The twisted world of classic cartoon-turned-nightmare returns to have the last laugh. Through truly bizarre circumstances, the ink machine is activated once again, transporting the player back into the clutches of Bendy and the gang. I won’t beat around the bush as nor does the game – Bendy and the Dark Revival is a direct sequel to the Ink Machine and in the most literal sense at that. Familiarity with the first game is not so much recommended, as expected by the developers and simply necessary to make sense of the narrative. If somehow you ended up here with no prior knowledge of the previous game, go check that out first, as it is not possible to discuss the Dark Revival further without spoilers for the Ink Machine.

Now that elephant has been addressed, let’s take a look at the rest of the room. Bendy and the Dark Revival sets out to do what any self-respecting sequel does – deliver more of the same but grander in scale and make. Especially the latter is immediately apparent through the shift in the game’s art style. While the Dark Revival retains a hint of its cell-shaded roots, it is now in full 3D, more realistic and... darker, in line with the main theme of a world familiar, yet changed.
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3355018926
Feminine touch
Much to my surprise, the game opens up in full colour, without a hint of sepia in sight. Thus, we meet Audrey – a young animator, working late into the night on recently revived Bendy cartoon series. Contrary to the protagonist of the Ink Machine, she at least displays hints of human behaviour – say, a need for a cup of coffee to make it through the late working hours.

Now, I do hope you like your coffee black as the game quickly returns to more familiar grounds the moment Wilson, a janitor with demeanour of a serial killer, enters the scene. Following a head-scratching sequence in which Audrey is lured into “accidentally” starting the ink machine, the player is snatched away into the animated world. On one hand, the ink and burnt sepia are back, on the other, among the first things in sight is a poster proclaiming Bendy to have been vanquished by our new acquaintance. The winds of change sure blow strong on this day.

Lost in Rapture
One of my first impressions of the game was how similar to Bioshock 2 its theme of return to the seemingly known place, which has been twisted by a passage of time is. While I do indulge myself that I caught on rather quickly, I hardly invented the wheel with this comparison. Should you happen to have any past experience with the underwater city of fallen dreams, you will soon recognise it as the prime influence behind Dark Revival, for better or worse.

Let’s start with the better. Overall, the gameplay loop has become notably more enjoyable when compared to the first instalment. Walking simulator no more, the Dark Revival leans towards action elements via supernatural ink powers, giving the player an edge over the opposition. Admittedly, the stealth is not completely without its merit but more often than not, Audrey is the one on the offensive. Primary incentive for world exploration follows in kind – while there are still plenty of secrets and collectibles to go around, in this title the player hunts primarily for loot. Be it character power-ups, crafting parts or coin for one of many vending machines, every nook and cranny is worth searching through.
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3355019821
Alas, the coin also has the other side. Due to emphasis on action, any semblance of horror is essentially gone from the game. Not only the player can beat most enemies into submission using increasingly more powerful pipe, minor enemies drop loot straight-up rewarding the player for combat. Should you choose to remain sneaky, Audrey is able to catch unaware foe and consume its soul, healing a portion of her health. To make matters worse, hidey-cupboards are still present, easily warding off any notable threat. Furthermore, many of spots have been reduced to semi-open barrels and crates, undermining credibility of the whole setup. Whereas the Ink machine tended to struggle with providing threats, the sequel makes the player into one instead.

Speech is silver, silence is golden
Tonal shenanigans of the Dark Revival hardly end there. I don’t think anyone will consider it much of a spoiler if I reveal that a game with Bendy in the title does indeed star the ink demon, although his presence is... divisive, to put it mildly. For starters, Bendy now talks – in guttural, clicking voice – taunting the player with an edge to his lines that would make a 13-years old keyboard warrior blush. I am not a huge fan of chattering mute cartoon, although ultimately it is a matter of taste. However, Bendy’s core game mechanic deserves no such benefit of doubt. In perhaps well meaning, but ill-executed attempt to introduce some threat to the game, ink demon’s manifestations are now guaranteed to instantly kill Audrey unless the player hides in time. Being forced to keep constant track of nearest hiding spot makes exploration and secret hunting a less than inviting prospect.
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3355020184
The final nail in the coffin would be the storyline. Admittedly, the narrative of the Dark Revival at face value is notably more cohesive than it was in the first game, although it doesn’t make the journey a compelling one. Extremely naive way in which the game attempts adding some nuance to events unfolding, ultimately makes the antagonist extremely two-dimensional . It’s quite a shame how a notion commendable on paper ended up so forced in practice. To make matters worse, the Dark Revival is filled to the brim with token appearances of characters from the first game, which mostly seem to be a slapdash gathering of nods towards the fans, rather than any meaningful contribution to the plot.

Rinse and repeat
All in all, Joey Drew Studios didn’t paint a pretty picture with Bendy and the Dark Revival. To be frank, the sequel did evolve in terms of visuals and gameplay, alas it was done at the cost of mood and distinct aesthetic of the original, while also burying the horror on top of that. Similar to the first game, this title too includes Archives with developer notes, which may shed some light on the reasons behind unfortunate condition of the game. The Dark Revival was initially thought up as individual title, which was made into sequel only at some point during the development. It would explain at least some of the kinks. On the other hand, the Archives perhaps do hint at a grander ambition, however insights they offer are ludicrously pretentious when compared to what made the final cut.

No matter how I would spin it, the title of the day is at best an average game and foremost, a bad horror. The only target audience I could possibly recommend it to would be diehard fans of the first game. Truth be told, the Dark Revival seems to be deliberately aiming for this exact angle. As for all others, steer away from these waters – the aesthetic appeal of haunted cartoon studio is gone too.

[h1]Misery loves company[/h1] The twisted world of classic cartoon-turned-nightmare returns to have the last laugh. Through truly bizarre circumstances, the ink machine is activated once again, transporting the player back into the clutches of Bendy and the gang. I won’t beat around the bush as nor does the game – Bendy and the Dark Revival is a direct sequel to the Ink Machine and in the most literal sense at that. Familiarity with the first game is not so much recommended, as expected by the developers and simply necessary to make sense of the narrative. If somehow you ended up here with no prior knowledge of the previous game, [url=https://gtm.you1.cn/profiles/76561198010155821/recommended/622650/]go check that out first[/url], as it is not possible to discuss the Dark Revival further without spoilers for the Ink Machine. Now that elephant has been addressed, let’s take a look at the rest of the room. Bendy and the Dark Revival sets out to do what any self-respecting sequel does – deliver more of the same but grander in scale and make. Especially the latter is immediately apparent through the shift in the game’s art style. While the Dark Revival retains a hint of its cell-shaded roots, it is now in full 3D, more realistic and... darker, in line with the main theme of a world familiar, yet changed. [url]https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3355018926[/url] [b]Feminine touch[/b] Much to my surprise, the game opens up in full colour, without a hint of sepia in sight. Thus, we meet Audrey – a young animator, working late into the night on recently revived Bendy cartoon series. Contrary to the protagonist of the Ink Machine, she at least displays hints of human behaviour – say, a need for a cup of coffee to make it through the late working hours. Now, I do hope you like your coffee black as the game quickly returns to more familiar grounds the moment Wilson, a janitor with demeanour of a serial killer, enters the scene. Following a head-scratching sequence in which Audrey is lured into “accidentally” starting the ink machine, the player is snatched away into the animated world. On one hand, the ink and burnt sepia are back, on the other, among the first things in sight is a poster proclaiming Bendy to have been vanquished by our new acquaintance. The winds of change sure blow strong on this day. [b]Lost in Rapture[/b] One of my first impressions of the game was how similar to Bioshock 2 its theme of return to the seemingly known place, which has been twisted by a passage of time is. While I do indulge myself that I caught on rather quickly, I hardly invented the wheel with this comparison. Should you happen to have any past experience with the underwater city of fallen dreams, you will soon recognise it as the prime influence behind Dark Revival, for better or worse. Let’s start with the [i]better[/i]. Overall, the gameplay loop has become notably more enjoyable when compared to the first instalment. Walking simulator no more, the Dark Revival leans towards action elements via supernatural ink powers, giving the player an edge over the opposition. Admittedly, the stealth is not completely without its merit but more often than not, Audrey is the one on the offensive. Primary incentive for world exploration follows in kind – while there are still plenty of secrets and collectibles to go around, in this title the player hunts primarily for loot. Be it character power-ups, crafting parts or coin for one of many vending machines, every nook and cranny is worth searching through. [url]https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3355019821[/url] Alas, the coin also has the other side. Due to emphasis on action, any semblance of horror is essentially gone from the game. Not only the player can beat most enemies into submission using increasingly more powerful pipe, minor enemies drop loot straight-up rewarding the player for combat. Should you choose to remain sneaky, Audrey is able to catch unaware foe and consume its soul, healing a portion of her health. To make matters worse, hidey-cupboards are still present, easily warding off any notable threat. Furthermore, many of spots have been reduced to semi-open barrels and crates, undermining credibility of the whole setup. Whereas the Ink machine tended to struggle with providing threats, the sequel makes the player into one instead. [b]Speech is silver, silence is golden[/b] Tonal shenanigans of the Dark Revival hardly end there. I don’t think anyone will consider it much of a spoiler if I reveal that a game with Bendy in the title does indeed star the ink demon, although his presence is... divisive, to put it mildly. For starters, Bendy now talks – in guttural, clicking voice – taunting the player with an edge to his lines that would make a 13-years old keyboard warrior blush. I am not a huge fan of chattering mute cartoon, although ultimately it is a matter of taste. However, Bendy’s core game mechanic deserves no such benefit of doubt. In perhaps well meaning, but ill-executed attempt to introduce some threat to the game, ink demon’s manifestations are now guaranteed to instantly kill Audrey unless the player hides in time. Being forced to keep constant track of nearest hiding spot makes exploration and secret hunting a less than inviting prospect. [url]https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3355020184[/url] The final nail in the coffin would be the storyline. Admittedly, the narrative of the Dark Revival at face value is notably more cohesive than it was in the first game, although it doesn’t make the journey a compelling one. Extremely naive way in which the game attempts adding some nuance to events unfolding, ultimately makes the antagonist extremely two-dimensional . It’s quite a shame how a notion commendable on paper ended up so forced in practice. To make matters worse, the Dark Revival is filled to the brim with token appearances of characters from the first game, which mostly seem to be a slapdash gathering of nods towards the fans, rather than any meaningful contribution to the plot. [b]Rinse and repeat[/b] All in all, Joey Drew Studios didn’t paint a pretty picture with Bendy and the Dark Revival. To be frank, the sequel did evolve in terms of visuals and gameplay, alas it was done at the cost of mood and distinct aesthetic of the original, while also burying the horror on top of that. Similar to the first game, this title too includes Archives with developer notes, which may shed some light on the reasons behind unfortunate condition of the game. The Dark Revival was initially thought up as individual title, which was made into sequel only at some point during the development. It would explain at least some of the kinks. On the other hand, the Archives perhaps do hint at a grander ambition, however insights they offer are ludicrously pretentious when compared to what made the final cut. No matter how I would spin it, the title of the day is at best an average game and foremost, a bad horror. The only target audience I could possibly recommend it to would be diehard fans of the first game. Truth be told, the Dark Revival seems to be deliberately aiming for this exact angle. As for all others, steer away from these waters – the aesthetic appeal of haunted cartoon studio is gone too.