Bayonetta 3 review: the indigestible action

Bayonetta is a heroine from another time. She would pass off the very first Lara Croft, fantasy machine (in polygons), for a holy nitouche. In 2022, the year in which the concept of the female object is – fortunately – decried, the PlatinumGames witch assumes everything: a slightly too tight outfit, barely concealed nudity, a slightly perverse sway, a look of ‘sexy secretary to glasses’, lascivious poses… The developers play with it, multiplying the shots on her buxom forms, going so far as to make her say sentences like: “ It’s not just size that matters.”

Bayonetta may no longer have the same voice, but she hasn’t changed profoundly for Bayonetta 3. Although wiser than the very first, this opus always excessively sexualizes its heroine (she rarely leaves her lollipop…). If some will only see it as a satire, we have the right to hate this very Playboy imagery, even to regret it at a time when video game heroines are no longer reduced to their bodies (even Lara Croft). But Bayonetta 3 seems attached to its DNA, which should not make us forget that there is a pure action game behind it. Often impressive to the point of indigestion, this Nintendo Switch exclusive, available on October 28, fits into a mold well known to fans.

Graphically, it’s complicated for Bayonetta 3

Switch from God of War Ragnarok on PlayStation 5 at Bayonetta 3 on Nintendo Switch is quite a test for the eyes. The comparison obviously makes no sense, given the power that separates the two consoles. Nevertheless, the observation is painful for Bayonetta 3, which seriously accuses the blow from a graphic point of view. PlatinumGames favored fluidity over the rest, with a framerate of 60 fps. It’s all to his credit, since we’re talking about a video game where the action is frenetic. But the sacrifices to guarantee an irreproachable comfort are numerous, particularly on the definition.

Bayonetta 3 sometimes just looks like a bunch of coarse pixels, with flickering edges and late-appearing elements. For a Switch exclusive, this title developed by PlatinumGames is a stab. A stab that recalls how much the Switch is paralyzed by glaring technical limits. Nintendo will never participate in the race for power, and some will always brandish the infallible argument: ” graphics don’t make a game “. Certainly, but we would so much like to be able to say more often that a game available on Switch is dazzling.

There are still some nice things in Bayonetta 3, such as character modeling — Bayonetta in mind. We feel that the developers had to deal with compromises, preferring a cast straight out of Fashion Week (theme: prohibited for those under 18) to visually welcoming environments. The scenario was however conducive to a little more ecstasy: after having fought the Angels and the Demons, Bayonetta must rub shoulders with a new enemy who threatens several universes at once (the Multiverse is really fashionable in 2022) . The result is several trips to diametrically different environments, but each uglier than the other. Like its heroine, Bayonetta 3 is a game from another time.

Enjoyable gameplay, but a little too catch-all

Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 were, it must be admitted, landmarks of action gaming. PlatinumGames masters this genre wonderfully and knows how to stack the epic sequences. Bayonetta 3 is no exception to the rule at all. Moreover, it is often nothing other than an apotheosis, it is true, clumsy. Where the strong moments multiply at high speed. It’s simple, when you have the impression that calm is taking over, PlatinumGames amazes with a new idea. Bayonetta 3 knows how to be this boring game that gets lost in overzealousness. There’s no respite, just that feeling of being on a Space Mountain that just keeps going up — never stopping.

The basis of the gameplay of Bayonetta 3 is the same as its predecessors. We embody a very powerful and feline witch, especially skilled when it comes to getting rid of a horde of various enemies (robots in this case). Her main talent hasn’t changed: she can still slow down time by placing a dodge at the last moment, which will make her job easier. This ability is supported by devastating combos, which alternate strong blows and weak blows, both at a distance and in melee. In short, Bayonetta knows how to defend herself and can rely on a very versatile arsenal (which we unlock as we go along).

She can actually summon her little (well, really big) demon buddies using her magic gauge. These interventions, necessarily limited, make the clashes even more dantesque, but also less legible. Bayonetta 3 very quickly touches its main problem: PlatinumGames, in its immense generosity, wanted to put too much. And we quickly become disgusted by the overall proposal, which is not helped either by the sometimes hazardous placement of the camera. Not only is it a mess on the screen, but it happens that it is very difficult to distinguish what is happening there.

Bayonetta 3 gives the impression that the Japanese studio has gone too far in its vast delirium. By ricochet, the title goes in all directions: Kaijū sequences where two big monsters face each other (think of Godzilla), chases, old-fashioned shoot them up phases, a rhythm mini-game, levels of infiltration (help…)… There is something to eat and drink in this list, knowing that not everything is successful. PlatinumGames was no doubt dreaming of a more diverse experience, except that Bayonetta 3 strays too far along the way to offer a consistent and sufficiently accomplished mix. The fights remain enjoyable, but what connects them is, at best, painful (not to mention the deliberately ridiculous tone).

Besides demons, Bayonetta 3 introduces another big novelty: the possibility of playing a heroine called Viola (and whose origins are murky). As an apprentice witch, she doesn’t play quite like Bayonetta: to slow down time, she must parry an enemy attack at the right time – which changes the dynamics of the gameplay. She is also assisted by a big cat whose look is openly inspired by that of Alice in Wonderland. Note that we cannot freely choose to embody Viola — whom Bayonetta calls kitten for the running gag. The chapters impose one or the other of the heroines depending on what the story seeks to tell. Which is to say, not much, most of the time.