Bendy: Lone Wolf is appealing due to its unusual appearance. And the developers have already proven that they can create good games, having released at least 6 games in the Bendy franchise. However, a close acquaintance with this, excuse me, hack immediately makes you want to end the date as soon as possible and return the money spent.
The game takes place in Joey Drew Studios, a sinister place where the events of Bendy and the Ink Machine and Bendy and the Dark Revival occur. The player has to help a cartoon wolf named Boris survive and collect all the necessary tools. You could play as the hero in a separate game, Boris and the Dark Survival, which also belongs to this franchise. And for those who have it in their Steam library, the wolf's new adventures will be free. After a detailed acquaintance with Lone Wolf, it becomes clear why.
The game starts with Boris's shelter. The player is immediately made aware of the developers' "brilliant" idea to make stamina without automatic recovery. Boris will only last for a couple of weapon strikes and a few seconds of running before his breath gives out. Therefore, you have to move strictly at a leisurely pace, and after physical exercises, trudge towards the nearest coffee machine. To complete the effect, stamina runs out even in the shelter, which is simply annoying!
Exploring the latter, by the way, helps to understand the essence of the game: constant resource gathering! Objects are placed everywhere that can be activated with special items. The player will have to constantly make sorties to various floors of the studio in order to get everything necessary to activate new objects and advance through the game.
After arriving at the level, it's time to explore the monotonous corridors. The game doesn't have enough convenient landmarks, and if you don't pay attention to what's happening on the screen, it's easy to get lost in space. You can be distracted by studying the plot by listening to audio messages, but the game doesn't pause at this moment — if someone wants to attack Boris, the excursion will end instantly.
The main task is to find certain items that are randomly scattered around the level. You should look around more often to find things needed for the shelter and opening new types of weapons. And as if that wasn't enough — to access them, you often have to play mini-games. Often the task is complicated by traps and aggressive ink enemies that attack at the first opportunity. The melee combat, implemented by the developers at an embryonic level, allows you to fight them off, while cursing these горе-coders.
You will also have to deal with the Ink Demon — an immortal pursuer who instantly kills upon any contact with the hero. It's not difficult to deceive or avoid the demon, and its predictable behavior can be used to your advantage. If the demon starts chasing, you can escape in special booths, but the real danger is the dead ends of the location – you can stumble upon one just when the demon decides to patrol nearby.
But you can't escape from the demon forever: after collecting all the items, the demon will become enraged and head towards Boris with the accuracy of a laser designator. You have to get to the elevator as quickly as possible, because the creature will no longer calm down. Or you can not pick up the item closest to the elevator until the end, which will make the chase stage much less stressful!
After visiting the shelter, you have to return to a slightly changed level and feel the vibration of the joystick – the game likes to place the demon near the arrival point. You need to check the list again, look for the items needed for the shelter. If you're lucky, you can find a button to the next floor, where the conditions will change slightly, but the principle will remain the same: collecting items and avoiding the demon. Time after time — it's like Sisyphus's labor.
Diagnosis
There's nothing wrong with a project having annoying mechanics. For example, the sensational Hollow Knight: Silksong uses many ways to test the player's patience, but this doesn't negate the game's advantages. In Bendy: Lone Wolf, the developers managed to use a whole collection of bad decisions at the very beginning, which poison the feeling of passing to the level: "I need to return the money before I've played two hours."
Back in the review of Bendy and the Dark Revival, I wrote: "But there's nothing exciting in the gameplay. It's not annoying to the point where you want to turn off the game, but you won't get any pleasure from it either." This assessment is also true for Bendy: Lone Wolf – with the caveat that the game doesn't have a lifeline in the form of frequent cutscenes and interaction with charismatic characters. It's a repetition of the same action, over and over again, in the hope of change... Madness, in a word.
Avoid it, even if you really love the franchise.
