"Once, there was a wolf.
Living in a very dangerous world."
— Opening
Boris and the Dark Survival is an indie Dungeon Crawler / Roguelike Horror game developed by Joey Drew Studios. note
The game is a Spin-Off of Bendy and the Ink Machine, purposed to tide fans over before the release of Bendy and the Dark Revival, featuring the titular Boris the Wolf/Buddy Boris as he ventures into the studio in order to scavenge supplies, including cogs, radios, plungers, wrenches, and bones. All the while, he is hunted by the infamous ink demon, Bendy.
In addition to supplies, Boris can also unlock lockers in order to find scraps - which create a mural in the safehouse - and musical tunes for the radio.
It was released on Feburary 10th, 2020 for PC as well as mobile. It is unknown at this time if a console rendition is planned.
Three free updates were later released for the game:
- The Wolf Trials, launched on March 6th, 2020, added not only new collectibles (including audio logs from a new character calling herself Milla), but also new enemies — The Projectionist, an evil counterpart of Boris and Twisted Alice!
- The Unleashed, launched on March 19th, 2020, added the Butcher Gang as an unlockable enemy encounter and a new playable character in the form of a Lost One.
- Symphony of Shadows. launched on June 26th, 2020, added new music and dance moves to use in the hub world, Sammy Lawrence as a playable character, and two new audio logs, one of which teasing the upcoming game Bendy and the Dark Revival.
Boris and the Dark Survival provides examples of:
- And Now for Someone Completely Different:
- As of "the Unleashed" update, you can now unlock the ability to switch between Buddy Boris and a Lost One.
- And come "Symphony of Shadows", you are now also able to play as Sammy Lawrence.
- Anti-Frustration Features: Any collectibles, such as scraps and music, will be retained even if the player dies before completing the floor.
- Apocalyptic Log: Not as many as the last game, but there are still a few to be found.
- Art Initiates Life: Just as in Bendy and the Ink Machine, all the characters are made from ink.
- Ascended Extra: Buddy Boris, who just followed Henry in Bendy and the Ink Machine, is now the protagonist of this game.
- Big Eater: Buddy Boris can down an entire can of bacon soup in about 2 seconds flat. This does prove to be a very useful skill, considering how vital stamina is to escape the Ink Demon.
- Character Name and the Noun Phrase: The game's title keeps up the series trend.
- Crapsack World: As the opening lampshades, Buddy Boris' world is not a happy one. He's trapped in an abandoned studio and frequently hounded by completely insane Eldritch Abominations. He has to continually put himself in danger to get a minimum of supplies and the only company he gets are audio logs of long dead people.
- Darkness Equals Death: Ink Bendy is always accompanied by a dark web of ink that surrounds him and crawls along the floor and walls.
- Inverted with the Projectionist, whose presence is indicated by his light, Twisted Alice, who has a halo of light around her, and Borkis, whose glowing eyes light his path.
- Easter Egg:
- When exploring the studio, you may come across an ink-covered film reel or an ink heart. Interacting with either will prompt the Projectionist's scream from the original Bendy to play.
- Buddy Boris may come across holes in the wall he can peek through, accompanied by a message written in ink that simply says "Look." Several things can appear in the room within, including a Bendy Cut-Out accompanied by the iconic sound, and even theMeatly himself. Messages will also appear on the wall in the back, such as 'Embrace your Demise.'
- Evil All Along: Once you manage to open the door Milla hides behind, it's revealed that Milla never existed. She was actually Twisted Alice, trying to lure Buddy Boris to his doom. Luckily, Buddy Boris manages to escape.
- Evil Counterpart: Borkis is this to Buddy Boris. He's identical to him in every way, except for his Glowing Eyes of Doom, and instead of peacefully roaming the halls in search of supplies, he will hunt Buddy Boris down and kill him if you let him catch up.
- Foreshadowing: All of Milla's tapes, as well as the key to her room, which will spawn in the next level once all five tapes are collected and heard, can be found in vivisected Boris-corpses. Now you might remember a certain angel, who was quite fond of cutting up and disemboweling poor, little wolves... Additionally, her surname, Legna, is "angel" spelled backwards.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: Downplayed, since Dark Survival doesn't really have a story as such. There is no notable difference in gameplay when playing as Sammy Lawrence. Bosses will still attack you and the supplies you need to collect stay the same as they were when you went to grab them as Buddy Boris. Most curious is that Sammy, the only playable character who is confirmed to be able to speak in canon, never once talks or otherwise reacts to his surroundings, despite the bosses chasing him being the Eldritch Abomination he worships (Ink Bendy), his old flame (Twisted Alice), and a previous colleague (Norman/The Projectionist). Though in the Projectionist's case, it's most likely Sammy just doesn't recognize or remember him.
- Gross-Up Close-Up: Twisted Alice is revealed via a close-up of her deformed face after Buddy Boris opens "Milla's" door.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Buddy Boris is this, wearing only overalls. Ink Bendy to an extent as well, as he wears only a glove and bowtie, but is more of a demon than an animal. Borkis too, since he's literally just an evil clone of Buddy Boris.
- Jump Scare: Unlike in the previous title, Ink Bendy actually will do this upon killing you. As will the Projectionist, Twisted Alice, and Borkis.
- Notice This: All items that Buddy Boris needs to collect will glow yellow. Items in opened lockers will even have a little sparkle effect.
- Randomly Generated Levels: Every floor has a random layout, with plenty of rooms for the randomizer to pick from.
- Slasher Smile: There's always one stretched across Ink Bendy's face.
- Wham Shot: After spending a good amount of time trying to get into the room Milla is supposedly trapped in, the player is told that Milla was a lie... right before being greeted by the unmistakable visage of Twisted Alice.
