Years of waiting have finally ended for fans of the Bayonetta franchise, who can dust off preorders made after 2018’s Bayonetta 2. The franchise’s infamously fast and flashy beat-’em-up combat, mixing swords, guns, and hair-based witchcraft, is executed flawlessly in the follow-up title and turned into a true spectacle with new weapon movesets offering tantalizing demonic attacks.
Compared to its predecessors, the story in this entry can drag, and the visuals will not impress, but an innovative gameplay design creates an experience polished and impossible to predict. For newcomers and veterans alike, Bayonetta 3 is not only a fast-paced, responsive, and deep action-adventure entry, but also gaming’s greatest demon water skiing experience, with many other genre-bending surprises in store.
▍A Lackluster Story to Include All Familiar Faces
In Bayonetta 3, the titular witch returns for a dimension-crossing romp with characters new and old. Bioweapons called Homunculi to arrive from other worlds, led by a creature called Singularity, with the goal of collapsing all timelines and dimensions together.
If the premise sounds cliche, that’s because the game’s story is essentially an excuse to include visual setpieces and characters across alternate dimensions. Characters fight the Homunculi and traverse worlds without clear narrative justification or character development. A newcomer to the franchise is likely to feel lost among the familiar faces, while veterans will be disappointed in the minimal character development.
▍Stunning Visual Style, Subpar Graphics, and Character Models
Visually, the game is choppy. Character models are rigid, too glossy, and not expressive enough. Various levels will have a player glancing back, wondering whether they have seen a building model used fifty times before. With the Switch’s Handheld mode, the graphics are even less clear and defined, though the title runs fine, performance-wise.
In spite of these shortcomings, the game has style. Cutscenes offer gorgeous, cinematic views of the titular witch and wild and explosive fight choreography. The music suits the game’s aesthetic, pairing a sexed-up hell with memorable jazzy tunes recalling Persona 5, though more somber and explosive songs elevate story beats and battles.
Of course, there is a fair bit of Bayonetta fanservice, particularly with the sacrifice of clothes needed for the Demon Slave mechanic. There is also the humorous option for a censored playthrough.
▍A Peak for Action-Adventure Combat
The story is the weakest in the series, but combat is at a franchise high. Confronted with hordes of enemies and towering bosses, a player has access to kick, punch, and gun moves which can be combo’d together into new Demon Masquerade attacks, unleashing massive Infernal Demons. The weapon animations are gorgeous, and it is a visual treat to see the Demons creatively incorporated into each weapon’s moveset.
The core gameplay of Bayonetta 3 is smooth—unbelievably smooth. A responsive dodge system rewards players who get up and close up and personal with enemies so that combat never feels slow. Button mashing will often do the trick, splattering foes onto the pavement, but the different combos in Bayonetta 3 feel incredibly useful when compared to other action-adventure titles. One specific button sequence will end your combo faster, helpful against an unrelenting boss who hardly gives you time to breathe.
Another set of inputs will give you an AOE Demon attack to deal with mobs. And another will pop an enemy up, so you start an aerial combo and avoid enemies’ laser spam on the ground. The various weapons all feel different, excelling at different traits like speed, reach, and damage.
▍Surprising and New Gameplay Mechanics Galore
Bayonetta 3’s new Demon Slave feature, allowing the player to control a variety of massive hellspawn, outputs massive damage but leaves Bayonetta vulnerable when summoned. Every use of the feature is like watching a monster movie, and a testament to Bayonetta 3’s brilliant, fluid camera, able to capture Kaiju combat while keeping the protagonist in view.
Bayonetta 3 nails the beat ‘em up, then adds distinctive, but enjoyable giant monster combat, and then adds dozens of other gameplay surprises, for good measure. In an early chapter, a player is transported to a train, where they must fight in a new, narrower space.
After adjusting, minutes later the player is skating across buildings as an enormous dragon, who uses boats for water skis. This aquatic platforming is smooth; Sonic might take a page from how well the dragon controls. It would be a disservice to spoil any more. This is a game exploding with different playable characters, giant monsters, and genres that are executed well every time.
▍Aspects of Gameplay Feel Like a Distraction
The variety in the game detracts, slightly, from combat. Just when you have new combos memorized the game often thrusts you into new, unfamiliar content. Largely unimportant collectibles scattered across the game’s chapters offer another distraction, and the platforming involved in their acquisition is not particularly inspiring.
Enemies can feel a bit repetitive, and a player will grow used to familiar attacks, projectiles, and punching bags. But the bosses do not disappoint, mixing cinematic moments with new gameplay experiences at every climactic confrontation.
You’ll want to replay chapters in Bayonetta 3 and use the Training Mode to master weapons. The gameplay is fun and incredibly deep, and unlockable stages and medals offer more replayability. The Standard difficulty mode is not a pushover, while the Expert mode feels rewarding but never cruel or unfair. And Platinum medals loom as towering achievements in each chapter.
▍Bayonetta 3 Perfects the Beat ‘Em Up Experience
Bayonetta 3 constantly reinvents its gameplay with new characters, weapons, and genre-bending experiences, so that it is easy to overlook the forgettable story and uninspired character development. The seamless combat gives you an incredible variety of different options to engage enemy encounters, without typical action-adventure hiccups related to camera movement, hitboxes, and enemy tracking.
Each weapon is memorable for its distinctive feel; the gorgeous, over-the-top animations are the cherry on top. Offering the classic Bayonetta style and charm, with sharpened mechanics that allow you to battle and ski as an enormous dragon, Bayonetta 3 is a must-buy that nearly hits the franchise’s peaks. The game gets a rating of 4.5 out of 5.
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Bayonetta 3 Review – A Smooth and Stylish Beat ‘Em Up with Surprises in Store
Bayonetta 3 refines the franchise’s beat ‘em up gameplay while offering delightful genre-crossing surprises, for a sequel that elevates every aspect of the series except the story.
Operating System: Switch
4.5