Bendy and the Ink Machine
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Bendy and the Ink Machine
Bendy and the Ink Machine has plenty going for it as a new horror instalment on Nintendo Switch – such as the way it builds a growing sense of dread and despair throughout its five chapters while using an animation style that's meant to evoke the safety and joy of childhood memories – but it's let down by some irritating design decisions and frustrating performance issues. Still, if you really do love your horror and want something that ticks all the boxes of a modern scarefest, Bendy and the Ink Machine is still a worthy descent into madness.
As much as it tried my patience at times, I definitely enjoyed my time with Bendy and the Ink Machine. What seemed to start as a side project is on the way to becoming a full-blown franchise, and there's enough narrative juice here to sustain it for sure. A little more time in the oven for whatever comes next will go a long way, and with the backing of Rooster Teeth Games, perhaps that's exactly what will happen. There's a lot more here than cartoon demons popping out at you from behind corners to make you scream on your Twitch stream, and it's that ambition that makes Bendy a worthwhile game for horror junkies.
For any audience, adults or children, Bendy offers nothing but some cool visuals. It's most enjoyed by looking at screenshots and ending your experience there.
Bendy and the Ink Machine takes players down a corrupted nostalgia trip, full of old school cartoon characters mixed with twisted horror. Exploration, puzzle solving, and the occasional fight are the name of the game, even if the save system could be better. If you don't enter Joey Drew Studios for the gameplay, you'll be enthralled by the story.
A unique and creative horror game filled with boring puzzles and clunky combat
Playing through Bendy and the Ink Machine was like dropping a tab of bad Acid and then getting hopelessly lost wandering around a bootleg Euro-Disney… But in a good way, if you feel me?
Gorgeous presentation and some genuinely creepy moments just about manage to outweigh the conventional, and mildly dated gameplay.
However, if you do choose to play Bendy and the Ink Machine, you’ll experience an environment that is crafted well, characters that are interesting, and a story that speaks well about how art that starts with the best of intentions can easily turn into a monster over time
