This review contains spoilers
It's currently 2:30 in the morning and i'm writing a giant Bayonetta 3 rant because of course I am
As someone who isn't a massive Bayonetta fan it kinda nuts how many opinions I have about this game. First of all the story is kinda garbage. Bayo has never been a super story focused series, but it really feels like they forgot what made people like the previous games. Overall it feels weirdly lacking in personality compared to the last two games. I think this is partially cause Bayonetta doesn't really have any strong characters to bounce off of (ie. lucca or loki). The closest thing is Violet but she kinda just does her own thing for a majority of the game. The story is also incredibly formulaic which is especially strange coming off of the previous two. 90% of the game boils down to go to new dimension, meeting new Bayonetta, new dimension’s Bayo dies, repeat. The other characters' stories also don't really add anything either. Jeanne goes on a side mission and does nothing until she dies at the end of the game. Violet also does nothing important aside from turn into like a weird butterfly I guess?? Also the whole twist of her being Bayonetta, and Lucca's child genuinely feels like a shitty fanfiction. Bayo, and Lucca’s relationship in general really feels like they just pulled it out of their asses. Their relationship in the first game is so unserious, and it’s super weird seeing the writers take it as seriously as they do. Lucca in general just feels super underwritten in this game. Much like Bayonetta it feels like he lacks a lot of what made him enjoyable in previous entries. Those traits are still there but they feel incredibly toned down. Also much like the other characters is the fact that he's really not even relevant till the last stretch of the game. Also getting it out of the way, Singularity fucking sucks. Actually such a lame antagonist. Not like the villains in Bayo 1 and 2 are anything incredible but Singularity just has nothing I enjoy about him, and frankly I just don't care enough about him enough to rant about why exactly I think he sucks. Next up the ending: what? Honestly I really just don't even know what to think. Everything about it just feels so off. The decision to kill off Bayonetta and have Violet succeed her is weird in its own right but I think the ending just proves how overly serious this game takes itself. I feel like a lot of my enjoyment in the previous two games comes from the amount of personality they had, and this game in general just feels so lacking in that. I don’t wanna imply that Bayonetta shouldn't ever take itself seriously because it has done it before and done it well in my opinion, but the difference in this game is just that it fails to strike a good balance between those two things.
Now that I'm done with my story rant I can go on to my much less heated opinions on the gameplay. Overall I think it’s decent. The core Bayonetta gameplay is still as great as it's always been, but their attempts to try something new, while appreciated, fall a little flat in my opinion. The Jeanne missions are neat but nothing to write home about, and violet’s missions just feel like normal Bayo gameplay but less fun frankly. Parrying attacks to enter witch time just doesn't feel as good as dodging attacks with Bayonetta in my opinion. It’s still fun enough but I can't help but feel like I'd just rather be playing as Bayonetta during the violet sections. Lastly is all the changes to the core Bayonetta gameplay. I think getting all the new weapons and ability throughout the game is super enjoyable. I feel a lot more encouraged to experiment with new weapons, than the first two games which are super welcome. Being able to summon demons in battle is pretty cool as well. Sometimes I feel like it can mess with the flow of gameplay a bit, but honestly it's still pretty fun.
Overall I think this game fails to encapsulate what makes the first two games as enjoyable as they are. While a lot of the Bayonetta series’ personality lives on through its bombastic and over the top combat, the overall story fails to realize what made its predecessors so special. I could probably come up with a lot more to say about this game but I need some fucking sleep.
As someone who isn't a massive Bayonetta fan it kinda nuts how many opinions I have about this game. First of all the story is kinda garbage. Bayo has never been a super story focused series, but it really feels like they forgot what made people like the previous games. Overall it feels weirdly lacking in personality compared to the last two games. I think this is partially cause Bayonetta doesn't really have any strong characters to bounce off of (ie. lucca or loki). The closest thing is Violet but she kinda just does her own thing for a majority of the game. The story is also incredibly formulaic which is especially strange coming off of the previous two. 90% of the game boils down to go to new dimension, meeting new Bayonetta, new dimension’s Bayo dies, repeat. The other characters' stories also don't really add anything either. Jeanne goes on a side mission and does nothing until she dies at the end of the game. Violet also does nothing important aside from turn into like a weird butterfly I guess?? Also the whole twist of her being Bayonetta, and Lucca's child genuinely feels like a shitty fanfiction. Bayo, and Lucca’s relationship in general really feels like they just pulled it out of their asses. Their relationship in the first game is so unserious, and it’s super weird seeing the writers take it as seriously as they do. Lucca in general just feels super underwritten in this game. Much like Bayonetta it feels like he lacks a lot of what made him enjoyable in previous entries. Those traits are still there but they feel incredibly toned down. Also much like the other characters is the fact that he's really not even relevant till the last stretch of the game. Also getting it out of the way, Singularity fucking sucks. Actually such a lame antagonist. Not like the villains in Bayo 1 and 2 are anything incredible but Singularity just has nothing I enjoy about him, and frankly I just don't care enough about him enough to rant about why exactly I think he sucks. Next up the ending: what? Honestly I really just don't even know what to think. Everything about it just feels so off. The decision to kill off Bayonetta and have Violet succeed her is weird in its own right but I think the ending just proves how overly serious this game takes itself. I feel like a lot of my enjoyment in the previous two games comes from the amount of personality they had, and this game in general just feels so lacking in that. I don’t wanna imply that Bayonetta shouldn't ever take itself seriously because it has done it before and done it well in my opinion, but the difference in this game is just that it fails to strike a good balance between those two things.
Now that I'm done with my story rant I can go on to my much less heated opinions on the gameplay. Overall I think it’s decent. The core Bayonetta gameplay is still as great as it's always been, but their attempts to try something new, while appreciated, fall a little flat in my opinion. The Jeanne missions are neat but nothing to write home about, and violet’s missions just feel like normal Bayo gameplay but less fun frankly. Parrying attacks to enter witch time just doesn't feel as good as dodging attacks with Bayonetta in my opinion. It’s still fun enough but I can't help but feel like I'd just rather be playing as Bayonetta during the violet sections. Lastly is all the changes to the core Bayonetta gameplay. I think getting all the new weapons and ability throughout the game is super enjoyable. I feel a lot more encouraged to experiment with new weapons, than the first two games which are super welcome. Being able to summon demons in battle is pretty cool as well. Sometimes I feel like it can mess with the flow of gameplay a bit, but honestly it's still pretty fun.
Overall I think this game fails to encapsulate what makes the first two games as enjoyable as they are. While a lot of the Bayonetta series’ personality lives on through its bombastic and over the top combat, the overall story fails to realize what made its predecessors so special. I could probably come up with a lot more to say about this game but I need some fucking sleep.