Bendy and the Ink Machine[b] is an episodic survival horror game developed and published by Joey Drew Studios.

In the game, players navigate through a first person perspective and need to complete certain tasks to proceed, such as combat, collecting objects, or solving puzzles.

In the months following its release, the game quickly gained a large following from exposure on platforms like YouTube and Twitch and eventually was approved through Steam Greenlight in mid-2017.

In-game enemies have different strength levels and resilience to damage, forcing players to be tactical about keeping out of reach and striking when necessary.

[10] Henry can retreat inside Little Miracle Stations whenever enemies are nearby in order to recover or remain out of sight.

If he takes too much damage, he can escape from the ink that consumes him and respawn at one of the numerous statues of Bendy that act as checkpoints.

During the final chapter, players unlock the Seeing Tool, which is a device used to view secret hidden messages that would be invisible without it.

Henry finds two valves that lower the ink pressure, one of which is held by a Searcher with a hat (actually the studio's lyricist Jack Fain) that he must defeat.

While approaching the stairs, however, he is knocked out with janitor Wally Frank's dustpan by Sammy, who has turned into an ink humanoid with a Bendy mask.

He finds Boris (who is later revealed to be Joey's protégé and art apprentice Daniel "Buddy" Lewek) and cooks a pot of bacon soup for him in exchange for a lever needed to open the exit.

Meeting Alice, who is torturing one of the monsters, Henry is instructed to complete several tasks for her in exchange for being allowed to escape the studio.

Henry deduces that the haunted house attraction is the way to go and traverses the storage area to find the switches to power the ride up.

He activates the four power switches by playing carnival games, sneaking past the Butcher Gang, destroying an octopus ride with which an ink-corrupted Bertrum has merged himself, and escaping from "the Projectionist," an ink-corrupted creature with a movie projector for a head who was formerly studio projectionist Norman Polk.

Henry manages to escape the prison on his own after discovering a secret room with a weapon behind the wall, thanks to the hidden messages.

It's revealed that the Ink Machine was used in a combination of occult magic and technological alchemy to create real-life mascots for Bendy Land, but Bendy was abandoned in the depths of the studio, as unlike the other creations, which are made from the souls of the staff, he was made from scratch and soulless as a result, locked away in a prison-like throne room filled with cartoons in a vain attempt to imprint the desired traits onto him.

In a post-credits scene, the camera zooms in on a signed picture from Henry of Bendy, Boris and Alice Angel.

[20] Originally, the project was "for fun", according to Mike Mood, but it later became viral and incentivized them to develop a second chapter, "The Old Song", which was officially announced in March 2017 and took six weeks to be finished.

[17][19] It was released on April 18, 2017,[21] and also added a remastered version of the previous chapter, an updated menu, subtitles, achievements, etc.

Originally scheduled for April 28, it was delayed due to technical problems on Steam that disallows to make releases during weekends.

[38] The game received a final bundle on the next day, titled Bendy and the Ink Machine: Complete Edition.

[6] VGCultureHQ said that some range weapons in the second chapter, such as a gun or a slingshot, "would help make lengthy combat sequences feel more fair and less of a risk".

[54] Nintendo Life noted similarities to the feeling of BioShock, from "the revelations that are made of Henry's past to the retro aesthetic that clings to every corner of the game's dilapidated setting".

Many gamers such as Markiplier[59] and Jacksepticeye were seen making "Let's Play" videos of Bendy and the Ink Machine, which reached millions of views.

[55] Some of the most popular fanmade songs were later included in an album entitled "Bendy's Inky Megamix", which was made to help raise donations for United Ways COVID-19 relief charity at Tiltify.

A spin-off called Boris and the Dark Survival was released on February 10, 2020, on Bendy and the Ink Machine's 3-year anniversary.

[74] On October 23, 2018, Joey Drew Studios posted on Twitter an image announcing a joke game, entitled Black Ink Possession, parodying Red Dead Redemption 2.

Co-creator Mike Mood has talked about wanting to do a crossover with Cuphead, which also was popular at around the same time and also uses rubber hose animation.

The player explore Gent's creation, solving puzzles and uncovering mysteries in the realm of Dark Puddles, where past, present, and future intertwine.

In 2020, Derek Kolstad, creator of the John Wick franchise, stated that he has interest in making a television adaptation based on the game.

[94] On October 31, 2024, it was announced through the video that André Øvredal will now directing the film, he said "I promise we’re going to make a really special movie, something that all the fans are going to love.