Bayonetta 3 - Review

It was back in 2017, at the Game Awards that we learn that Bayonetta 3 was coming and just a few months later we would get the first two games released on Switch. Now some five years later, or there about, has the wait for Bayonetta’s latest adventure been worth it, or has her spell been broken?

The story for the latest adventure picks up with Bayonetta taking on some blue/green entity who is dominating the fight and while things look bad, Bayonetta refuses to give up. The fight however is not going in her favour and she is killed, turning into a crystal and shattering. The camera pans to the new character Viola, who screams out a no and rushes the bad guy, only be her friend sends her out into the multiverse to locate someone who can help. The scene cuts to another Bayonetta walking down a street in New York, having obtained some bread, before she makes Enzo drive her around town some more. Before too long, something goes wrong and there is a change in the weather, with a creature of unknown origins just destroying the city. After some amazing moves, Bayonetta runs it off and then she regroups with Rodan, Enzo and Viola in the Gates of Hell bar, learning the truth about what is going on. If all that sounds out there and random as heck, then you would be right, the game doesn’t ease you into its plot, it piledrives you into it.

With the adventure underway, you might think there is time to provide context to what is going on, but that is rarely the case. Bayonetta, Jeanne and Viola head out to save the world, with Jeanne given the mission of locating a scientist who can help. The others are attempting to locate items of significance which can help them out, the only problem is there is no explanation as to why. The lack of explanation carries across into the worlds the the two venture into, seeing new places is fine, but a reason as to why its them would have been nice. By the team the story wraps up, the main story beats are not explained and while I would like to say it’s a satisfying ending, it really isn’t. Given the series has been around for over a decade, there is a lot of expectation on the end of any game, but this one seems to fail. As you venture throughout the multiverse you do get to meet some extra folks that provide some help, but there is also no explanation about them, though fans should work it out.

That perhaps highlights the biggest issue with the games story, unless you have enjoyed the first two games and maybe the animated movie, you will be lost here. There is no explanation about who the characters are, why Bayonetta can summon demons or why there are demons. I understand they wanted to hit the ground running, but the problem is that they didn’t even stop to check the track they are on. This may not be an issue for fans who know who some of the characters are, but the new ones are often given half an introduction, before we are expected to move on. The ending, as I said before, isn’t that satisfying and a lot of that comes down to the lack of story that precedes it. Overall, if you are coming in here for a story, you are going to be let down.

On the gameplay front, there is a lot to enjoy however and that is something that the series has never really had an issue with, so it is nice to see it carrying on here. The bulk of the game has you controlling Bayonetta, but there are some missions where you will take control of Viola and also Jeanne, more on her in a bit. When you are Bayonetta, your moves are going to feel familiar to anyone who has played the first two games, you have a kick and punch attack, a shooting attack and of course, you can summon demons. As you proceed through the adventure and encounter otherworldly versions of Bayonetta, you will start to unlock more demons and weapons, which give you more moves to unleash. Regardless of which weapon you equip, the attack combos will play out the same, the difference is in the range, as some weapons have none. By that I mean that some will require you to be fairly close to your target, others will let you unleash hell at a distance. This system will let you find the one that works for you and even if you don’t experiment too much, you should find a good balance for your play style. The other option for Bayonetta is her summonable demons, of which you can have three ready to go at any one time. The game will occasionally force one on you, usually before it becomes a permanent unlock, but even then, you can still opt to use the ones you prefer.

While the locations are fairly linear, as in there is usually a clear path forward, exploring does often provide rewards. Sometimes the rewards are in the form of collectibles, but sometimes they are additional challenges that you can undertake, to earn additional cash to spend in the shop. Most of the time progression is tied to walking into a large arena looking space, taking down the enemies that spawn and moving on. Sometimes though, the game will throw some puzzles in your path, giving you a chance to use the Demons for something other than combat. While they are not overly complex, I do wish there were a few more to undertake, because they really helped to change things up.

Speaking of changing things up, you also get to play as Viola and while most of her moves are similar to that of Bayonetta, she doesn’t have the option to summon any demon or use any weapon. Most of the stages with her are just chasing down Luka, which are fine, but they are not all that involved. The most interesting one has her wandering through a desert, and then you get to control her Demon pal Cheshire, to get her through. Jeanna is perhaps the greatest departure gameplay wise, as all the times you can play as her, you get to play everything as a 2d side scroller. It actually reminded me of the Batman Arkham 3DS game, with stealth elements and such. Most of these stages only take a little bit of time to finish, but the later ones have some epic fights to undertake, which are quite fun, but there are only a handful of stages in the end, so its over to soon.

While the gameplay is the star, there is no denying that things have been weird with it, as the game goes from a focused action game to a Kaiju sized Street Fighter and onto a schmup. Each of these moments are so random, that they can often catch you by surprise, but they are a welcome change from the running from battle to battle. The only thing that I didn’t like, mostly because it rubs the completionist in me the wrong way, is that you can skip over entire battles if you don’t explore.

With regards to the presentation, there is good and bad about it, but let us start with the good. Each of the locations you visit from the ruined streets of Tokyo to the void between dimensions, all look wonderful. Some of them look better than others, more so if they focus things down into narrow spaces, the desert being the exception here. When you venture to the destroyed Paris of another world, there are shops you can look into, busses and cars all over the place and even though it looks ruined, it still looks good. The various characters that you meet, from those directly connected to Bayonetta, to the ones within each world, look great, with the Paris design being my favourite. Some of them look so out there, that you may not connect them to being the same character at times, whereas others look so similar, it can be hard to find a difference. The game also runs really smooth, I didn’t count frames or anything, but I never noticed any issues with its performance, even when the action got chaotic.

The bad though is with the larger spaces, usually on the island of Thule or the void between worlds, there is a lot of pop up here. Items will appear, usually quite close to Bayonetta and they are not subtle about it, but even in the worlds you do visit, the same issue happens. The game looks really good across the board, so seeing these issues, when they shouldn’t exist, does put a damper on things. Another area where things are a bit of a miss, is that there are textures that are very poor in quality. For the most part, the texture work is incredible and you will just be taken in by them, but the game does some close ups, that highlight the poor ones. The final issue I have here is that enemies often fade away, in order to let you always see the character you are playing as and I hate it. They could have done something simple like an outline of your character, but no they opted to fade the enemy out, should it get between you and the camera. These moments are constant and when you are surrounded by enemies, having a few of them vanish on you, can be unsettling.

The games audio offers up a solid soundscape in comparison, there is a stellar cast that bring the characters to life and a score that is equal parts familiar and fresh. The voice cast does a wonderful job, with Jennifer Hale doing a great job as Bayonetta and while she is new to the character, still has that same levels of flirt on each line spoken. Grey Griffin does a great job as her counterpart in Jeanne, but it is the addition of Anna Brisbin that adds some fun to the events as Viola. Sure, some of the lines are a little are cheesy, but all are played with some enough seriousness that you can’t help but get connected. Yuri Lowenthal, someone PlayStation gamers will know as Spider-Man, does a great job again as Luka and while the scenes with all of them together are slim, they do have some fun when they are on screen at once. The issue with the games vocal work however, comes up with the enemies and especially Singularity, it is so hard to understand them, with the audio is so processed, that any chance of understanding the lines are impossible. It was so difficult, I had to put subtitles on, just so I could have a chance at understanding what was being said.

The games score offers up some remixes of classic tunes, but it is during the battles when the score really amps up the impact, especially with Viola. Given that you can locate records to enjoy the music on its own later on, it is something you will want to do, just so you can focus on enjoying the score. Though, something that surprised me was hearing Frank Sinatra during the end credits, don’t get me wrong I love hearing him, just wasn’t expecting it. It is also the second game this year that has done that, with his rendition of My Way playing during the Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins game.

Bayonetta 3 is a great game, it offers up another slice of the action that Platinum Games have built their name on and offers a great adventure for fans to enjoy. Where things fall apart though is that it does nothing to welcome in new players, sure you don’t have to answer questions to begin playing, but characters and backstory are never explained. Even if you do jump in without having played the first two games, you will find a great action game, with some incredible gameplay genre jumps. The presentation is solid and while there is pop in of some elements, none of that will impact your enjoyment. Long time fans will surely revel in another entry in the series, but those coming in new will likely be lost by the lack of explanation. Above all the characters and lore though, is a fast-paced action game that doesn’t take itself to seriously, so if that appeals to you, then you are in for a good time.

The Score

8.5

Review code provided by Nintendo

The Pros

+Fast and fun combat that rewards experimentation

+There is a lot to do, outside of fighting, so exploring is key

The Cons

-The story seems to speed up and slow down at random and doesn't feel all that satisfying

-Enemies vanishing if you get them between you and the camera is just weird