Genre: Action horror, First-person

ESRB rating: T for Teens

Download(s) Steam

Rating: 8.5/10

“Bendy and the Dark Revival” (abbreviated as BatDR) is a survival, first-person horror game and the much highly anticipated sequel to “Bendy and the Ink Machine,” which gaming enthusiasts wanted to see.

In “BatDR,” players take the role of Audrey Drew, who is an animator at Joey Drew Studios. The game starts with Drew working late at the studio trying to finish up her drawings for the Bendy cartoon. She finishes up the rest of her project, but before she can take the elevator to leave, the doors don’t finish closing. The janitor, Wilson Arch, approaches and asks if he can take the elevator down. Audrey accepts, but before a conversation can begin, the elevator goes into emergency mode and stops. Wilson explains that there’s no need to worry because the building is very old and takes manual control of the elevator, making it stop on the museum floor. Audrey and Wilson get off the elevator, arriving at the main fuse box in the middle of the display cabinets next to the ink machine. Wilson tells Audrey she needs to gather up all of the display items and put them back onto the right podium.While Audrey is busy working on her assigned tasks, she doesn’t realize that Wilson was planning something. When you shortly return to him, he tells you to place down the items in their right place. After you were done placing the items in their correct spots, Audrey returns back to Wilson to tell him to turn on the fuse box, but something didn’t seem right. 

The lights turned off and the only thing that had power was the ink machine in the middle of the room. Wilson comes closer and closer to you and tells you that he doesn’t want you to go but wants Audrey to join him to become one with the ink. 

Wilson tells her “The ink is calling for us, can’t you hear it, Audrey?” then grabs and pulls you in tightly towards him and with that, you perish into the ink with him and presumably die.

Instead, after a short time, Audrey wakes up and sees that the place that she has worked for has changed into an inky-cartoon version of that same place. As Audrey, the player explores the inky depths of the curiously creepy animation studio that has gone completely mad. You (as the player) must escape and find the person that has done this to you but also, what did Wilson mean when he said to you, “you will find your purpose,” and why did he bring you of all people to this ink realm of place. 

Besides the main introduction to “BatDR,” the main core gameplay of the game is satisfactory but not optimal at best. The game does not have the best fighting mechanics and navigation system but does develop more in the end with its unique soundtracks and music.

 When it comes to the soundtrack,“BatDR” has some of the most ominous and fascinating types of soundtracks. For example, when the player is dealing with an enemy or if the Ink Demon is hunting them down, the musical score and the room they are in will change to make you feel like you are in that same situation as Audery. 

As shown in the text, if you are hunted by the Ink Demon, your screen will turn a bright monochrome. The outer screen of the game will falter in and out based on the beat of the soundtrack of how close it is to the player or how long you have to hide before it will be game over for you with a game over screen saying “YOU HAVE BEEN CONSUMED.” 

When the player finds a good spot to hide from the Ink Demon your colors and your screen will return back with the Ink Demon marking a long roar and leaving.

The core environment is one key aspect to take away from this game. When looking at the core environment of the game it gives you the feeling of melancholy and isolation based on how the outside of the place and observing the buildings or the streets being abandoned with no source of life in the place.

In conclusion, “BatDR” has an inviting unique storyline with some minor flaws with the combat and mechanics it has, but it all makes up in the end with the captivating  soundtracks. By widening this genre more into this first-person horror game about a evil ink concept that is trying to kill you, “BatDR” could be the ideal game. If you are willing to try something new to challenge yourself or if you are already a seasoned veteran gamer and enjoy gaming but just want to expand your view with different types of gaming genres then this is the game for you.

This first-personal survival horror game comes highly recommended. This deeper and darker horror stoked action packed game is a must. Whether you are new to the world of gaming or are looking for something new any gamer should  pick up this game and play it, “YOU WILL NOT REGRET.”

For more information on this game go to www.darkrevival.com.

For the official game trailer go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS4ZXBXhowY.

“BatDR” was released on November 15, 2022 on Steam for PC. It has been confirmed for Xbox and PlayStation at a later date.