Bendy and the Ink Machine Story Guide: All 5 Chapters

Chapter One: Return to Joey Drew Studios

An invitation from your old boss leads straight into an abandoned cartoon nightmare. This Bendy and the Ink Machine story guide follows Henry through the studio’s five chapters, helping you solve progression puzzles while catching the recordings that give its ruined halls meaning. Use this Bendy and the Ink Machine story guide in chapter order to keep your next objective clear without overlooking optional discoveries.

Henry was the lead animator at Joey Drew Studios during its 1930s heyday. Years later, Joey Drew invites him back to the workshop, where familiar cartoon imagery surrounds machinery and threatening ink creatures.

Keep one distinction in mind: the playful cartoon Bendy and the dangerous Ink Demon serve different roles. A smiling cutout does not make the creature roaming the studio friendly.

Area	Objective	Key item or discovery
Workshop	Gather the machine’s required objects	Six pedestal items
Small office	Explore before activating the machine	Radio and vinyl
Lower flooded room	Drain the ink after your escape	Second audio log

1. Explore before starting the machine. Collect the six required objects and place them on their pedestals.
2. Check the small office. Look for light beneath its door in the hallway connecting the “DREAMS COME TRUE” message and the Ink Machine balcony. The radio and vinyl are inside.
3. Activate the machine and return to the balcony. After the encounter, sprint toward the exit.
4. Continue after falling through the floor. Drain the room and inspect its shelves for an audio log.

The machine activation changes your immediate objective from investigation to escape. Finish your opening exploration before triggering it.

Missable checklist:

• Listen to the recording on the small table along the hallway toward the theater.
• Turn on the office radio.
• After activating the machine, revisit the Boris operating-table room and inspect the “SHEEP SONGS!” poster for a hidden encounter.

Official page: Bendy and the Ink Machine (joeydrewstudios.com)

Chapter Two: Follow the Recordings Through the Music Department

The music department makes employee recordings essential to progression. Listen closely: the instrument sequence changes between runs, so a memorized combination will not reliably solve the puzzle.

Image: Steam / Joey Drew Studios

This part of the Bendy and the Ink Machine story guide centers on opening the recording-room shutter, draining the lower level, and surviving another pursuit. Explore the offices and side rooms while moving between those objectives.

Area	Objective	Key item or discovery
Closet	Retrieve the musical instructions	Recording accessed with Wally’s keys
Recording Room	Perform the required sequence	Open shutter
Utility Shaft 9	Recover the second valve	Jack Fain encounter
Sammy Lawrence’s office	Explore during progression	Hidden radio

1. Clear your route downstairs. After waking, break through the obstruction and continue through the department.
2. Find Wally’s closet keys. Open the closet and listen to the recording inside.
3. Play the instruments in the stated order. Use your current recording’s sequence to solve the musical puzzle.
4. Recover the lower-level valve. At the Jack Fain encounter, operate the machinery and collect the valve afterward.
5. Activate the pump controls and continue. Escape your captor, then survive the Ink Demon chase.

For the stage-cutout achievement, use the projector nine times before solving the instrument puzzle. Check from the upstairs booth: the completed arrangement has five Bendy cutouts in front and four behind.

The recordings also make the department feel like a former workplace rather than a string of puzzle rooms. Stop for them between objectives instead of rushing straight toward each control panel.

Missable checklist:

• Check beside the projector upstairs and beside the piano for recordings.
• Play the pipe organ five times for its optional achievement.
• Explore Sammy’s office for the radio.
• On the return trip after operating the pump controls, inspect the side room containing another “SHEEP SONGS!” poster.

Chapter Three: Complete Alice Angel’s Tasks

Your time with Boris leads into a chapter built around Alice Angel’s demands. The elevator connects several work areas, and each assignment sends you after a different resource.

Image: Steam / Joey Drew Studios

In this Bendy and the Ink Machine story guide, Chapter Three deserves extra preparation because its route choice affects optional recordings and the Tommy Gun unlock. The Demon and Angel paths each contain an exclusive audio log; hearing both requires separate runs.

Destination	Alice’s objective	Required collection
Bendy doll room	Recover gears	Three gears
Level 11	Hunt Swollen Searchers	Three glowing ink blobs
Level P	Solve valve panels	Three valve cores
Level K	Destroy Bendy cutouts	Fifteen cutouts
Level 14	Search the inky abyss	Five ink hearts

1. Finish exploring the safehouse. Make soup for Boris and open the exit. Before leaving, return to the starting room, collect the bone beside the box with soup, and give it to him.
2. Explore the toy-machine room. Activate the machine and move the shelves to reach the concealed desk and recording.
3. Choose your route. Take the Demon path if you are pursuing the Tommy Gun.
4. Complete Alice’s collection assignments. Work through the gears, glowing ink, valve cores, and cutouts.
5. Survive the Butcher Gang attack. Then finish optional exploration before delivering the final hearts.

The Tommy Gun has three requirements: shape the desk’s toy ink blob into an Ink Machine, choose the Demon path, and complete Alice’s tasks without dying. Set up the desk object before committing to the route.

For Steam version 2.1.0, expect more frequent Ink Demon appearances in this chapter. Locate nearby Little Miracle Stations before exploring a floor. The update also prevents the Ink Demon from catching Henry while he is actively entering one.

Keep the final heart delivery until you are ready to leave. That gives you time to revisit recordings and optional areas.

Missable checklist:

• Give Boris his bone before leaving the safehouse; its door locks behind you.
• Interact with 25 Bendy dolls for the doll achievement.
• Use Alice’s axe to open the boarded room on Level 9.
• After the Butcher Gang fight, revisit that room for an axe if you lack the Tommy Gun.
• Turn the valve behind the boarded section on Level 14, then revisit the previously flooded passage on Level P for a hidden recording.

Chapter Four: Power the Haunted House and Find Boris

Chapter Four shifts the journey toward the studio’s attraction machinery. Your immediate goal is to restore power to the Haunted House, but reaching Boris requires completing several connected activities and surviving the equipment along the way.

Image: Steam / Joey Drew Studios

This stretch of the Bendy and the Ink Machine story guide rewards patient exploration. Perfect minigame scores are optional achievements; they are separate from simply progressing toward the Haunted House.

Area	Objective	Key item or discovery
Archives	Continue through the chapter	Recording among the shelves
Carnival games	Advance the Haunted House objectives	Shooting and bottle activities
Attraction Storage	Defeat Bertrum	Axe beside the initiating recording
Maintenance	Finish exploration before the ride	Recording and photo cutout
Boris arena	Defeat the boss	Machine-made weapon

1. Explore Management and Archives. Check the Management desk and the table inside the circular Archives room for recordings.
2. Complete the carnival activities. Work through the objectives needed to power the Haunted House.
3. Defeat Bertrum in Attraction Storage. Activate the recording, collect the axe, and wait for an arm to slam down. Strike the exposed circular joints.
4. Search Maintenance. Finish its optional discoveries before entering the Haunted House.
5. Ride onward to Boris. Use the arena machinery to create your weapon and respond to each attack phase.

Bertrum has four arms with four vulnerable joints on each. Stay along the outside perimeter while waiting for an opening, then move in when the joints become exposed.

For the optional plunger completion, return to upper Maintenance after opening the Haunted House. Collect the dial from the newly accessible trunk near the switch, then fit it to the arena machine and select the plunger.

During the Boris fight, dodge his charges until he exposes a glowing ink blob. Use it to make a weapon. Later, keep moving through his aerial slams. In the final phase, dodge three thrown carts before attacking his weakened form. A cart hit causes instant death.

Missable checklist:

• After opening Archives but before entering, revisit the newly unlocked room near Management for its hidden poster.
• Create and activate the radio using the machine beyond the “PRIVATE” door.
• Find the Maintenance recording in the back-left area.
• Stand behind the upstairs photo cutout and aim at the camera.
• Collect the optional plunger dial before entering the Haunted House.

Chapter Five: Reach the Film Vault and Finish the Story

The final chapter combines combat alongside Alice and Tom with a pipe puzzle around Administration. Your route ultimately leads through the Film Vault and into the Ink Machine.

Keep this Bendy and the Ink Machine story guide focused on the remaining objectives: survive the harbor battle, assemble the pipe solution, search the vault, and continue through the finale and epilogue.

Area	Objective	Key item or discovery
Harbor	Defeat Sammy and survive the swarm	Progression beyond the battle
Administration	Collect ink for pipe fabrication	Three required pipe pieces
Film Vault	Search before continuing	Hidden radio
Ink Machine	Follow the final route	Unmissable recording and finale

1. Defeat Sammy. Continue into the swarm battle with your allies.
2. Finish the harbor encounter. Your own kills count toward the battle’s required player total; clear the remaining wave afterward.
3. Explore Administration carefully. Collect ink blobs and use the fabrication machine to create the required pipe pieces.
4. Complete the pipe puzzle. Open the vault route and search inside.
5. Enter the Ink Machine. Follow the linear path, listen to the final recording, and continue through the ending and epilogue.

For version 1.5.1.0’s harbor battle, the player-kill requirement was reduced to 25. Prioritize Searchers during the swarm because they take fewer hits to defeat.

The “Valued Employee” achievement requires completing the pipe puzzle without being seen by the Butcher Gang patrolling Administration. Watch their routes before carrying an ink blob back. Locate the fabrication machine, puzzle panel, and hiding station before starting your collection trips.

Missable checklist:

• Search the recording room beside the Film Vault entrance.
• Explore Administration’s side offices for recordings.
• Check Joey Drew’s office for another audio log.
• Open the closed box immediately to your left inside the vault for its radio.

FAQ

What order should I follow in a Bendy and the Ink Machine story guide?

Play Chapters One through Five in sequence. On Steam version 2.1.0, the story chapters are unlocked regardless of progress, so choose the opening chapter when beginning a fresh narrative playthrough.

Is cartoon Bendy the same as the Ink Demon?

Cartoon Bendy is the studio’s playful, mischievous character. The Ink Demon is the dangerous creature associated with the Ink Machine. Keep that distinction in mind when interpreting the studio’s cheerful posters.

Does this Bendy and the Ink Machine story guide require collecting everything?

Follow the numbered objectives to advance, then use the missable checklists for optional discoveries. Audio logs add employee perspectives, while radios and hidden poster encounters provide additional exploration goals.

Should I choose the Demon or Angel path in Chapter Three?

Choose the Demon path when pursuing the Tommy Gun requirements. Each route contains an exclusive recording, so replay the chapter on the other path to hear both.