Nostalgia done right is a rare statement that Bendy: Lone Wolf managed to elicit from me. Harsh to the end, even on lower difficulty, it had me from the very start.
Developed and published by Joey Drew Studios, Bendy: Lone Wolf is an isometric horror action rogue-like hack-and-slash.
Released back in 2017, Bendy and the Ink Machine was a great game. While that might not be old enough to consider nostalgia, fans, me included, have been waiting for something else from Joey Drew Studios to sink our teeth into.
Bendy: Lone Wolf will do, it will certainly do.
Prisoner Wolf
While the original game in the Bendy series was a first-person Survival Horror Puzzle-ish kind of affair, Bendy: Lone Wolf is an Iso Metric game. That does not mean it is not scary.
The original had a creepy design. Morphing Cartoons into an ink-themed version of hell. Bendy: Lone Wolf takes it to the next level.
The basic play of the game is to go down into the deeper depths of the cartoon studio as Wolf, gathering items and bringing them back to your home base. All the while, a giant ink monster, Bendy, is chasing you and will kill you on touch.
After death, you return to home base with all progress of that mission lost. That is where it became ruthlessly difficult. More on that later.
The goal is to gather equipment and bring it back to the home base to unlock more things. While I have yet to finish the game, the unlocks give you more upgrades to help speed up your ventures into enemy areas.
Hard Time Wolf
This is not a souls-like or a card game… Not even some Metroidvania, but it is hard.
The goal is to collect items, occasionally fighting mini ink demons, and running and hiding from Bendy. That is where it gets hard.
You see, it is hard to find items; they are randomly scattered on the map you are playing. Bendy never goes away. He will mercilessly chase you. Your only mode of survival is hiding in boxes and making a run in the opposite direction from him. If he touches you, you die.
There are traps and distractions to help you, but more so, you have dead ends. Many.. Many Dead ends that will laugh at you as Bendy and his haunting face approach from behind to end your round.
What Joey Drew Studios managed here is proof that they understand their world. The grim cartoon aesthetic, the oppressive sound design, and the constant looming threat of Bendy himself give Lone Wolf a presence that is hard to shake off even after you put the controller down. It lingers, and that is exactly what a horror rogue like should do.
At first, it is scary, then it makes you angry…. But at the core, it is fun!
Final Thoughts
Bendy: Lone Wolf is not a game that holds your hand. It does not forgive. It does not let up. That might be the very thing that makes it so compelling.
Each run feels like a gamble, a test of patience and nerves, where you either make it back with treasures that push you forward or you fall, face-first, into the ink once again. It rewards persistence, but it never gives you the illusion of safety.
Is it frustrating? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Yes. Because beneath that frustration lies the satisfaction of surviving even one more run than the last.
For fans of the Bendy universe, this is a welcome return. For newcomers, it is a harsh introduction but one that leaves a mark.
Bendy: Lone Wolf is nostalgia sharpened into something new, and something worth playing.
