Review Bendy and the Ink Machine (PC)

Hey everyone! It's time for my first review here and I will start with Bendy and the Ink Machine. The first Chpater got released 2017 and the game is finished since the end of 2018. It isn't comparable to other Horror games like Resident Evil, because BatIM focuses on atmosphere and not on action. I will judge the game in a similar way as Wizard judged Persona 5, but I will also tell you how hard it is to do a 100% playthrough (This part won't effect the results. It is just an extra). Let's start:

Plot:
Your name is Henry and you worked on one of the most successful cartoons ever "Bendy the little demon", but you stopped working on it, because you want to have more time for your family. One day you recive a letter which was written by your old friend Joey who wants you to visit the old workshop. You accept, but after entering the building you notice that no one is there. You look around a little bit and find a gigantic ink machine. Later a scary looking creature appears and hunts you. You are rushing back to the exit, but the door is closed so you need to find a different way out. Later in the game you find out that your friend Joey tried to make "Living Cartoons" with the ink machine, but most of them got mutated and took over the office.

Spoiler: Ending spoiler

I liked the idea that you need to show Bendy a cartoon which just says "The End" to defeat him, but the reunion with Joey was pretty lame. It wasn't bad, but it couldn't keep up with the rest of the game

A pretty solid story imo. Not a blockbuster, but it surely is above average compared to other horror games which mostly rely only on the scary aspect. I like the idea that the creator needs to fight his own creations and the audio logs around the chapters give the character more depth.

Gameplay:
Basic horror-game stuff:
Walk around, solve puzzles, run away, hide or fight
BatIM does nothing new compared to other indie horror games which isn't bad. One thing I really disliked was the fighting system. There wasn't much depth to it. The best way was to spam leftmouse and that's it. I prefer running away from monster in horror-games, because it shows that the protag is in actual trouble.

Puzzles:
Like the Gameplay nothing revelutionary. Mostly you were searching for gears, ink or other stuff to open the next door, BUT it didn't result in alot of backtracking which is pretty nice.

Graphics:
At this part BatIM is superior compared to every other horror-games. Everything is in a nice 30s Cartoon look. The enemies stick out with their dark colors and terrifying designs which are really well designed. There is nothing bad you can say about this part, it is just perfect.

Sound (Music):
Really well made music based on old-school cartoons combined with Fitting horror sounds. Every track is a masterpiece and fits perfectly to the game's world. Nothing to criticise.

Voice Acting:
It actually has voice acting which is really uncommon for indie horror-games. You mostly hear Henry talking, but there are also many audio tapes which actually sound like someone recorded this with an old recorder. The actors do a great job and give the characters alot more personality.

Length (Content):
I needed 6 hours to see the ending credits. For the prize of around 17 euro, this i a good amount of content. (If I really go for the 100% playthrough, I will probably have around 15 hours of playtime.) In my opinion you get a good amout of content for a fair prize.

Horror (scariness):
The first three chapters offer a really nice Horror atmosphere, without having a jumpscare behind every corner. Later the game gets a little bit too combat focused in my opinion. The enemies are well designed and are indeed scary, but after seeing the same enemy hundreds of times, it gets a little bit boring.

Achievements:
I currently have 65% of all Achievements, just by playing the game. You will probably get around 50% just by getting the story based ones. While most of them have nice ideas, some feel really random. For example: Every Chapter has a achievement where you need to do specific story based actions, but you don't know which of them. After doing them, you can walk through ONE wall. Behind this wall is a doodle.(this gives you the achievement).

Score factors:
Plot: 9/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Puzzles: 8/10
Graphics: 10/10
Music: 10/10
Voice Acting: 9/10
Lenght: 9/10
Horror: 8/10
Fun: 9/10
Memorable: 10/10

Total Score: 90/100
Bendy and the Ink Machine is one of the best indie horror-games out there and is a must-play.
The graphics and the music are beautiful and make this game an unique and awesome experience.

Top 3 resons why you should play it:
The graphics
The music
The atmoshere overall

Top 3 excuses for not playing it:
The combat system is boring
Some achievements are annoying and random
Fans of hardcore horror will be disappointed