There is a new Bayonetta game coming out. Bayonetta is the ringmaster and she shows up out of the blue with boxcars of strange beasts, weird friends, dangerous spells, magnificent clothing and promises to impress. Even though her stories don't always make sense, they're filled with melodrama and action, magic and gunfire, and Bayonetta enters the spotlight, there's no looking away. She was dancing her way through a spell in an outfit made of her own hair while monsters fought to the death at her back.
Bayonetta 3 is full of Bayonetta madness. The stakes are higher than they've ever been, the enemies are massive, Bayonetta's magic is powerful, and the fights don't stop. An army of man-made bioweapons called Homonculi is threatening the existence of the multiverse, but it is just an excuse to throw Bayonetta and friends into an endless string of battles. Bayonetta 3 isn't very different from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in that it has more silliness and shoe-operated guns than anything helmed by Robert Downey Jr.
Bayonetta 3 is just as rich as the previous ones. During her quest, Bayonetta acquires new skills and weapons, as well as collecting fragments of fallen enemies to purchase items, consumables and accessories in the Gates of Hell shop. You can replay each fight if you want to chase high scores. There are many challenges in each level.
Bayonetta 3 struggles as much as any fast-paced action game on that console: at times, inputs feel sluggish and it becomes difficult to track which moves are actually lined up. The game provides visual indicators for attacks and there is a rhythm to be found, but the entire thing runs in Switch Reaction Time, which does not adhere to daylight saving
Bayonetta 3 has all the things that fans of the series would want. There's more weird, one-liners, and combat mechanics. One section puts players in control of Bayonetta's witchy pal, Jeanne, for a side-scroller action sequence with 1960s espionage flair. Bayonetta has the ability to control time in short spurts. The Demon Slave skill allows Bayonetta to summon and control giant creatures of hell, each with a specific moveset, and the Demon Masque ability allows her to transform into various demons.
One of Bayonetta's demons is a train. Bayonetta is infused with the energy of Satan's choo-choo and she can summon a tank engine during fights. Attacking as the train with Demon Slave slows down allows players to quickly draw a track and indicate points of damage in the path of nearby enemies. The train will barrel down the ghost track in real time if the demon slave button is removed. Bayonetta can turn into a train-witch hybrid with the help of Demon Masquerade. That's right, she does.
The train demon meshes well with the rest of the game. Bayonetta's world has always been crazy. You can deal with the idea of Umbra Witches and bartending angels if you can handle it.
After playing the third iteration of Bayonetta, I think this is a good move. The series feels like an excuse to make Bayonetta dance her way through a spell while massive monsters fight in the background because of its rich sense of combat. Bayonetta is powerful and fighting in her shoes feels great, but her personality is what makes this franchise a cult hit. Bayonetta is confident, sarcastic and always correct, her outfits are stunning, she dances like an angel, and she never has a hair out of place. The chaos of this combination is truly magical because she is a drag queen.
Bayonetta 3 is ridiculous and somewhat disorganized, but that's what makes it so wonderful. Fans of the series expect something completely unexpected from it, and it does just that.
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