Bayonetta 3 has some big high heels to fill. Not only is it a sequel to one of the best action games ever made, but there wasn’t a peep about its progress after developer PlatinumGames revealed the title way back in 2017. However, based on our brief hands-on session with Bayonetta 3 ($59.99), we believe the hotly anticipated Nintendo Switch exclusive won’t disappoint series fans looking for thrilling, supernatural battles.
The Witch With No Name
As one of developer PlatinumGames’ earliest titles, the original Bayonetta dazzled audiences upon its 2009 release. Sure, larger-than-life director Hideki Kamiya practically invented this style of stylish action game with the Devil May Cry series, but Bayonetta polished them to a blinding sheen. Somehow, 2014’s Bayonetta 2 was even better. If you missed that non-stop thrill ride on Wii U, the Switch version remains a perfect, flawless diamond of an action game.
Bayonetta is the 3D descendent of classic beat ‘em ups. The genre tasks you with assaulting enemy hordes as slickly and as quickly as possible using complex fighting systems. Whereas God of War and Nioh opt for weighty, methodical, and (relatively) realistic combat, Bayonetta 3 retains the high-flying, anime-style combos PlatinumGames fans know and love. Bayonetta’s erotic, athletic acrobatics are bloody poetry in motion. There’s plenty of depth, but the combat is easier to understand than more niche PlatinumGames mechanics, such as Astral Chain’s tethered weapons and The Wonderful 101’s crowd control abilities.
As a longtime series fan, I picked up Bayonetta 3 without issue. Within seconds, I was punching, kicking, jumping, shooting, and utilizing Witch Time (a time freeze that occurs when you bust out a perfect dodge, so you can wallop foes). In addition, I leveraged the new Demon Masquerade technique that lets you equip Bayonetta with monsters to augment her regular attacks in spectacular fashion. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to test the demo’s other weapon sets.
Big Hair, Don’t Care
Bayonetta 3’s biggest innovation, literally, is that you can now manually control the gigantic demons you summon through Bayonetta’s Infernal Hair vortex. Using it, you can initiate an impromptu kaiju battle to deliver massive damage. Demon use requires a satisfying amount of strategy due to how they burn your magic meter, slowly attack, and leave Bayonetta vulnerable. However, softening up foes with Bayonetta’s speedy normal attacks before finishing enemies with a final, demonic blow proved that the series still has new ways to surprise and delight. It makes me wonder if this is what Scalebound was supposed to be before Microsoft pulled out and Platinum canceled it.
I only played a handful of battles, but found the demo’s combat similar to previous games’ fighting in that you can only summon demons in open spaces. The demo also began with an appropriately ridiculous set piece that featured Bayonetta riding a demon across collapsing train tracks and twisting skyscrapers. It was like a scene from Inception, and it culminated in a climactic quick-time event and cheeky one-liner from Bayonetta.
The demo didn’t offer much insight into Bayonetta 3’s plot beyond its globe-trotting sense of scale. I also didn’t get a chance to sample the new playable character, Viola, and her radically different mechanics. One mild disappointment, at least at this early stage, is the new enemy faction. Instead of fighting hellspawn or horrifying angels, Bayonetta now fights man-made monsters called Homunculi, creatures that don’t look much different from your average alien fodder. Here’s hoping that PlatinumGames will reveal more creative designs further into the game. Still, Bayonetta 3 is one of the more visually impressive Nintendo Switch games, and it features a smooth, steady frame rate during the absurd, chaotic fights.
Bayo’s Back
From out time with it, Bayonetta 3 looks set to punish all the nasty little children when it launches on October 28. For more recommended Nintendo Switch titles, check out The Best Nintendo Switch Games and The Best Nintendo Switch Games for Kids (which definitely does not include Bayonetta). For in-depth video game talk, visit PCMag’s Pop-Off YouTube channel.
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