Video Game Review: Bayonetta 3

Platform: Nintendo Switch

Developed By: PlatinumGames

Published By: Nintendo

Released: October 28, 2022

Genre: Hack and Slash, Action-Adventure

During the 2017 Game Awards, Bayonetta 3 was announced with a teaser trailer. After the reveal, four years went by without any mention of the game. In September of 2021, however, the release date was confirmed during a Nintendo Direct Presentation. 

The Tale of Singularity

Bayonetta 3 is the last game in the trilogy’s timeline. The game’s events take place an unknown amount of time after Bayonetta 2. 

The story begins with an alternate universe’s Bayonetta fighting a beast known as the Singularity, leader of the Homunculi, to prevent the end of the world. This Bayonetta is killed by Singularity while a new character, Viola, watches. Viola is then tasked with traveling to another universe to seek help in the war against the Singularity. 

Viola arrives in a universe where Bayonetta and her fellow Umbran Witch, Jeanne, have just finished fending off a Homunculi attack near the coast of New York. Viola reveals herself as an Umbran Witch and explains how the Homunculi have already destroyed countless universes. 

To stop Singularity , Bayonetta must travel to the island of Thule with Viola and travel between universes in search of  Chaos Gears. This will eventually lead the two to the “Alphaverse” where Singularity lies. 

Multiversal Gameplay

Bayonetta 3 plays almost identical to its predecessors. The player controls the titular character and must defeat various enemies using a combination of melee and gun attacks. Dodging an enemy’s attack at the last second triggers “Witch Time,” which causes time and enemies to slow down, allowing Bayonetta to get the upper hand in combat. This feature can also be used in various puzzles in the world. 

Introduced in this game are the “Demon Slave” and “Demon Masquerade” mechanics. Demon Slave replaces the Climax Summon and Umbran Climax features from the first two titles and allows the player to control of Bayonetta’s various infernal demons for attacks and special abilities. Demon Masquerade allows the Umbran Witch to fuse with a summoned demon and receive access to new magic-based abilities or traversal options. 

Along with Bayonetta, players can play as Viola, who plays similarly  to the titular character aside from activating Witch Time through parrying instead of dodging. Viola can also summon a Demon Slave named Cheshire, but Cheshire cannot be controlled directly and Viola must switch to a fist-based fighting style when the demon is summoned. 

When not in combat, Bayonetta and Viola can explore the maps to look for treasures like the witch heart fragments, which expand health; moon pearl fragments, which expand magic; various other collectables and  combat challenges. At the end of each chapter, the player is graded on their performance in combat with trophies  made from various materials, stone being the worst rank and pure platinum being the best. There is no reward for getting the best ranking, but some players feel satisfaction in seeing the pure platinum trophies in their combat records. 

Graphically, Bayonetta 3 is impressive for Nintendo Switch standards. The game does have issues with graphics looking lower quality from a distance, but the game runs at a consistent frame rate. The music is mostly atmospheric, but the battle themes are upbeat and fit the character they play for. Bayonetta’s theme features jazz-inspired tracks while Viola utilizes heavy rock. 

The voice acting for the game is also impressive. However, Bayonetta’s original voice actor, Hellena Taylor, was replaced with Jennifer Hale after a dispute arose over her pay. GameSpot has more information here. Hale does a decent job capturing the voice of the Umbran Witch, but longtime  fans may have to adjust as it does have some minor differences. 

Bayonetta 3 is a triumphant return for the Umbran Witch and gives players a new hack and slash adventure for people to enjoy. Currently, Bayonetta 3 sits at $59.99 and is worth its price for both new players and veterans of the franchise.