Bayonetta 3 review – epic beating

One of the funniest experiments this fall would be to sit someone who’s never seen the series in front of Bayonetta’s epic and indescribably free third installment. Fans are well aware that these half-naked “acrobatic gunslingers” (she dynamically transforms her long magical hair into a costume or weapon as needed) witches tend to be a little wild, but even series buffs might not be quite ready for this installment. Not only will we see completely new enemies or mechanics in it, but also a number of new Bayonets, as the entire plot revolves around the popular theme of the multiverse.

• Platform: Switch
• Publication date: 28.10.2022
• Producer: PlatinumGames (Japan)
• Genre: acrobatic shooter
• Czech localization: Not
• Multiplayer: Not
• Data to download: 16 GB
• Game time: 15+ hours
• Price: 1499 CZK (Nintendo)

Seductive multiverse

From the first minutes, Bayonetta 3 feels like a very well-crafted and lovingly crafted AAA video game – after all, we had to wait for it for eight long years. But PlatinumGames took care and told us a completely new story revolving around a new threat. While in the past we fought on the side of witches and with the support of demons against decadent angels and heavenly powers, this time our reality will be invaded by a completely new threat in the form of green glowing creatures “homunculi”, which take the form of human bodies and are much more feral. and large forms. These monsters serve a villain whose goal is to destroy all realities in the multiverse. We’ll explore this story with a very impressive cinematic-playable intro that I’d rather not say more about.

In addition to the beloved characters and demons from the previous parts, this time we will be joined by a completely new witch named Viola, who will arrive in our reality from one of the parallel ones to warn Bayonetta of the impending threat and help in the fight. Against this. Which she will do very actively, because you can play for her, while her abilities and arsenal work quite differently from the main character. But Bayonetta herself has also learned new tricks, the most interesting of which is the ability to directly control the summoned demons when the camera zooms out and your naked witch (she used her hair to summon the demon) dances in the background. Among other things, this allows for absurdly epic battle scenes between giant monsters that no Godzilla movie would be ashamed of.

You control demons while your witch dances naked in the background.

As we’ve become accustomed to in this series, the individual “verses” of action-packed levels are littered with lengthy cinematic sequences that seamlessly tie into the gameplay itself – it’s often impossible to tell where one ends and another begins, so you have to constantly be on the lookout for what you will be asked to press any QTE button. The best thing about this epic roller coaster is its absurd insanity: it certainly doesn’t deny that the studio behind the game has given us games like Nier: Automata or Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. But no matter how much you’ve played and watched, Bayonetta 3 is guaranteed to take your breath away with epic scenes.

Dancing on the edge

As for the size and ferocity of the action, the fact that the developers are aiming for a fluidity of sixty frames per second must be emphasized, which of course suits this fast-paced action very well. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, although frame drops or resolutions are not so frequent as to seriously annoy you when playing. As you can probably easily predict, the bigger the scene and the more enemies or special effects, the higher the shot on HW. But the authors adapted the game for the Switch console, so through some graphically simpler environments, they were able to keep most of the game smooth and fast. He deserves even more applause for how great he looks most of the time – whether you’re in Tokyo, China, New York, or some completely wild cosmic (sur) reality.

In addition to the exciting story and unusual setting or new characters, demons or weapons, I would like to acknowledge the uncompromising professionalism with which the experienced developers at PlatinumGames have put the game together into a very comprehensive, rich package. A number of detailed settings allow you, for example, to choose a very easy difficulty to complete the game, which will automatically create the most effective combos for you … or, conversely, to complete the game on a difficulty so difficult that even the most seasoned veterans of the genre will experience it. In addition, the game is full of items to collect and unlock, including a large gallery, online leaderboards, or a rich post-game. If you love Bayonetta, this part can be a lot of fun even after the story ends.