Bayonetta 3 (2022)

3.5 stars, rounds up to 4.

I love the Bayonetta series and think there is a lot to enjoy about Bayonetta 3. Tons of secrets to discover, a lot of great music and lovely art, and of course plenty of kick ass combat action.

However, I think in the end I liked Bayonetta 2 more than this game. Here are a few of the reasons:

• The side quest levels: they didn't do anything for me at all. One comes off like a bad Metroid Dread ripoff. The last one is an awful motorcycle level. I just rushed through these as fast as I could, as I didn't really enjoy them.
• The levels where you play as Viola. I didn't like this character, didn't like her controls, didn't like her storyline, and in general just thought to myself while I was playing as her "why can't I just play as Bayonetta?"
• Some of the challenges in the individual levels are bordering on sadistic at this point. I'm all for a good challenge, but the unfairness of certain challenges is just not worth the time and effort after a while. Sometimes I'm just like "you know, I'll just buy the moon pearl or the heart from the shop."
• Finally, the whole turning Bayonetta into a motherly figure. It just didn't work for me. At her best she is a strong, sexy, badass woman, and there were times in this game where her character was anything but that. I think there was a better way to show her character "maturing" than I how they did it.

Overall, this is still a very fun game, but the flaws stick out more than other Bayonetta titles. I think 2 is still the one I prefer over 3. However, if you haven't played 3 and you enjoy either Bayonetta games or action games, I still think 3 is a good title. Just be warned that there are some disappointing aspects to it as well.

Chapter 10 verse 1 is so beyond aggravating and frustrating that I'm about to drop my rating from 4 to 3. I don't think I will, because the rest of the game is so fun, but this one verse is the only verse in the entire game that I've completely skipped.

Basically, you have to parry with Violet and can only attack enemies in Witch Time. Here are the issues:

1. The parry timing is very, very particular. Do it too early, no Witch Time. Do it early, but not too early, very brief Witch Time. Do it too late, no Witch Time. You basically have to be perfect. I parried like a boss in Elden Ring, yet in this one, I can only do it like 1 or 2 out of 10 times. I don't think of myself as a "bad gamer", but something's off when parrying is so damn difficult.

2. The enemies need to attack you in order to parry. Problem is, they spend so much time dancing around and not attacking you, that time ticks off and you have even less time to complete the challenge.

3. There are multiple enemies and using Cheshire is key to beating them. Yet, Cheshire's energy goes down quickly, and before you know, you can't use him, and time runs out.

So for now, I'm buying the Moon Pearl from the store to make up for the one I'm not going to get in this verse, and continuing on. When levels are almost unplayable like this one, it shows this game has some design flaws that weren't ironed out before release.

Bayonetta series has always been a banger and this one is not any different. Some say that Bayonetta 2 is better, but I will counter and ask how? The gameplay is better, faster, and has more challenge. The Demon Slaves was a nice touch. I will say the Jeanne's parts are not favorite and really confused on why it was there. I wouldn't mind it, but it needed to be better executed for it to work. The story this time around was little more easy to follow than the rest of the games.

Definitely play this game.

Hmm, some things about this are not fully working for me, particularly in some of the new gameplay elements. These demon summons you often control feel a bit sluggish/awkward. Even for the core carrying over from the prior games, I think I may just not be as into this kind of combat as I was when the last game came out—this at least does not feel as good to me as, say, Devil May Cry V did. Bayonetta as a character has definitely lost some freshness, and I find myself rolling my eyes a bit at some of her lines. There’s some overall visual blandness outside the big moments as well, unfortunately.

Not a bad game though by any means. What it’s great at is the huge moments of absurd spectacle, which have generally been impressive and memorable. They do a nice job with some little visual gags and jokes as well. Will keep playing and see how it turns out, even though I’m not as ready to dive right back in and binge it as I would have expected.