Bayonetta

Genre: Spectacle Fighter

Players: 1

.

Review:

(Note: This game is included in Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 Digital Bundle along with Bayonetta 2)

Bayonetta is a Spectacle Fighter like Devil May Cry and God of War, a single-player experience where you are fighting multiple enemies using complex fighting mechanics, and in this case, it is a game where you fight various grotesque “angels” with the game’s titular character, Bayonetta.

So I’ll get this out of the way real quick here – Bayonetta is a “Rated M for Mature” game with a hard “M”. Bayonetta not only kills enemies in bloody, gruesome ways, but she does so while striking cheesecake poses, dressed in what is basically a dominatrix outfit, which magically gets stripped off of her temporarily when she makes use of some of her attacks. The game never actually goes so far as to show any of Bayonetta’s X-rated areas, but suffice it to say that very little is left to the imagination.

By this point, people have made arguments on both sides, that this is yet another a stark example of sexual exploitation of a female character in a videogame, or that this is an example of a woman who is sexually liberated, and uses her sexuality in an empowering way… but I’ll leave that to you. Just know what you’re getting into before you get this game.

Now, having said that, this game absolutely does not depend on the sexy to get by with mediocre gameplay. Quite the opposite – this game is a master class in how to make a spectacle fighter. Bayonetta has a wide variety of moves, multiple weapons and upgrades she can acquire over the course of the game, the combat is tight, feels great, and you always know exactly how you screwed up when you take a hit, and the enemies and environments are varied enough to keep things interesting.

The game looks absolutely fantastic too, albeit with a caveat I’ll get to in a moment. The character models for Bayonetta and her enemies are imaginative, well-designed, and intricately detailed, and some of the environments she fights in are equally impressive. From the very opening scene fighting on the face of a clock tower plummeting off of a cliff, you know this game is going to be something special.

The game’s plot is… well, silly. And cool. It’s strange… the entire premise is bonkers, and the characters are ridiculous and over the top, yet the game still makes it fun and engaging, even while you make the “WTF?” face at the bizarreness of it all. A small preview – there’s a war between heaven and hell brewing, and neither side is especially nice. Bayonetta is a witch, nominally on the side of hell due to a binding contract, and as such, she fights angels, which are actually grotesque monsters, using her magical witch powers, which transform her hair, which her outfit is made from, into giant hands and feet, and dragon heads to eat enemies alive, leaving Bayonetta mostly nude while it does its thing… yeah, like I said, weird.

The Nintendo Switch version of the game comes with a fair share of bells and whistles too. It features all of the extra content added to the Wii U version of the game, as well as improved graphics… for the most part. The game’s resolution is still trounced by the PC and Xbox One X enhanced versions of the game, and while the game uses a bit of anti-aliasing to cut down on the earlier version’s jagged edges, together with the less than ideal resolution is can make the visuals seem a bit blurry at times. But it should be said that this version’s framerates blow the Wii U version out of the water, and that’s something most will find more important in this sort of game.

I should also mention that if you’re looking to get the Bayonetta games in physical form, you should be aware that the retail copy of Bayonetta 2 comes with a download code for the first Bayonetta. Bayonetta is not currently available in a physical copy on the Switch, although a physical release is planned for September 2022. Those who buy digital versions of either Bayonetta or Bayonetta 2 on the Switch will get a discount on the other Bayonetta game bringing the total cost to $60.

While I can nitpick the details, in the end, Bayonetta is a phenomenal Spectacle Fighter that remains one of the best in the genre, arguably only surpassed by its sequel. If you’re a fan of action games and don’t mind them bloody and sexy. Technically it’s not the definitive version of the game, as other versions exist with cleaner visuals, but it’s generally improved from the Wii U version, and it’s still one of the best games in its genre.

tl;dr – Bayonetta is a Spectacle Fighter like Devil May Cry, and it is arguably one of the best games in its genre, with amazing fighting mechanics, a lot of variety, and overall extremely fun gameplay, so long as you’re not bothered by the extremely sexualized main character. There are a few minor graphical issues with this version, but overall it’s much-improved over the Wii U version. All in all, a must-have game for fans of the genre.

Grade: A-

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