Bendy Series Review (Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo & PC)

Bendy is a lot like a Rorschach test, in that it openly showcases a flip book of inkblots and doodles, and then asks you, the quill bearer without an illustrative backbone to launder your perceptive thoughts, to decipher its value, its subliminal context and, more generally, its relationship with your inner monologue. The major difference here, of course, is that the inky spillages and tar-like waters aren’t static images on a page, but active, sentient animated characters with a murky conscience and a false sense of belonging in a world that has no additional space in the binder. The ink tells a story — but it also gives you the illusion that you’re a lot safer than you actually are. The ink is an accomplice, but it is also a demonic weapon that takes just one small spill to temper. But that’s just Bendy, in a nutshell: ink-drizzled weirdness with a splash of old-school horror and some mixed infusions of Bioshock.

To make it easier to understand, ink isn’t bad; it’s a mixture between good and evil, with some blots on the page being morally dubious, and some of them being outright downtrodden and advocates for the art of vengeance. The series, however, doesn’t put you on the fence with either of the two ink factions; it reels you into the contorted corridors of an old animation studio as a wayward individual, and it informs you that, in order to escape a perpetual conflict between sentient sketchbook mascots, you must travel forth into the inner workings of an animation tycoon and prevent an ink machine from spreading its influence across multiple boroughs. You don’t always know why you’re there, or even what it is that you’re trying to accomplish a lot of the time. No, all you know is that the ink has prominence, and that there’s a demon with a god complex stalking the corridors of a dream-like world of sepia blemishes and tarry substances.

Of Ink and Demons

Although without the gift of context, Bendy does in fact manage to do an excellent job of laying the groundwork for an original idea with all of the benchmark elements of a 1930s cartoon, complete with the oddly familiar white gloves and grimacing mascots, charcoal landscapes and eerily reminiscent costumes that you might just find in a vintage box. I suppose, if anything, it finds its place somewhere between an old-school cartoon and a modern puzzle-horror game—a middle class that, to my knowledge, hasn’t been explored all that much yet. It’s a little bit of Bad Cheese, a little of Bioshock, and just a slither of Poppy Playtime.  But, it’s also a lot more than that; it’s a unique series that does a lot to illuminate its greatest facets, with an original roster of characters, and not to mention a fresh setting to broaden its appeal as an experimental piece of art. But more on that shortly.

For the most part, Bendy plays out like a traditional first-person puzzle-horror, with melee combat, chase sequences, and environmental puzzles consuming a good ninety percent of each chapter. Think Bioshock, but replace the sunken metropolis for an animation studio, and perhaps the ADAM-deprived splicers for inky monstrosities, and you ought to have a vague idea of what we’re talking about here. That, in short, is the foundation from which the series builds its story and constructs its gameplay. And you know what? Even with a few striking similarities and pigeon holes that share the same nexus as other notable IPs, the fact is, there is an incredibly promising blueprint with a lot of potential here.

Ink Blots & Blemishes

While Bendy doesn’t offer a lot of intense encounters with the famed Ink Demon, much less thrilling chase sequences that can keep you on your hind legs over the course of its relatively short campaigns, the series does make for a surprisingly good action-focused saga with a ton of solid moments. The combat, although a little on the nose and reminiscent of Bioshock’s elementally charged palette, is a lot of fun to work through, as are the puzzles and side quests that make up a huge chunk of each iteration. Granted, it isn’t so much of a full-blown horror as it is an experimental action series with the occasional fright, but that isn’t a major issue. However, to call it a horror might be a bit of an exaggeration; it’s a nod to disturbing animation, but that’s about as far as it goes.

Given its perpetual nature, Bendy has a good amount of space to maneuver around should it ever decide to continue with its sketchbook monopolization. As a series, it has that breathing space to cloak multiple timelines and plot points, character arcs and villains. Frankly, it has the tools and the power; all it needs is a little extra ink to finesse the formula and iron over a few technical issues. If it can make the combat feel a little greasier, for example, then to be honest, there’s nothing that can prevent it from ascending to the apex of mascot “horrors.”

Verdict

Bendy delivers all of the blotches and blemishes of an original sketchbook anthology with its reminiscent Steamboat Willy-like elements and a classically crafted yet surprisingly complex design that harkens back to the golden age of Bioshock. Aside from a handful of “borrowed” ideas, though, Bendy and the Ink Machine more or less has the infrastructure to elevate its own identity as a standalone horror series with all of the necessary nostalgia fodder, to boot. And I truly hope that it does continue to propel its image, too, as it has the organic roots of a franchise with a tremendously long shelf life, as well as the moral support of its fan base to keep its quill wet and its ink pot full.

To cut a long story short, if you do happen to enjoy “unusual” mascot horrors that lean into century-old aesthetics and vintage animation tropes, then the truth is, you probably won’t find another anthology that captures the collective essence as well as Bendy. It might not do a lot for you if you’re actively seeking a compelling storyline with all of the twists and turns of an A-list action thriller. That said, with some quality mascots and well-orchestrated jump scares, provoking puzzles and a janky yet oddly effective combat system, it brings a good amount to the table for you to ponder. It isn’t the best horror series you will ever play, but it’s certainly one of the most memorable — and that’s saying something.