Bendy and the Ink Machine
Game Information:
Developer: Joey Drew Studios Inc. (formerly known as theMeatly Games)
Publisher: Joey Drew Studios Inc. (console versions published by Rooster Teeth Games)
Platforms and their release dates: Windows, macOS, Linux: Chapters released episodically beginning 10 February 2017; full version (“Complete Edition”) released 27 October 2018 PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch: 20 November 2018 iOS, Android: 21 December 2018 PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S: 9 May 2025
Genres: Survival Horror, First-Person Adventure
Subgenres: Puzzle, Indie Horror, Story-Driven
Introduction
Bendy and the Ink Machine (2017) is a survival horror video game that combines the look of cartoons from the early 1900s. The game uses psychological horror with metafictional storytelling. In this game, you play as a former animator who goes back to his old studio only to find it full of ink as disturbing occurrences take place.
At its core, this game looks at the unsettling ways that art, memory, and ambition are connected when obsession and ambition are allowed to run wild. The sepia-toned, nostalgic look of the visuals and the repetitive nature of the story make what would be the charming side of classic cartoons into an uncomfortable look at the threat obsession holds and the moral ambiguity of the creative process. Bendy and the Ink Machine has been successful because it mixes horror with self-awareness in a way that no other game has. It's both a story experiment and a study of the creative process (The Bendy Wiki).
Synopsis
Set in the abandoned animation studio of Joey Drew Studios, the game introduces us to Henry Stein, a retired animator who receives an enigmatic letter from his former boss, Joey Drew, inviting him back to the studio after years away. Once there, he finds the shop-left creative space decaying; lights flickering, ink seeping from the walls, and strange ritualistic symbols covering the floors. What feels like simply a nostalgic visit quickly becomes a surreal plunge into a nightmare.
As Henry wanders the ink-riddled hallways, Henry discovers audio logs and scraps of notes abandoned by old employees. These pieces reveal that Joey Drew had become obsessed with bringing his cartoon characters back to life using a dark device called the Ink Machine. What started as a promise to “bring cartoons to life” turned into a gruesome experiment in animation and alchemy turning living people into ghoulish ink creatures suspended between two worlds.
In the game’s five chapters, Henry meets several of the famously designed characters from the fictional Bendy cartoon: Bendy (the mascot-turned-monster), Boris the Wolf (first an ally; then exploited), and Alice Angel with contrasting personas of innocence and evil. These characters, formerly two-dimensional, are now tormented combinations of animations and flesh (Arcade Cloud).
The narrative’s non-linear narrative causes a similar disorientation when it comes to distinguishing reality, memory, and delusion. Players are always unsure whether Henry is scientifically stuck in space, mentally reliving a trauma, or spiritually repaying a karmic debt. The similarity of the looping of the floor plan in the studio and the looping of Henry’s journey indicates a purgatorial path he cannot find departure. As the story compels, Bendy and the Ink Machine is not a haunted studio ghost story; rather it serves as meta-commentary on creative control, corporate greed, and artists lingering in the shadows of fame.
Main Characters
Bendy
Initially the studio's beloved mascot, Bendy becomes the Ink Demon, a monstrous figure stalking Henry throughout the studio. As a manifestation of corrupted creativity, he symbolizes the game's core themes of ambition and artistic decay.
Boris the Wolf
A silent companion, Boris is a symbol of loyalty and innocence. However, different versions of Boris appear, including a grotesque version altered by Alice. His cyclical reappearance suggests themes of disposability and victimhood in the animation industry.
Alice Angel
Based on a studio cartoon and voiced by Susie Campbell, Alice's dual personalities represent the fractured identity created by the Ink Machine. One version is sadistic and vain; the other, voiced by Allison Pendle, is compassionate. Jones describes the character her as an uncanny presence that "provokes discomfort through broken femininity and twisted grace" (Jones 25). Through her "uncanny gaze and alignment with the monstrous-feminine, Alice Angel draws attention to how the abject becomes a form of visibility for the oppressed, revealing the tension between beauty, corruption, and the feminine ideal (Jones 33–34). As Sarah Stang explains, horror games often turn femininity into something powerful but frightening when it escapes control (Stang 20–21). Alice Angel weaponizes beauty and voice to unsettle the player, blurring the line between seduction and horror.
Joey Drew
The founder of Joey Drew Studios, Joey embodies both creation and destruction. His obsession with achieving artistic immortality drives him to sacrifice others, turning the studio into a site of corruption and ritual. The Ink Machine becomes the product of his ego; a tool meant to give life but instead spreading decay. Through Joey, the game explores the dangers of unchecked ambition and how the pursuit of perfection can twist creativity into obsession.
Game Design and Music
Inspiration
The developers of Bendy and the Ink Machine, particularly Mike Desjardins, stated that the inspiration for the game came from 1930s cartoons, with many of the elements of the game designed to create a nostalgic yet eerie atmosphere. The use of grainy textures and sepia-toned environments creates a haunting and nostalgic atmosphere, as if you're walking through a sketchbook come alive. Desjardins stated that Bendy began as an experiment in which Mike Desjardins, one of the game's creators, said that it started as an experiment in "walking in a 3D world made of sketches." This concept allowed the developers to combine hand-drawn art with modern digital horror elements (Desjardins). The looped hallways and the ink stained environments are designed to create a sense of being trapped to create tension and suspense. Desjardins states that the team just wanted "to make something cool," which is what this simple design choice is about. Rather they focused on providing an immersive atmosphere, rather than relying on traditional horror elements (Desjardins).
Sound Design
Sound design is another key element that contributes to the overall feeling of immersion in the game. Music, in particular, has been used to create an atmosphere of unease, with period jazz, ambient drones and distorted voice-overs all working together to create emotional contrasts that enhance feelings of anxiety for the viewer. Desjardins credits the community for influencing the layering of sound effects to capture a sense of both nostalgia and dread. He believes that the audio design is still an evolving aspect of the game's emotional storytelling (Villasenor-Baca). Character voices, such as Alice's, help to add depth to the surreal and dreamlike quality of the gameplay experience, adding a sonic element to the game world that vacillates between innocence and malevolence.
Gameplay
Combat’s kept sparse on purpose as players mostly dodge or disable enemies instead of taking them down outright. By focusing more on exploration and atmosphere than action, the game reflects Bernard Perron’s idea that survival horror works best when players constantly shift between “control and vulnerability,” keeping them on edge even when they can fight back (Perron 30–31). Challenges come from the environment instead of direct combat, often requiring players to hunt for items tied to the studio’s story. This blending of gameplay and narrative supports Perron’s point that unclear goals heighten tension by leaving players unsettled (Perron 32).
The game’s design deepens that unease. Health cues and objectives appear naturally within the environment, so players stay immersed instead of reminded they’re in a game. Perron backs this idea too, explaining that fear grows when information stays hidden or incomplete, forcing players to imagine what they can’t see (Perron 29). As Desjardins noted, Bendy isn’t about mastering a system but about being present inside a living artwork rather than controlling it (Villasenor-Baca).
Bendy as a Gothic Game
Bendy and the Ink Machine turns past memories and nostalgia into something darker and more complex. Instead of celebrating old animation styles, the game transforms them into symbols of decay and repetition. Svetlana Boym called this reflective nostalgia; a kind of longing that acknowledges loss instead of trying to restore what’s gone. Joey Drew Studios sits frozen there, where recollection soothes but also lingers like a shadow. Katharine Hawkins calls this mix of allure and discomfort Gothicised nostalgia. Nearly every detail of the environment from the ink-covered hallways, the looping sounds of machinery, and the flickering lights makes the player confront how nostalgia can conceal trauma (Hawkins 4–6). The game’s setting feels alive but broken; a space where time repeats itself and memories refuse to fade
What I find most compelling about this interpretation is how it connects creativity and memory. Bendy and the Ink Machine shows the darker side of creation, where artistic ambition and exploitation blend together. It turns nostalgia into a Gothic experience, one that asks why we romanticize the past even when it hurts. Like Boym suggests, reflecting on the past can reveal the truths we try to forget, and Bendy brings those ghosts back to the surface (Boym).
Autoethnographic
I first saw Bendy and the Ink Machine by watching playthroughs online. The vintage cartoon aesthetic caught my eye at first glance, yet it was the way it reflected the creative process that kept me hooked. Since I dreamed of being an animator when I was younger I loved the concept of this game. Seeing how something that once brought happiness can transform, how imagination once bright and playful can twist into fixation, decay, and dread was the most fascinating part for me.
What grabs my attention in Bendy and the Ink Machine is how it shows creators tied to what they make. Instead of just creating something, you end up shaped by it too. The black ink gives life to the characters, yet rots things from within, kind of like real art-making. When we dump our emotions into projects, those pieces can mirror our hidden doubts, anxieties, or inner mess. This duality hits close to home since I am also a visual art major. Mostly practicing video art and photography. I delve into horror visuals through portraits, makeup special effects, and especially controversial topics. Instead of just showing fear and allure separately, I look at how they grow from the same place emotionally, kind of like Bendy and the Ink Machine does. My goal is to pull people into worlds that spark curiosity but also stir a sense of unease, places that nudge them to face their vulnerability while rethinking what they find attractive. Within that tension lies the truest form of making, at least to me.
Gameplay Walkthough
Works Cited
ArcadeCloud. “Bendy and the Ink Machine in 3 Minutes! | BATIM Animated Summary.” YouTube, 20 Apr. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ-6qF7bzCI. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
Bendy and the Ink Machine — Bendy and the Ink Machine. “Bendy and the Ink Machine.” Bendy and the Ink Machine, 2014, joeydrewstudios.com/batim.
Boym, Svetlana. The Future of Nostalgia. Basic Books, 2001.
“The Co-Creator of Bendy and the Ink Machine Talks Accidental Success.” Game Developer, 2017, www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-co-creator-of-bendy-and-the-ink-machine-talks-accidental-success.
Hawkins, Katharine. “Bending Memory: Gothicising Nostalgia in Bendy and the Ink Machine.” Aeternum: The Journal of Contemporary Gothic Studies, vol. 6, no. 2, Dec. 2019, pp. 1–19.
“Ink Demons & the Indie Canadian Game Scene: An Interview with ‘Bendy and the Ink Machine’ Programmer, Mike Mood.” Con Safos Magazine, 10 Feb. 2018, consafosmag.com/2018/02/10/ink-demons-the-indie-canadian-game-scene-an-interview-with-bendy-and-the-ink-machine-programmer-mike-mood/.
Jones, Ashley P. “Angel Anxiety: Alice Angel as the Uncanny Presence in Bendy and the Ink Machine.” Games and Culture, vol. 19, no. 1, 9 Feb. 2023, pp. 24–37, https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120231153711.
Perron, Bernard. Silent Hill: The Terror Engine. University of Michigan Press, 2012. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv65swb6.
Stang, Sarah. “Shrieking, Biting, and Licking: The Monstrous-Feminine in Video Games.” Press Start, vol. 4, no. 2, 2018, pp. 19–34
The Bendy Wiki. “Bendy and the Ink Machine – The Bendy Wiki.” Bendy Wiki, 5 Dec. 2023, bendy.wiki.gg/wiki/Bendy_and_the_Ink_Machine. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
“Category: Characters.” Bendy Wiki, Fandom, bendy.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Characters. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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