Bendy and the Ink Machine

Bendy and the Ink Machine
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""Bendy and the Ink Machine™" is the first person puzzle  action horror game that will forever ruin you childhood love of cartoons." — Steam's summary.

Bendy and the Ink Machine (abbreviated as BatIM) is an episodic first-person puzzle action horror game developed by Joey Drew Studios Inc. through Kindly Beast, lead by theMeatly and Mike Mood. The game was released on GameJolt and Itch.io on February 10, 2017 and was first officially released on Steam on April 27, 2017. The chapters ran from February 10, 2017 to October 26, 2018.

The game follows Henry Stein, a retired animator who returns to the defunct animation company upon an invitation from his old friend Joey Drew, then later on, he discovers a living nightmare within the studio by chaos of ink, thanks to the titular Ink Machine. Traveling through the deep underground levels under the studio, it reveals more as the chapters proceed.

Chapter 1 was first released on February 10, 2017 on Game Jolt, Itch.io, and Indie DB. Chapter 2 was released on April 18, 2017 along with Chapter 1's first remastered update. Chapter 3 was released on September 28, 2017 along with newer updates on two previous chapters. Chapter 4 was released on April 30, 2018 along with more remastered updates for the three previous chapters. Chapter 5, the final chapter, was released on October 26, 2018 as a part of the completed edition with all chapters merged, including the sixth "extra" chapter.

Summary
"Bendy and the Ink Machine" is a first person puzzle action horror game that begins in the far days past of animation and ends in a very dark future.

Take on the role of Henry, an animator from long ago, returning to a forgotten place he never thought he would see again.

''What follows.. is a mystery.''

Reception
While the game was highly acclaimed by the community, the critic reviews are largely mixed, with aggregating review website GameRankings assigning the PlayStation 4 port a score of 77.50%,[1 ] the Xbox One for 75.00%,[2 ] and Nintendo Switch for 65.00%,[3 ] but the original PC port was not received yet.[4 ] The critic review from Metacritic was not received yet. It receives praise centering on its vintage aesthetic and story. In the months following its release, it quickly gained a cult following from exposure on platforms like YouTube and Twitch. The game has received the "Best Horror Game" award by IGN, and is listed as #1 in "18 Best Horror Games of 2017", while its percent score didn't received from the site yet.[5 ] The mobile port received the "Game of the Day" award on February 23, 2019.[6 ]

"While at times it can come across as pandering to YouTuber jump scare culture, the game offers an intriguing world, aesthetic, and  story that we can't wait to see evolve in future chapters." — Rely on Horror[10 ]

Console Releases
The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One ports were developed and published by Rooster Teeth Games, originally intended to be released on October 26, 2018 while the Nintendo Switch port was scheduled to release on November 20, 2018, but both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One's release dates were pushed to the same date for Nintendo Switch's release.

The mobile console is first hinted by Mike Mood on May 9, 2017.[11 ] On December 15, 2018, a mobile port was announced by theMeatly and Joey Drew Studios Inc., and it was released on December 21, 2018.

Trivia

 * The overall idea of Bendy and the Ink Machine is an inspiration of the game series Bioshock.[1 ]
 * By the release of Chapter 1 and 2, the game was available online on Game Jolt, Itch.io, and Indie DB. On September 12, 2017 before Chapter 3 releases, the available downloads were removed. However by the time when all five chapters were completed, Game Jolt and Itch.io downloads are re-added.
 * Before each chapters' release, theMeatly announced the fanart contest, allowing the fans to submit their fanart for it. The winners' fanart will appear in chapters, and they also received a free copy for the chapter's release.
 * The first fanart contest started on February 16, 2017 and expired on March 2. The three winners were ImaginateKate, MaxInkly, and Poppy May respectively.
 * The second art contest started on April 22. 2017 and expired on June 15, 2017. The six winners were Firion Bifrost, Shannon Marie, Prismahays, Noisypaperdragon, Nao Sasaki, and ChipherBerry respectively.
 * The third art contest started on October 14, 2017 and ended in December 20, 2017. The five winners were ATAT, MissPeya, Merkurfisch, Cary, and Weretoons.
 * The fourth art contest began on September 6, 2018 and ended on October 15, 2018.[1 ] The winners were awarded with an exclusive mystery box filled with Bendy and the Ink Machine merchandise, but their fanart will not appear in Chapter 5 due to content lock while still planned to be added in the game's future update.[2 ]
 * On Twitter, theMeatly thought about an offshoot for the Bendy series' future.[1 ]
 * For a short time from the game's deleted Game Jolt page, the prototype soundtrack was available for download.
 * Mike Mood stated on Twitter that when talking about inverted controls with David Eddings stating he made a special version of the game called "Bendy and the Inverted Machine" with the logo for everything being changed for him.[1 ]
 * The game's tagline "Above all, fear the Machine" seems to be a reference to the first part from one of the Bible verses:
 * "Above all, fear the Lord and worship Him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things He has done for you." - Samuel 12:24 (HCSB)


 * The alternate logo seen on Rooster Teeth's official website is a fanart made by Antonio Balzano (know as TheMasterCreative on DeviantArt). The font used for the alternate logo is called "DK Liquid Embrace."

Bendy and the Ink Machine
Chapter 1: Moving Pictures • Chapter 2: The Old Song • Chapter 3: Rise and Fall • Chapter 4: Colossal Wonders • Chapter 5: The Last Reel • Chapter ?: The Archives (Version History)

Bendy and the Dark Revival
Chapter 1

Other games
Bendy in Nightmare Run (Version History) • Hello Bendy • Demos