This review contains spoilers
Bayonetta has been a personal favorite of mine since I discovered the first two games back when I primarily played Wii U, of all systems. Bayonetta 1 was great, but Bayonetta 2 blew me away. This was further solidified by the Switch ports as well. While I love DMC, Bayonetta just always resonated with me more. So leading up to Bayonetta 3, I was full of as much hype and eagerness as anyone. Now that I have finished the main story, I can say this: Bayonetta 3 is equal parts amazing and disappointing. Despite my gripes with the game, I still really enjoyed my experience overall.
Let's start with the most controversial and divisive part of B3: its story. I'm not going to sit here and proclaim that the Bayo series has had amazing narratives in the past. They haven't been bad, but to say that they're "well written" would be a bit of an overstatement. Still, they've always been very fun romps with really fun characters. Bayo 3 somewhat continues this trend, but loses a lot of its momentum really quickly. Bayo 3 is by far the most repetitive of the series when it comes to its story beats: go to an alternate universe, see that world's bayo get killed, do a gimmicky boss battle, repeat. Do this until the final encounter of the game, and you're all done! The past two Bayo games certainly weren't perfect in storytelling, but it always kept things interesting and intriguing with its characters and world building. Bayo 3 shoves us into the all-too familiar multiverse plot (which I'm SERIOUSLY getting tired of) with a half-baked and VERY predictable villain that doesn't get enough true screen time.
As if this wasn't enough, Bayo 3's biggest issue is its characters. The game doesn't know who it wants to focus on. Is this Bayonetta's final romp? Sure. Do we give Jeanne some more screen time and purpose? Sort of. Do we give Viola a really good and compelling reason to exist? Hell no. That's not to say I don't like Viola, but she seems like Platinum's version of Nero from DMC: a new, young protagonist who is supposed to have enough mark differences from the series' iconic protagonist, but also fill their shoes. Jeanne is also given a lot more to do, sort of, but the way they implement her is really lackluster. I was a fan of how big of a role Luka ended up playing in the story, as he was always a personal favorite character of mine, but the story even messes up his character as well. I'll wait a bit before going into spoilers, but more on this in a bit.
Before getting into spoilery stuff, let's cover the gameplay. Its as fast-paced and awesome as ever. Well, at least for Bayonetta's sections. Bayo's sections are absolutely phenomenal. The core gameplay has been polished to perfection, and the newly added demon masquerade is so much fun to play with. There are a ton of new weapons to unlock throughout the course of the game, and this time none of them are missable. You'll easily be able to find a few that fit your playstyle and go crazy discovering all of the insane combos you can get.
We also get a new playable character in Viola. I'll admit, at first I wasn't a big fan of her gameplay. But after I got used to her, I found it pretty fun. Viola doesn't get multiple weapons or demons to use, but she does have a unique skill: parrying. The way Viola triggers witch time is through her parry, and its honestly pretty fun to learn the timing for this. Viola's gameplay keeps the core gameplay of Bayonetta in tact, but simply adding a different mechanic makes you have to look at combat differently.
Levels for Bayo and Viola are much bigger than previous entries, making exploration vital to getting collectibles and finding all of the hidden verses in the level. I really enjoyed the exploration here. Though there are still some awkward feeling platforming challenges, they are used to a minimum here, making me not mind them as much. The extra challenges can definitely vary in terms of difficulty, but they all do a good job of learning more about what Bayo/Viola can do and pull off in enemy encounters.
That's not to say that the gameplay is perfect. For some reason, Platinum decided to give Bayo 3 a lot of gimmicky boss fights. Now yes, these boss fights are visually spectacular (for the Switch at least) and lead to some really cool moments. However, isn't the focus supposed to be on the incredibly deep and rewarding combat system that we've spent 2 games building and refining? Instead the game likes to recycle a lot of the same bosses again and again, such as a certain wolf-like enemy that I believe you end up fighting 4-5 times? That's not to say that there aren't some really great bosses here that utilize the combat system to its fullest, cause there are plenty here. It's just strange how every big boss towards the end of an area is an odd gimmick. These fights barely get any explanation at all and require you to figure it out for yourself. This can provide a fair bit of frustration. In fact, now that I think about it, the game does lack tutorials on very crucial sections. But that is more of a nitpick.
Jeanne gets featured more in gameplay, this time in the main story (although she is again an unlockable character once you beat the game once), but it is as average gameplay wise at it gets. For some reason, Jeanne gets thrown in the Metal Gear Solid wannabe, 2d stealth game??? Some sections of Jeanne's levels can be fun, but they're all incredibly short and really easy to beat. These missions are so easy to perfect platinum that I'm sure most people will be able to do it in 1-2 tries. It feels like some kind of Xbox Live Arcade game or something. I also have no idea why they're labeled as "side missions" as the game makes you complete them before you can continue with the story. Its a very bizarre design decision imo.
The game looks and sounds incredible. The art direction here is phenomenal. The art team did a great job with all of these different time periods and locations, as they look distinct enough where you never get two confused, but they all look like the belong in the same game-universe. It's also a given that the soundtrack kicks so much ass. This is a great soundtrack for working out or just jamming out.
Let's get into spoiler stuff now. If you ignored the warning and are still reading this, just skip where the spoilers end for my final thoughts.
STORY SPOILERS
Okay, now lets talk about that ending. Bayonetta and Luka...don't work as a couple whatsoever. I love the idea of Bayo being with Jeanne, or just gay in general, but I would've accepted Bayo and Luka being together if ANYTHING from the previous two games, or even this one, set up their relationship in the slightest. I interpreted their relationship as nothing more than a platonic rivalry at most. To see that they end up together, and have a kid nonetheless, was shocking and just stupid. It reads as completely out of character for Bayonetta, and seems like it was only done to make Viola Bayonetta's child.
Viola just doesn't work as a character. She was fun to play as, but I can't say I ever cared about her character. Her being Bayonetta's daughter just seemed like a half-assed reason for us to like her and for her to become the series' new protagonist. Unfortunately, not enough is done for that to feel like its been earned. Fans will be begging for Cereza, the REAL Bayonetta to come back for the inevitable Bayo 4.
That being said, I'm not gonna lied, I got emotional seeing Bayo 1 and Bayo 2 coming back with their UI in the game as well when they showed up for the final fight. That was such a great moment and great little detail.
END STORY SPOILERS
Although I certainly have my gripes with the game, I did really like Bayonetta 3 overall. Its an overall good conclusion to the trilogy, though we all know that Bayonetta 4 is inevitable. While the story is certainly mixed in a lot of areas, the superbly well polished combat system, level design, art direction, and badass music hold up this game to being a satisfying conclusion.
It is also worth mentioning that the controversy with Hellena Taylor (Bayo's original voice actor) overshadowed an important conversation about voice actors being fairly compensated for their work. Pay your talent a livable wage, please and thank you.
Let's start with the most controversial and divisive part of B3: its story. I'm not going to sit here and proclaim that the Bayo series has had amazing narratives in the past. They haven't been bad, but to say that they're "well written" would be a bit of an overstatement. Still, they've always been very fun romps with really fun characters. Bayo 3 somewhat continues this trend, but loses a lot of its momentum really quickly. Bayo 3 is by far the most repetitive of the series when it comes to its story beats: go to an alternate universe, see that world's bayo get killed, do a gimmicky boss battle, repeat. Do this until the final encounter of the game, and you're all done! The past two Bayo games certainly weren't perfect in storytelling, but it always kept things interesting and intriguing with its characters and world building. Bayo 3 shoves us into the all-too familiar multiverse plot (which I'm SERIOUSLY getting tired of) with a half-baked and VERY predictable villain that doesn't get enough true screen time.
As if this wasn't enough, Bayo 3's biggest issue is its characters. The game doesn't know who it wants to focus on. Is this Bayonetta's final romp? Sure. Do we give Jeanne some more screen time and purpose? Sort of. Do we give Viola a really good and compelling reason to exist? Hell no. That's not to say I don't like Viola, but she seems like Platinum's version of Nero from DMC: a new, young protagonist who is supposed to have enough mark differences from the series' iconic protagonist, but also fill their shoes. Jeanne is also given a lot more to do, sort of, but the way they implement her is really lackluster. I was a fan of how big of a role Luka ended up playing in the story, as he was always a personal favorite character of mine, but the story even messes up his character as well. I'll wait a bit before going into spoilers, but more on this in a bit.
Before getting into spoilery stuff, let's cover the gameplay. Its as fast-paced and awesome as ever. Well, at least for Bayonetta's sections. Bayo's sections are absolutely phenomenal. The core gameplay has been polished to perfection, and the newly added demon masquerade is so much fun to play with. There are a ton of new weapons to unlock throughout the course of the game, and this time none of them are missable. You'll easily be able to find a few that fit your playstyle and go crazy discovering all of the insane combos you can get.
We also get a new playable character in Viola. I'll admit, at first I wasn't a big fan of her gameplay. But after I got used to her, I found it pretty fun. Viola doesn't get multiple weapons or demons to use, but she does have a unique skill: parrying. The way Viola triggers witch time is through her parry, and its honestly pretty fun to learn the timing for this. Viola's gameplay keeps the core gameplay of Bayonetta in tact, but simply adding a different mechanic makes you have to look at combat differently.
Levels for Bayo and Viola are much bigger than previous entries, making exploration vital to getting collectibles and finding all of the hidden verses in the level. I really enjoyed the exploration here. Though there are still some awkward feeling platforming challenges, they are used to a minimum here, making me not mind them as much. The extra challenges can definitely vary in terms of difficulty, but they all do a good job of learning more about what Bayo/Viola can do and pull off in enemy encounters.
That's not to say that the gameplay is perfect. For some reason, Platinum decided to give Bayo 3 a lot of gimmicky boss fights. Now yes, these boss fights are visually spectacular (for the Switch at least) and lead to some really cool moments. However, isn't the focus supposed to be on the incredibly deep and rewarding combat system that we've spent 2 games building and refining? Instead the game likes to recycle a lot of the same bosses again and again, such as a certain wolf-like enemy that I believe you end up fighting 4-5 times? That's not to say that there aren't some really great bosses here that utilize the combat system to its fullest, cause there are plenty here. It's just strange how every big boss towards the end of an area is an odd gimmick. These fights barely get any explanation at all and require you to figure it out for yourself. This can provide a fair bit of frustration. In fact, now that I think about it, the game does lack tutorials on very crucial sections. But that is more of a nitpick.
Jeanne gets featured more in gameplay, this time in the main story (although she is again an unlockable character once you beat the game once), but it is as average gameplay wise at it gets. For some reason, Jeanne gets thrown in the Metal Gear Solid wannabe, 2d stealth game??? Some sections of Jeanne's levels can be fun, but they're all incredibly short and really easy to beat. These missions are so easy to perfect platinum that I'm sure most people will be able to do it in 1-2 tries. It feels like some kind of Xbox Live Arcade game or something. I also have no idea why they're labeled as "side missions" as the game makes you complete them before you can continue with the story. Its a very bizarre design decision imo.
The game looks and sounds incredible. The art direction here is phenomenal. The art team did a great job with all of these different time periods and locations, as they look distinct enough where you never get two confused, but they all look like the belong in the same game-universe. It's also a given that the soundtrack kicks so much ass. This is a great soundtrack for working out or just jamming out.
Let's get into spoiler stuff now. If you ignored the warning and are still reading this, just skip where the spoilers end for my final thoughts.
STORY SPOILERS
Okay, now lets talk about that ending. Bayonetta and Luka...don't work as a couple whatsoever. I love the idea of Bayo being with Jeanne, or just gay in general, but I would've accepted Bayo and Luka being together if ANYTHING from the previous two games, or even this one, set up their relationship in the slightest. I interpreted their relationship as nothing more than a platonic rivalry at most. To see that they end up together, and have a kid nonetheless, was shocking and just stupid. It reads as completely out of character for Bayonetta, and seems like it was only done to make Viola Bayonetta's child.
Viola just doesn't work as a character. She was fun to play as, but I can't say I ever cared about her character. Her being Bayonetta's daughter just seemed like a half-assed reason for us to like her and for her to become the series' new protagonist. Unfortunately, not enough is done for that to feel like its been earned. Fans will be begging for Cereza, the REAL Bayonetta to come back for the inevitable Bayo 4.
That being said, I'm not gonna lied, I got emotional seeing Bayo 1 and Bayo 2 coming back with their UI in the game as well when they showed up for the final fight. That was such a great moment and great little detail.
END STORY SPOILERS
Although I certainly have my gripes with the game, I did really like Bayonetta 3 overall. Its an overall good conclusion to the trilogy, though we all know that Bayonetta 4 is inevitable. While the story is certainly mixed in a lot of areas, the superbly well polished combat system, level design, art direction, and badass music hold up this game to being a satisfying conclusion.
It is also worth mentioning that the controversy with Hellena Taylor (Bayo's original voice actor) overshadowed an important conversation about voice actors being fairly compensated for their work. Pay your talent a livable wage, please and thank you.