе не реальный мир, а мультяшный, где только такие цвета и имеются. Другой даже аргументов не привёл, уже уверен, что там бабка такая: фу, игра ужасна потому-что демоны плохо зло фу. Или опять он на стиль жалуется. ЭТО МУЛЬТИКИ ПЕРВОЙ ПОЛОВИНЫ 20-го ВЕКА, ЧТО ВЫ ХОТИТЕ, ДЕБИЛЫ? Последний жалуется, что игра сломана. Если у меня всё было нормально, то почему у тебя нет?… Expand
  30. kaikovsk
    Feb 18, 2023
    7
    O jogo é bom, mais poderia ser melhor no PS4, infelizmente o jogo não está em português, e tem alguns bugs que atrapalha na gameplay, pelo preço, não acho q vale a pena, mais mesmo assim é um bom jogo

Awards & Rankings

85
#85 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jan 27, 2019
    50
    Proof that style is no substitute for substance. [Issue#158, p.95]
  2. Worth Playing
    Dec 21, 2018
    95
    Unique puzzles and collectibles encourage exploration and advance the story to keep players engaged. It's an unorthodox type of horror game, but Bendy and the Ink Machine utilizes two opposite genres that complement each other to create a solid title. The use of cartoon characters in a horror atmosphere blends the purity of animated characters with the terrifying ideals of a scientist gone mad. As we progress, we learn sad truths behind the animation team that led to the spiraling downfall of innocent people. Bendy and the Ink Machine may be a sleeper hit, but it's worth any survival-horror fan's time.
    Read full review
  3. GameCritics
    Dec 18, 2018
    65
    Overall, I’ll fondly remember my time with Bendy and the Ink Machine. It’s a dark world with fantastic aesthetics and a compelling, if tritely-told narrative. While the horror tropes of revenge, abandoned places, and jump scares may be a bit cliché and the tension loses some punch at key moments, the exploration of a long-dark studio and the menace of creatures of black ink will stay with me.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »