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[Danjin44]

I just finished the game, THAT was god damn EPIC! I can safely say this is my favourite Bayonetta without a doubt.

Also I actually really dig romance between Bayonetta and Luka which made the ending that much bitter sweet.

 

[MistBreeze]

I finished the game

It is surprisingly different and so much new mechanics

I started on expert from the get go as Im familiar with bayonetta mechanics and played the past two games

It was overwhelming at first and the secret verses some of them are hard ( very hard )

Now Im on second play through and everything started to click ( on demons best attacks and mixing uses multi demons ) and it is glorious

You can not play this game the same mindset as the first two games

 

[Labolas]

Like I said in my earlier post I have finished the game. And it was fucking a blast.

And everything she gave. Holy shit, this is a definitely rarity among videogames. It knows it's a videogame and fucking basks in it. Platinum deserves huge props for making a game that is filled with such content and love all in one game, no patches, no dlc, just all in one game. And that in of itself is condemnable especially considering nowadays when that's all big major videogames are. There are cutscene references and gameplay references to their previous games such as Wonderful 101 and Astral Chain. Demons like the demon train and Assault Slave are such references to those games. Speaking of Demon Slave, this game takes the series in a whole new direction with the new mechanic. In fact I initially believed from the first gameplay trailer that the Demon Slave was just a gameplay gimmick and was just a qte minigame that would hurt the gameplay that I come to love. But in reality I was wrong and pleasantly surprised with how deep and creative the Demon Slave mechanic was. It takes Astral Chain's Legion mechanic and actually makes it a mix of creative, crazy and broken when compared to the Astral Chain's Legion ability. You can summon a demon and have it do a bunch of attacks that have a lot of startup and switch back to Bayo and go on the offense and then go back to control the demon. It's the best way I can describe it but yeah, it fucking nuts. And that's pretty basic and it's not even the more advanced stuff you can do. Also you have finishers with the combo strings now as well. I can tell someone is a big Godzilla fan on the team with Gomorrah. Gomorrah is basically Godzilla in this as a demon in your control and I love it, I'm a big Godzilla fan so this is a huge plus for me. And when playing the fucking weapons in the game. Like JFC, the amount of weapons and unique animations and creativity that comes with those weapons is nuts and fun. You go from her standard pistols which is basic for her(for the beginning of the game) to yo yo weapons to being a train and riding chainsaw blade to having a mic as a weapon all the way to having weapons that look like fucking Voltron. There's about 11 different weapons to go nuts with in the game. Each weapon has unique animations and juggle states as well. Hell, they made the shoot button which was just used as a pea shooter essentially in the previous games, actually useful and different for each weapon. All this makes most action games look tame in comparison when there's some much you can do. And then you combine that with demons you have and their unique combos with each other and you got a game is oozing creativity and depth. This alone for me makes the game a worthy successor to 1 than 2 imo.

As for the rest of the game, I like it and it shows Platinum is willing to grow and change the franchise without really sacrificing too much the series' identity. A lot of Quality of Life changes that serves the game well. The game's level design is more open and you can explore. You can pick and choose a checkpoint within the chapter to start off making it somewhat easier to replay certain portions of the game. It also introduces a new character Viola, which I didn't hate. I know a lot of people didn't like her for a variety of reasons such her gameplay is harder or that she's a sjw character (she's not, she's just a goofy character). But I kinda ended up liking the character, sure she isn't Bayonetta but I did appreciate the asserted effort and chance Platinum took with the character. She isn't Bayo but she does have her own style gameplay and isn't a palette swap of Bayo and is endearing in her own way. Also the music probably my favorite in the series. I absolutely love the chapter select music. Viola's theme is a welcome change. And while Bayo's theme isn't my favorite, it's still good. There's remixes of older themes from Bayo 1 and 2 as well that are great. Did I mention there's a training mode as well?

I do have issues with the game. There's an absorbent amount of minigames and shootemup segments in the form of boss fights. I dread replaying the rhythm segment. Although I do think the Jeanne sections are my favorite because it is separate from the rest of the game and has its own requirements of perfect scoring. The minigames aren't a problem on a first playthrough necessarily but doing multiple runs can be an issue for people getting good at the game and going for Pure Platinum ranks. Speaking of ranking, the requirements for time are bit too strict and I wished that just made more like how Bayo 1 was where it allowed to be more creative or just got rid of it completely. Also this is by far the worst looking Bayonetta game. Some things do look good but for the majority of the game, it looks rough. I think the reason for this is because they cram so much into this that they had to make compromises especially it's on Switch. Which is a shame that this isn't on more powerful hardware. Also I'm not the biggest fan of the character designs in this game. Jeanne looks pretty bad as well as Rodin. Bayo's default outfit isn't bad but some of the other ones aren't as good. But admittedly, I have warmed up these designs.

The story

Spoiler: the ending and where the series could possibly go

I didn't hate the whole story nor the ending. I was mostly fine with how it ended. I liked Beast/Strider Luka. Although I think the Elven stuff was a bit eye roll inducing and felt like an asspull. But overall I didn't hate, I'm fine with it. Also everyone (mostly twitter) losing their collective shit over Bayo being straight can go get bend. Viola using the Bayo moniker doesn't work for me because it doesn't feel earned as well And there's a prevalently theory that we're playing a different Bayo in each game as well. So I think there's fuel to the fire but outside Jeanne, no one refers to Bayo as Cereza in the previous game consistent. And I think that this Bayo is the Brave Cereza from the first game. Nor do I think Jeanne and Bayo are permanently dead.

Overall, I really love this game over the sheer craziness and creativity the game offers, but I'll admit it's a flawed masterpiece. 9.5/10. It's a type of game we rarely get anymore and we should appreciate it. My GOTY easy. What a wonderful dance this game is.

Rankings for all three games imo:
1.) Bayonetta 1 - the best experience, teaches you the fundamentals of the game
2.) Bayonetta 3 - the craziest, most experimental and most creative of the three
3.) Bayonetta 2- the best looking of the three and the most casual friendly

 

[ungalo]

I would rank the 3 games the same way.

Thank God they came back to a gameplay that encourages creativity. Bayonetta 2 has the most boring combats and the game was all about combat.

 

[Ulysses 31]

I might try the witch trials before my PP run.

Also, you had a partner on the B2 witch trials???

Did you PP the other games on hardest difficulties?

Can only imagine what a nightmare that could be if you're not playing nearly flawless...

 

[NightmareFarm]

Did you PP the other games on hardest difficulties?

Can only imagine what a nightmare that could be if you're not playing nearly flawless...

Only a plat run on B2 very hard. That was quite a pain in the ass.

 

[Beanbox]

Really enjoying Bayo 3 about 2/3 of the way through.
Bayo 1 and Bayo 3 are close in terms of how good they are. 1 had the advantage of novelty and on the more focused gameplay. 3 is all over the place in mostly a good way, but I would have preferred if they didn't do gimmicky stuff for some of the final boss fights.

Spoiler: fight spoiler

For example, like having to blow bubbles up that monkey demon's ass to fight it with your mega demon slave

Overall it gets the balance right, and the funky sections are good to break up the action and make the game more memorable. There is a ridiculous amount of content in the game and it absolutely should warrant multiple playthrough and going through the witch trials with all the different weapons and demon slaves.
The demon slave system is pretty good and seamless for the most part. It was definitely hard to pull off giving you that much control over the demon and what they did was quite impressive.

The visuals and performance are fine, it's not bayonetta 1 ps3 levels of awful, but you will notice drops.

Honestly I don't know if we'll get a Bayonetta 4, and I don't want to see a Viola spinoff (it's an OK character but Bayonetta is far more fun).
Still I'm impressed at Kamiya - he definitely still got it.

Thinking back to Bayon 2, I'm not sure why that game isn't as memorable. I guess maybe it felt like Bayonetta 1.5 more than anything else. Bayonetta 3 is a better sequel to 1 in every way.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I finished it today. What a wild ride. Gameplay was awesome. Even if you just wanted to hit the attack button, combos connected and felt great. You don’t have to spend points on moves if you don’t want to. The plot and the ending are what I have mixed feelings about.

Spoiler

I don’t know if I want to play a Bayo with Viola as Bayo. To be continued in a new generation? Really? Do they have to go back to the slowly maturating attitudes of youth to continue? Is Bayo too old? She seemed quite fine in multiple dimensions. In fact, Viola is the weaker character. I guess we had to start with Nero in DMC4 considering DMC1 and 3 weren’t exactly in order. Hopefully they give Viola more weapons, new clothes, and etc.

Looking into the future. A very immature Bayonetta on a new Nintendo console doesn’t sound better than Bayo1-3. That’s just a thought.

 

[SlimySnake]

Finished it yesterday. Overall I really enjoyed it and had a blast with it, can't wait to go back and go through the higher difficulties as well as playing around with some of the weapons I didn't use a lot (or at all) during my first playthrough.
Some final thoughts.

On the positive side:
- I love the creativity and craziness, you can tell a lot of love went into this and they tried to incorporate as many ideas as they could come up with. The amount of weapons for a game like this is pretty insane and they are all fun to use and have depth. Not to mention that conceptually this has some of the most unique and fun weapons I've ever seen in a game. It's like they saw the bike blades in DMC5 and went "hold my beer".
- I like the "Bayonetta in the multiverse of madness" concept for the story, I've never been too invested in the plot so just having an excuse to go to a variety of locations and encounter silly characters was good IMO
- The Demon Salve mechanic was much better than I expected. From the trailers I was afraid it would be too gimmicky but it actually works well and adds depth to the combat system. I still prefer the lower scale, more up close approach of the first two but I appreciate them trying something new to keep things fresh, and it largely succeeded. I'd much rather get this than just another game that plays the same as the previous ones.
- The level design felt improved compared to previous games, there was a bit more to explore and some cleverly hidden stuff to find, though I wish the majority of hidden things weren't lame collectibles
- The music is fantastic (as always)

On the negative side:
- This is one of if not the ugliest game I've played in the last 10+ years. It looks extremely blurry and muddy (which doesn't combined well with the larger scale of everything), a lot of textures are horrible, the dithering looks terrible, the lighting is terrible, there's shimmering everywhere, etc. Not only that but I found the art direction really weak too, Bayonetta and Jeanne have their worst designs yet, Viola looks like she was made using a random generation feature in Saints Row and in general the Humunculus pale in comparison with the heaven and hell aesthetic of previous games.
- For all the crazy setpiece moments I found most bosses really forgettable, in fact only the last one really stands out as memorable.
- Them seemingly incorporating every idea they could come up with works as a double edged sword as it can also make the game feel a bit gimmicky at times. I usually don't tend to like the sequences in Platinum games where they deviate from the core gameplay loop, and this one has a lot of that (aside from the rythm game sequence, that was awesome)
- Like the 2 previous games, I still think it suffer a bit from interrupting the gameplay too often. I wish it had longer sequences where I just explore the locations and fight enemies without getting interrupted by a cutscene or gimmick gameplay sequence ever 5 minutes

Regarding the ending

I am half way through the game, and I pretty much agree with this. I think on paper, this game would probably be the greatest action game ever made, and yet it doesnt quite get there. The combat is deep, so many new weapons, moves and systems, and yet it doesnt all come together due to the insane focus on mini bosses instead of mobs. It's a lot more fun to fight human enemies and bosses in this game because you can finally chain together combos, read their moves and react accordingly. cant do that with bosses that are massive taking up half of the screen creating havoc around the boss arena. they clearly want you to fight these bosses with the summons and it is a shame because bayonetta has a better moveset than those things.

Viola isnt much fun to fight with and I really struggle with her. especially with those strider boss fights.

I feel like Platinum wanted this to be their magnum opus in the way GOW and TLOU2 were for ND and SSM. They went all out and said fuck it when it came to being limited by the switch hardware. I admire it tbh, and not gonna lie, some of the fights and setpieces are simply genius. But some of them are just like this is too much. I cant see shit. They needed to exercise some restraint here. The best level in the game is the Egyptian temple and it was mostly because it was self contained and didnt have a million mini games, setpieces... at least until the very end.

The combat here has so much potential that I am afraid to go play GOW next week. It will feel dated for sure after Bayonetta. It really sucks that the challenge rooms have ridiculous qualifiers that make it very unfun, and the main game just doesnt want you to fight regular enemies because I really want to just sit down and enjoy the combat.

And yes, this is by far the ugliest game ive ever played. I think platinum pushed the hardware too far and the switch simply cant handle the massive open environment. Typically these games are saved by their art but this one is far too ugly to be saved by anything. i cant believe that an AAA game was allowed to release with these visuals. Maybe they are the reason why the setpieces arent landing for me.

 

[Punished Miku]

Its not a flawless game but some of whats here is genius, as said above. So many substantial new gameplay ideas. Never played a game with such flexibility in terms of combat, summons, weapons. It never gets old to do the demon slave moves and have the camera perspective locked in and yet it all still works. 100% might be my GOTY right now, despite some messy art design and a few messy bosses.

There's just nothing like this game. The spider tranform movement options, the demon slave counter hits, and on and on. So much raw gameplay innovation.

Anyone who said we shouldn't expect new moves in God of War R because its a direct sequel should play this game. Incredible amount of substantial additions.

 

[Danjin44]

Anyone who said we shouldn't expect new moves in God of War R because its a direct sequel should play this game. Incredible amount of substantial additions.

Even back in PS2 games GOW's combat was never deep, the whole idea behind series it more cinematic take on character action game so the combat is much more simple and less technical compare to DMC and Bayonetta.

 

[Neff]

Just finished it. Damn good game.

Pros
+ This is the all-you-can-eat Bayonetta. There's more content, ideas, mechanics, exploration, variety, genre shifts and spectacle than it feels like you can take in all at once. But you do it anyway, and it's awesome.
+ Viola is great. She really doesn't do a whole lot new in terms of the genre, she's basically there as a meta-love letter to Devil May Cry. But she's really fun and I like her. Her song is perfect for an action game like this.
+ Chav Bayonetta. We got chav Bayonetta. I mean I know she's from Japan, but that outfit and hairstyle could have been from a rough end of Clapham in the mid '00s, and they made her voice just that little more council estate-y for effect and I appreciated it. The alternate Bayonettas generally speaking were really well done.
+ Visuals. I feel like I'm alone on this but I thought it looked really good. Nothing spectacular, but really good despite the painfully obvious limitations of the Switch in 2022. The magic effects and costume details were particularly well done.
+ Diversions, god, there's tons of them. The levels are huge and stuffed with secrets and fun ways to waste time. It gave me everything I was desperately wanting from DMC5 but didn't get.
+ Jeanne's '60s Elevator Action homage. That intro was amazing and I never got tired of watching it. Clearly a lot of effort was put into it on all levels. So many good gags for so many situations. Watching her get flattened paper thin got an unexpectedly hearty laugh out of me.
+ After Bayo 2's limp, recycled finale it was a relief to get something a little more epic and flashy. The feels when Bayo 1 showed up, man.

Cons
- Hale's performance. She tries, she really does. She's very, very good. But there's no getting around the fact that she's just not the Bayonetta we're used to. The haughtiness, the sass, the musical way she purrs through her ridiculously fruity dialogue- Hale's doing her damndest to mimic it but it just doesn't quite land as authentically and naturally as Taylor did. Also while Hale's British accent is fine for the most part, there's some moments where it clangs hard ("that warter tenk") and ruins the effect. A good performance in all, but Taylor is sorely, unavoidably missed.
- Switch performance. It's rough. A game this fast and chaotic needs a high framerate and for the most part unfortunately it doesn't have it. Here's hoping the game is secretly hoarding an unlocked mode for Switch 2.
- Due to the emphasis on summoning, combat arenas are naturally larger to accommodate them. Unfortunately this means that enemies tend to get out of view a lot more often than previous games, leading to being attacked off-screen becoming a common thing. This is a problem exacerbated by the fact that you have giant chunks of monster and combo finishers being thrown around the place obscuring your view. You can mitigate the chaos with experience, and pull the camera out to boost visual intel, but there are always going to be moments where you simply can't see what's going on and be vulnerable to a hit.
- I thought the ending was very well done but it's undeniably and surprisingly downbeat for a Bayonetta game. I was waiting for my 'MOOOOOORRRRRNIIIIIING' moment but it never came. I mean, we get a fucking bloodbath and we're left hanging. Despite the dance-off epilogue I'm assuming Bayonetta, Jeanne and Luka are gone, or at least in Inferno, until the next game elects to bring them back.

I think I rate it overall better than 2 but it can't top 1. Bring on the 'next generation'.

 

[Punished Miku]

Just got Viola finally. Not sure why some of you guys are down on her. Im crushing it. Her playstyle is great and a lot of fun. Love how she's less mobile and feels different. Her slash animations are pretty awesome. Has a lot of personality.

 

[FeralEcho]

Just finished it.I'm gonna share my thoughts about it cuz I just need to talk about this thing.

I know I said I was done with Platinum after the whole Helena Taylor debacle but I love character action games and Bayonetta series in particular too much to give this one up so I bought it 2 days after launch lol

I just wanna start by saying Great Job to everyone at Platinum Games who contributed to this game's production and somehow managing to end this series with such grace cuz holy shit this fucking thing is a masterpiece.You guys did it!

I've had doubts all throughout the game's marketing cycle,ever since the game was announced,Bayonetta looked and sounded different,the world was washed out and taking place in modern times and the new enemies looked dumb and all over the place design wise(or so I thought) and that just took away from what Bayonetta was to me nevermind the fact that I was concerned they were gonna neuter the game for modern audiences like so many other series nowadays.BOY WAS I WRONG! This game revels in the very fact that it's a video game and If i can describe it with just one sentence it would be "The gift that keeps on giving" cuz this mofo starts at a 10 and somehow manages to keep ramping up the chaos with each new chapter and never lets up,new abilities,new settings,countless new enemies and setpieces and bosses upon bosses upon bosses.

Bayonetta 3 is the embodiment of why I play videogames.It's that feeling that there's something new with each step forward you take,the feeling that you're on an adventure and can't wait to see what else they throws at you.And this game throws everything but the kitchen sink at you,there's barely any down time.Whenever it slows down the action it still keeps it interesting by switching gameplay scenarios,it never quite lingers on one thing for too long,It's very well placed in that regard and it's something I feel Bayo 2 failed at cuz that game also starts at a 10,hell that intro is only rivaled by God of War 3 for me but as with God of War 3 the game kinda falls off a cliff after that,still good but nowhere near the heights it set out which leaves a feeling of wanting more.Bayonetta 3 doesn't have this issues thankfully.

...but anyway this post is getting too long so I'll just say this Bayonetta 3 surpassed all my expectations and is my favorite game in the series and one of my favorite games this generation.Well done Platinum Games!

Postives:
+Still one of the greatest character action games around
+Summoning system works really well and feels punchy
+Tons of Boss battles and enemy variety
+Viola is surprisingly endearing and a blast to play as
+Diverse locations and biomes
+Incredible pacing and progression
+It has a very distinct visual identity due to the amazing art style and character designs
+Really good OST


Negatives:
-Framerate can be a problem in places
-The camera is the worst enemy you'll encounter in the game
-Sound mixing a bit odd in places
-Helena Taylor's absence(although Jennifer Hale does an amazing job)

My final score would be a 9.5/10.It's a masterpiece and one of Platinum's best.

An absolute must play for any character action game fan.

 

[Punished Miku]

Just finished it.I'm gonna share my thoughts about it cuz I just need to talk about this thing.

I know I said I was done with Platinum after the whole Helena Taylor debacle but I love character action games and Bayonetta series in particular too much to give this one up so I bought it 2 days after launch lol

I just wanna start by saying Great Job to everyone at Platinum Games who contributed to this game's production and somehow managing to end this series with such grace cuz holy shit this fucking thing is a masterpiece.You guys did it!

I've had doubts all throughout the game's marketing cycle,ever since the game was announced,Bayonetta looked and sounded different,the world was washed out and taking place in modern times and the new enemies looked dumb and all over the place design wise(or so I thought) and that just took away from what Bayonetta was to me nevermind the fact that I was concerned they were gonna neuter the game for modern audiences like so many other series nowadays.BOY WAS I WRONG! This game revels in the very fact that it's a video game and If i can describe it with just one sentence it would be "The gift that keeps on giving" cuz this mofo starts at a 10 and somehow manages to keep ramping up the chaos with each new chapter and never lets up,new abilities,new settings,countless new enemies and setpieces and bosses upon bosses upon bosses.

Bayonetta 3 is the embodiment of why I play videogames.It's that feeling that there's something new with each step forward you take,the feeling that you're on an adventure and can't wait to see what else they throws at you.And this game throws everything but the kitchen sink at you,there's barely any down time.Whenever it slows down the action it still keeps it interesting by switching gameplay scenarios,it never quite lingers on one thing for too long,It's very well placed in that regard and it's something I feel Bayo 2 failed at cuz that game also starts at a 10,hell that intro is only rivaled by God of War 3 for me but as with God of War 3 the game kinda falls off a cliff after that,still good but nowhere near the heights it set out which leaves a feeling of wanting more.Bayonetta 3 doesn't have this issues thankfully.

...but anyway this post is getting too long so I'll just say this Bayonetta 3 surpassed all my expectations and is my favorite game in the series and one of my favorite games this generation.Well done Platinum Games!

Postives:
+Still one of the greatest character action games around
+Summoning system works really well and feels punchy
+Tons of Boss battles and enemy variety
+Viola is surprisingly endearing and a blast to play as
+Diverse locations and biomes
+Incredible pacing and progression
+It has a very distinct visual identity due to the amazing art style and character designs
+Really good OST


Negatives:
-Framerate can be a problem in places
-The camera is the worst enemy you'll encounter in the game
-Sound mixing a bit odd in places
-Helena Taylor's absence(although Jennifer Hale does an amazing job)

My final score would be a 9.5/10.It's a masterpiece and one of Platinum's best.

An absolute must play for any character action game fan.

Only thing I'll disagree with on that great write up is the camera. I think the camera is a triumph. Sometimes it pans out so far its like power stone. Sometimes its locked behind Bayonetta while you use demon slave and it makes the demons look hugeeeee. Sometimes it follows the spider form as you wall climb. And it all just works. Its far enough back that you can always see the action. Only got messy once on one boss fight. The way the camera works on demon slave is just great.

 

[FeralEcho]

Only thing I'll disagree with on that great write up is the camera. I think the camera is a triumph. Sometimes it pans out so far its like power stone. Sometimes its locked behind Bayonetta while you use demon slave and it makes the demons look hugeeeee. Sometimes it follows the spider form as you while climb. And it all just works. Its far enough back that you can always see the action. Only got messy once on one boss fight. The way the camera works on demon slave is just great.

I do agree it does the job really well most of the time especially with the summons and especially with how busy the screen can get at times,i just had a couple instances where i got hit off screen cuz the camera was trying hard to "lock" onto one enemy when there were like 5 around(It mainly happened in the portal zones) but i felt it needed a mention.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Just finished it.I'm gonna share my thoughts about it cuz I just need to talk about this thing.

I know I said I was done with Platinum after the whole Helena Taylor debacle but I love character action games and Bayonetta series in particular too much to give this one up so I bought it 2 days after launch lol

I just wanna start by saying Great Job to everyone at Platinum Games who contributed to this game's production and somehow managing to end this series with such grace cuz holy shit this fucking thing is a masterpiece.You guys did it!

I've had doubts all throughout the game's marketing cycle,ever since the game was announced,Bayonetta looked and sounded different,the world was washed out and taking place in modern times and the new enemies looked dumb and all over the place design wise(or so I thought) and that just took away from what Bayonetta was to me nevermind the fact that I was concerned they were gonna neuter the game for modern audiences like so many other series nowadays.BOY WAS I WRONG! This game revels in the very fact that it's a video game and If i can describe it with just one sentence it would be "The gift that keeps on giving" cuz this mofo starts at a 10 and somehow manages to keep ramping up the chaos with each new chapter and never lets up,new abilities,new settings,countless new enemies and setpieces and bosses upon bosses upon bosses.

Bayonetta 3 is the embodiment of why I play videogames.It's that feeling that there's something new with each step forward you take,the feeling that you're on an adventure and can't wait to see what else they throws at you.And this game throws everything but the kitchen sink at you,there's barely any down time.Whenever it slows down the action it still keeps it interesting by switching gameplay scenarios,it never quite lingers on one thing for too long,It's very well placed in that regard and it's something I feel Bayo 2 failed at cuz that game also starts at a 10,hell that intro is only rivaled by God of War 3 for me but as with God of War 3 the game kinda falls off a cliff after that,still good but nowhere near the heights it set out which leaves a feeling of wanting more.Bayonetta 3 doesn't have this issues thankfully.

...but anyway this post is getting too long so I'll just say this Bayonetta 3 surpassed all my expectations and is my favorite game in the series and one of my favorite games this generation.Well done Platinum Games!

Postives:
+Still one of the greatest character action games around
+Summoning system works really well and feels punchy
+Tons of Boss battles and enemy variety
+Viola is surprisingly endearing and a blast to play as
+Diverse locations and biomes
+Incredible pacing and progression
+It has a very distinct visual identity due to the amazing art style and character designs
+Really good OST


Negatives:
-Framerate can be a problem in places
-The camera is the worst enemy you'll encounter in the game
-Sound mixing a bit odd in places
-Helena Taylor's absence(although Jennifer Hale does an amazing job)

My final score would be a 9.5/10.It's a masterpiece and one of Platinum's best.

An absolute must play for any character action game fan.

Man, she has camel toe for decades. Shit is poking out back there.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

I just realised I can't get scarborough fair and love is blue; feelsbadman

 

[Danjin44]

Bayonetta 3 is the embodiment of why I play videogames.

I couldn't have said it better myself. This is the game is not afraid to be gamey which for gods knows why has become negative thing these days.

 

[Deerock71]

I haven't played a game since the dreamcast days

 

[Alexios]

I haven't played a game since the dreamcast days

Dreamcast days never ended

 

[Labolas]

I just realised I can't get scarborough fair and love is blue; feelsbadman

Yeah you have to have saved data of Bayo 1 and 2 on your switch.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Had an annoying bug at a chapter boss fight where demon switch didn't work anymore...

Now I know quitting to chapter select before beating it means you have to redo the whole chapter...

 

[Keihart]

Like I said in my earlier post I have finished the game. And it was fucking a blast.

And everything she gave. Holy shit, this is a definitely rarity among videogames. It knows it's a videogame and fucking basks in it. Platinum deserves huge props for making a game that is filled with such content and love all in one game, no patches, no dlc, just all in one game. And that in of itself is condemnable especially considering nowadays when that's all big major videogames are. There are cutscene references and gameplay references to their previous games such as Wonderful 101 and Astral Chain. Demons like the demon train and Assault Slave are such references to those games. Speaking of Demon Slave, this game takes the series in a whole new direction with the new mechanic. In fact I initially believed from the first gameplay trailer that the Demon Slave was just a gameplay gimmick and was just a qte minigame that would hurt the gameplay that I come to love. But in reality I was wrong and pleasantly surprised with how deep and creative the Demon Slave mechanic was. It takes Astral Chain's Legion mechanic and actually makes it a mix of creative, crazy and broken when compared to the Astral Chain's Legion ability. You can summon a demon and have it do a bunch of attacks that have a lot of startup and switch back to Bayo and go on the offense and then go back to control the demon. It's the best way I can describe it but yeah, it fucking nuts. And that's pretty basic and it's not even the more advanced stuff you can do. Also you have finishers with the combo strings now as well. I can tell someone is a big Godzilla fan on the team with Gomorrah. Gomorrah is basically Godzilla in this as a demon in your control and I love it, I'm a big Godzilla fan so this is a huge plus for me. And when playing the fucking weapons in the game. Like JFC, the amount of weapons and unique animations and creativity that comes with those weapons is nuts and fun. You go from her standard pistols which is basic for her(for the beginning of the game) to yo yo weapons to being a train and riding chainsaw blade to having a mic as a weapon all the way to having weapons that look like fucking Voltron. There's about 11 different weapons to go nuts with in the game. Each weapon has unique animations and juggle states as well. Hell, they made the shoot button which was just used as a pea shooter essentially in the previous games, actually useful and different for each weapon. All this makes most action games look tame in comparison when there's some much you can do. And then you combine that with demons you have and their unique combos with each other and you got a game is oozing creativity and depth. This alone for me makes the game a worthy successor to 1 than 2 imo.

As for the rest of the game, I like it and it shows Platinum is willing to grow and change the franchise without really sacrificing too much the series' identity. A lot of Quality of Life changes that serves the game well. The game's level design is more open and you can explore. You can pick and choose a checkpoint within the chapter to start off making it somewhat easier to replay certain portions of the game. It also introduces a new character Viola, which I didn't hate. I know a lot of people didn't like her for a variety of reasons such her gameplay is harder or that she's a sjw character (she's not, she's just a goofy character). But I kinda ended up liking the character, sure she isn't Bayonetta but I did appreciate the asserted effort and chance Platinum took with the character. She isn't Bayo but she does have her own style gameplay and isn't a palette swap of Bayo and is endearing in her own way. Also the music probably my favorite in the series. I absolutely love the chapter select music. Viola's theme is a welcome change. And while Bayo's theme isn't my favorite, it's still good. There's remixes of older themes from Bayo 1 and 2 as well that are great. Did I mention there's a training mode as well?

I do have issues with the game. There's an absorbent amount of minigames and shootemup segments in the form of boss fights. I dread replaying the rhythm segment. Although I do think the Jeanne sections are my favorite because it is separate from the rest of the game and has its own requirements of perfect scoring. The minigames aren't a problem on a first playthrough necessarily but doing multiple runs can be an issue for people getting good at the game and going for Pure Platinum ranks. Speaking of ranking, the requirements for time are bit too strict and I wished that just made more like how Bayo 1 was where it allowed to be more creative or just got rid of it completely. Also this is by far the worst looking Bayonetta game. Some things do look good but for the majority of the game, it looks rough. I think the reason for this is because they cram so much into this that they had to make compromises especially it's on Switch. Which is a shame that this isn't on more powerful hardware. Also I'm not the biggest fan of the character designs in this game. Jeanne looks pretty bad as well as Rodin. Bayo's default outfit isn't bad but some of the other ones aren't as good. But admittedly, I have warmed up these designs.

The story

Spoiler: the ending and where the series could possibly go

I didn't hate the whole story nor the ending. I was mostly fine with how it ended. I liked Beast/Strider Luka. Although I think the Elven stuff was a bit eye roll inducing and felt like an asspull. But overall I didn't hate, I'm fine with it. Also everyone (mostly twitter) losing their collective shit over Bayo being straight can go get bend. Viola using the Bayo moniker doesn't work for me because it doesn't feel earned as well And there's a prevalently theory that we're playing a different Bayo in each game as well. So I think there's fuel to the fire but outside Jeanne, no one refers to Bayo as Cereza in the previous game consistent. And I think that this Bayo is the Brave Cereza from the first game. Nor do I think Jeanne and Bayo are permanently dead.

Overall, I really love this game over the sheer craziness and creativity the game offers, but I'll admit it's a flawed masterpiece. 9.5/10. It's a type of game we rarely get anymore and we should appreciate it. My GOTY easy. What a wonderful dance this game is.

Rankings for all three games imo:
1.) Bayonetta 1 - the best experience, teaches you the fundamentals of the game
2.) Bayonetta 3 - the craziest, most experimental and most creative of the three
3.) Bayonetta 2- the best looking of the three and the most casual friendly

i've always had a problem with Bayonetta's graphics, not the designs but how it's implemented. On the first and second game i always felt the textures and characters kinda blend together and despite resolution still looks muddy, my last playthrough of 1 was on PC and still looked weird even with the shit ton of frames and resolution so i was pleasantly surprised that in bayo 3 this is no longer an issue, i think it's because of the color correction, i feel they really pushed the brakes on the bloom and the color filter on this one and instead chose to gave specific palets of colors to the textures so for example bayonetta is kinda purple ish always and the stages have it's own palete instead os color correcting everything.

tldr, despite the lower resolution across the board i think 3 is the best looking one mostly because of how they use color and animations.

 

[SF Kosmo]

This game does a great job of ramping up spectacle, but I think it comes at the expense of the fundamentals. The summons are charged up so fast, you end up leaning on them more than actual fighting, which means controlling this big, slow, clunky thing instead of the fast and fluid combat that is far more fun.

I do appreciate the somewhat larger areas with more to explore and discover though.

 

[Danjin44]

which means controlling this big, slow, clunky thing instead of the fast and fluid combat that is far more fun.

Actually I mostly use demons for finishing combos, counter, combo starter and sometimes when enemy far from me and most bosses can easily kill your demon so you mostly have to rely on your own combat.

I personally LOVE the Demon Slave system in this game, to me it added even more depth to the combat.

 

[Punished Miku]

Actually I mostly use demons for finishing combos, counter, combo starter and sometimes when enemy far from me and most bosses can easily kill your demon so you mostly have to rely on your own combat.

I personally LOVE the Demon Slave system in this game, to me it added even more depth to the combat.

Agreed. Its honestly genius. I can see why Kamiya was obsessed with this idea since Scalebound. Its just seemless. You can use them however you want. Use them a lot. Use them for just counters or combo finishers. If you think they're slow do a jump kick with Madame Butterfly and you cover the entire visible screen, or the spider is super fast. Never played a game that let's you do this, and you're in control the whole time.

 

[Goddess Zelda]

I hope we do not have to wait a long time for the next game. Is three to four years too long? I mean, better than 6-8, IMO.

What is the framerate in this game? I noticed lots of stuttering or slowdown when Bayo and Enzo in the car at the start of the game, which made me kind of sad.

 

[Keihart]

oh shit, dude, have you noticed that Bayo's shadow changes with the weapon equiped?
It used to be always the butterfly before, now it changes with a shadow corresponding to the demon masquerade of the weapon equiped.

Chainsaw

Whip

 

[Deerock71]

But GAF told me Xbox graphics...

 

[Alexios]

I noticed lots of stuttering or slowdown when Bayo and Enzo in the car at the start of the game, which made me kind of sad.

Pretty sure that's one of the pre-rendered videos and not in-engine... Background loading hiccups? I could be wrong.

 

[Goddess Zelda]

Also, Did they change Enzo voice actor as well? He used to sound like Joe Pesci, but not so much now. Rodin sounds the same, but not sure about Jean, and have not seen Luka yet.

 

[decisions]

This game is great. I thought I just didn’t like character action games anymore after DMCV being like a 6/10 to me, but playing this confirmed to me that game was just designed like shit in several ways.

This does a much better job of handling scope increase, new characters and gameplay gimmicks. It still feels and looks like a Bayonetta game. DMCV only feels like a DMC game a third of the time.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Forgot a friend of mine had bayo1/2 so now I have scarborough and love is blue.

Now I just need tomorrow is mine to play in combat.
Bayo 2 looks super sharp/crisp on switch though, kinda surprised by how clean it looks compared to bayo 3

 

[Fbh]

Maybe it's because I'm not a native speaker but if you hadn't told me they changed the voice actress for Bayonetta I probably wouldn't have noticed.
Really enjoying my second playthrough as always, those early stages change a lot when you replay them with an increased mastery of the weapons and mechanics (also skipping the cutscenes makes the pacing 10X better).

This game is great. I thought I just didn’t like character action games anymore after DMCV being like a 6/10 to me, but playing this confirmed to me that game was just designed like shit in several ways.

This does a much better job of handling scope increase, new characters and gameplay gimmicks. It still feels and looks like a Bayonetta game. DMCV only feels like a DMC game a third of the time.

This was much better than DMCV IMO.
The combat is as good and deep if not more so and it has way more weapon variety, location variety, better level design, more enemy variety, etc.
Also while Bayo3 might have a bit too many minigames and gimmick sequences, DMCV suffered from the opposite in that it felt like you pretty much just walk in a straight line from one combat arena to the next. It completely lost the light exploration and ocassional puzzle element of the previous games.

The only thing DMCV has going for it compared to this is nicer graphics and better bosses.

Bayo 2 looks super sharp/crisp on switch though, kinda surprised by how clean it looks compared to bayo 3

Yeah even though it's supposedly running at a lower resolution.
I think it's the scale, in Bayo 1 and 2 the camera is often closer so even at a lower resolution you see more detail. Because of the scale the camera here is often zoomed away which doesn't combine well with a low res image.
Also the dithering makes everything looks worse.

 

[Neff]

DMCV suffered from the opposite in that it felt like you pretty much just walk in a straight line from one combat arena to the next.

Agreed. DMC5 is -for the most part- Bloody Palace where the wallpaper changes from time to time. They stripped out a lot of the palate cleanser diversions you typically find in character action games and it suffered drastically for it. There's only so long I can enjoy doing the same combos before I want to go exploring or attempt a platform challenge or solve a puzzle. The sedate difficulty and lack of aggressive enemies didn't help either. I couldn't even make it through Son of Sparda mode because I was so bored with the game.

Bayonetta 3 is everything I wanted DMC5 to be and so much more besides. This is how you do a modern action game.

 

[Kazekage1981]

So what happened to the lumen sage father balder, and how is bayonetta 2 a separate universe, when this sequence clearly shows continuation after defeating jubileaus? Timestamped



Timestamped, father balder is still alive so wtf?

 

[Danjin44]

So what happened to the lumen sage father balder, and how is bayonetta 2 a separate universe, when this sequence clearly shows continuation after defeating jubileaus? Timestamped



Timestamped, father balder is still alive so wtf?

I think Bayonetta 1&2 are separate worlds but share elements, in fact it could be what happened in Bayonetta 2 influenced what happened in Bayonetta 1 world.

The plot in Bayonetta series is convoluted but I dont really play these games for their plot, I play these games its great combat, epic set pieces and fun characters.

 

[Kazekage1981]

I think Bayonetta 1&2 are separate worlds but share elements, in fact it could be what happened in Bayonetta 2 influenced what happened in Bayonetta 1 world.

The plot in Bayonetta series is convoluted but I dont really play these games for their plot, I play these games its great combat, epic set pieces and fun characters.

I mean might as well call these homunculi the 'chroma' clan. Umbra means darkness, Lumen means light, Chroma means color, so they should have a green stone and be called the 'middle' eye of the eyes of the world.

The story is so shitty, it was good in the first 2, but it just went to shit and all over the place on the 3rd one. If bayonetta was fighting the French Bayonetta and her mum rosa, where was her French daddy father balder?

 

[Danjin44]

I mean might as well call these homunculi the 'chroma' clan. Umbra means darkness, Lumen means light, Chroma means color, so they should have a green stone and be called the 'middle' eye of the eyes of the world.

The story is so shitty, it was good in the first 2, but it just went to shit and all over the place on the 3rd one. If bayonetta was fighting the French Bayonetta and her mum rosa, where was her French daddy father balder?

For me story first two games was also convoluted nonsense but again that didn't stop me from enjoying the game. Bayonetta 3 is absolute blast to play and story being convoluted didn't at all get in way of the game.

 

[Kazekage1981]

im guessing the developers and creators of this game wanted to depart or take a break of the umbra witches vs lumen sage formula storyline and introduce something new. Something tells me they couldn't fit everything in this game because it seemed overly ambitious and hindered by technical limitations (among other shitty things).

I think the story they originally had planned was the sages and witches got together to go after the common enemy: homunculus, to balance the power of existence which has been severed or disrupted. Omitting the lumen sages in its entirety doesn't seem right.

They could have made a co-op type game where you can make your own custom witch or sage, and even play online with other online people's witches and sages, or even have access to a portal or hub to go back to previous games levels and alter the timeline and storyline and see what type of outcome it would be. In addition, go to alternate dimensions/universe and see how their presence exposes an entirely different set of outcomes.

I'm hoping a future bayonetta would clean up this timeline mess and bring more clarity. Kind of like Sonic and Knuckles, where you stack on the old games to play the previous games with knuckles, plus a co-op with other online and non-online players (phantasy star?)

I know the game is great, i am not downplaying it, it's just sad to me that their vision didn't fully come through and it could have been more polished, refined, and much more expansive. The chances of a new bayonetta game happening is not any time soon and that makes me a sad bayonetta fan

 

[Danjin44]

They could have made a co-op type game where you can make your own custom witch or sage, and even play online with other online people's witches and sages,

I’m sorry but that’s horrible ideas, I don’t want ANY type of co-op or online gaming in Bayonetta.

 

[Kazekage1981]

Well kind of like Residents Evil 5 co-op as an assist character perhaps? You play as main bayonetta and the co-op would be Jeanne. Just a thought.

 

[Danjin44]

Well kind of like Residents Evil 5 co-op as an assist character perhaps? You play as main bayonetta and the co-op would be Jeanne. Just a thought.

No, just no! I didn’t like the co-op in Resident Evil 5 and won’t like it here.

We don’t need god damn online gaming in SP games, if you want online action game from Platinum Games then you better off playing Babylon fall.

 

[Kazekage1981]

In bayonetta 2, she went back in time to assist the umbra witches to defend against witch hunts, in chapter 13

Time stamped

 

[Danjin44]

In bayonetta 2, she went back in time to assist the umbra witches to defend against witch hunts, in chapter 13

No one absolutely NO ONE (other than you) asking for co-op or online gaming in Bayonetta games, the failure of Babylon fall is proof enough.

No offence but that just terrible idea, this whole co-op BS killed Dead Space series for fuck sake.

 

[Kazekage1981]

a co-op mode separate from main story line, or an option. Not a requirement or anything. Even a vs battle mode would be awesome, my custom umbra witch against yours, or my custom umbra witch against your custom lumen sage.

i got another question: how do these clans reproduce? if umbra are only females and lumen are only men?
if cereza is half umbra and lumen, she should also tap into the power of the right eye to be in super goku mode. Just sayin'

 

[Danjin44]

a co-op mode separate from main story line, or an option. Not a requirement or anything. Even a vs battle mode would be awesome, my custom umbra witch against yours, or my custom umbra witch against your custom lumen sage.

I rather put their effort on the main game not in co-op no one gives a shit about.

Also you expecting this lore dump in Bayonetta series which it’s not it’s main focus, the combat and epic set piece was always this series focus. There games I hugely care about story like 13 Sentinels but with Bayonetta I mainly care about the combat.

 

[cireza]

They could have made a co-op type game where you can make your own custom witch or sage, and even play online with other online people's witches and sages

They could have called it Bayonetta Fall, and reuse the game engine of a previously cancelled/failed game.

 

[Jsisto]

Loved the game. Did not enjoy Viola segments at all. The main issue I had was blocking to activate witch time instead of dodging. You’ve been trained for three games straight to do something one way and then it gets mixed up. It never fully clicked with me and I struggled in her sections. Also I just don’t like the character. Thankfully Bayonetta had most of the spotlight.