Ever walked into a room and felt like the walls were breathing? That’s basically the vibe of Joey Drew Studios. But amidst the dripping ink and the terrifying, toothy grin of the Ink Demon, there’s a tall, lanky wolf who just wants some bacon soup. Boris the Wolf isn't just a sidekick. Honestly, he’s the heart of a franchise that’s spent years twisting our childhood nostalgia into something unrecognizable.
Most people see a silent cartoon character. They see a mute companion who follows Henry Stein through the dusty corridors of Bendy and the Ink Machine. But if you look closer at the lore—and I mean really dig into the muddy history of the studio—you realize Boris is less of a "character" and more of a tragic accident.
The Identity Crisis: Who Is the "Real" Boris?
Here is the thing about the "Boris" we meet in Chapter 2. He isn't just a drawing come to life. In the world of Bendy, characters aren't born; they're manufactured from people. Specifically, the "Buddy Boris" we spend time with is widely understood to be the remains of Daniel "Buddy" Lewek.
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Buddy was just a delivery boy. A kid. According to the novel Bendy and the Ink Machine: Dreams Come to Life, he was essentially forced into the Ink Machine by Joey Drew after a series of horrific events. When he emerged, he was a perfect physical copy of the cartoon wolf, but he lost his ability to speak.
That silence? It’s not a design choice. It’s a symptom of his soul being overwritten by a fictional persona.
Why the "Clones" Matter
If you’ve played through the later chapters, you know the studio is littered with Boris corpses. It’s grisly.
- The Mutilated Clones: Alice Angel (the Susie Campbell version) was obsessed with beauty. She saw the Boris clones as "perfect" vessels.
- The Harvest: She literally tore them apart to harvest their "insides" to fix her own deformed ink body.
- Tom: Then there’s Tom. He’s another Boris clone, but he’s different. He has a mechanical arm and a much more cynical attitude. He’s likely the ink version of Thomas Connor, the lead engineer.
It’s confusing, right? You have the "original" cartoon character, the "Buddy" version who helps us, the "Tom" version who is basically a soldier, and the endless pile of dead clones. It highlights the central horror of the game: identity is disposable.
Why Boris and the Ink Machine Still Matters in 2026
You might think a game from 2017 would be old news by now. But the Bendy universe has expanded into something much bigger. Games like Boris and the Dark Survival (now often referred to as Bendy: Lone Wolf) changed the perspective entirely.
In Dark Survival, you aren't a legendary animator. You’re just Boris. You’re scavenging for supplies, trying to keep your stamina up with bacon soup, and hiding in "Little Miracle Stations" while the Ink Demon hunts you. It turned the game from a narrative walk-through into a genuine pulse-pounding survival loop.
The gameplay is simple, sure. But the atmosphere? It’s suffocating.
The procedural generation of the levels means you never quite know where the exit is. One minute you’re picking up a wrench, and the next, the screen starts to blur with ink because the Demon is right behind you. It captures that feeling of being a "prey" animal in a world of predators.
The Brute Boris Tragedy
The turning point for most fans was the end of Chapter 4. Watching our friend get kidnapped by Alice Angel was bad enough. But the boss fight? That was a gut punch.
Alice didn't just kill him; she "improved" him. She turned him into Brute Boris.
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He became this hulking, mindless monster with his chest cavity exposed. You aren't fighting a villain. You’re performing a mercy killing on the only friend you had in that basement. It’s one of the few moments in the series where the horror feels deeply personal rather than just "spooky."
Hidden Secrets: The Legend of Borkis
If you’re a completionist, you’ve probably heard of Borkis.
He’s an Easter egg that feels more like a creepypasta. In Boris and the Dark Survival, there’s an incredibly slim chance (about 1 in 3000) of the elevator taking you to Level 414. There, you meet Borkis—a version of the wolf with glowing yellow eyes.
He doesn't have a unique theme song. He just uses the Ink Demon’s chase music. It’s terrifying because it feels like a glitch in the matrix. Some fans think he’s a representation of the "void" outside the cycle. Others think he’s just the developers having a bit of fun. Either way, he’s a reminder that there are still parts of the Ink Machine we don't fully understand.
Actionable Tips for Mastering the Games
If you’re jumping back into the studio to hunt for lore or just to survive the night, keep these things in mind:
1. Watch the Heartbeat: In the survival games, the sound of the Ink Demon’s heartbeat is your only real warning. Don't wait until you see the ink on the walls. If you hear that thump-thump, find a locker immediately.
2. Manage Your Soup: Stamina is everything. In Lone Wolf, it’s tempting to run everywhere, but you’ll regret it when you’re out of breath and the Demon spawns. Only sprint when you’re being chased or if you’re two steps away from the elevator.
3. Look for the "Lost Papers": The lore isn't handed to you. You have to find the hand-printed notes from the "Lost Ones." They provide the context for why the studio fell apart and who these people actually were before they became ink puddles.
4. Check the Out-of-Bounds: If you’re playing Bendy and the Dark Revival, keep an eye out for Borkis. He’s been spotted sitting on monoliths outside the main map. It doesn't change the ending, but it’s a cool nod to the hardcore community.
The story of Boris is essentially the story of the studio itself: a bright, cheerful idea that got dragged into the ink and twisted into something unrecognizable. He represents the innocence that Joey Drew sacrificed for his "dream."
Next time you see a cardboard cutout of the wolf, remember the kid who was forced into the machine. It makes the bacon soup taste a lot more bitter.
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To get the full picture, go back and read the "Dreams Come to Life" novel by Adrienne Kress. It fills in the gaps about Buddy Lewek that the games only hint at. Also, make sure to play Bendy: Lone Wolf on a high-difficulty setting to truly experience the "Dark Survival" aspect of the character.