Bayonetta 3 Preview: Alluring action that’s never felt better

Miss me, baby? The witch is back and is more brutal than ever in Bayonetta 3, in a title that’s shaping up to be potentially the best game in the series (and, as fans will know, that’s really saying something). 

Rocking a slick new style, Bayonetta this time faces a mysterious new army of enemies called Homunculi. These toothpaste-coloured fellas pack a real punch, so it’s a good thing that our titular witch hits back even harder than before with a vast array of wicked new techniques, sure to make anyone who crosses her wish they never had. 

Check out our preview video for Bayonetta 3 below.

Returning players will feel right at home with the near limitless amount of combos to pull off - even those who’ve never played a Bayonetta game before will quickly be able to get into the rhythm of battle, as even simpler combinations (such as pressing the same button over and over) will provide smashing results. Bayonetta can still use her deadly Wicked Weaves to thwack her foes with huge punches and kicks, which is as satisfying as ever. For those uninitiated, Wicked Weaves are manifestations of her Infernal Demons’ enormous limbs, formed from her hair. This same hair also forms Bayonetta’s clothes, which is why they have a habit of mostly disappearing when she performs these huge attacks. I realise that this sounds wild, and it is. Look, just do me a favour and play Bayonetta, okay? Okay.

It wouldn’t be a Bayonetta game without Witch Time, so obviously that makes a return. For anyone unfamiliar, dodging an incoming attack at the last split-second will slow down time, giving Bayonetta an opening to dish out some real damage (as well as avoid taking any herself). Series veterans will know this already, but trust me when I say that there’s truly no greater feeling than slickly moving out of the way of a huge hit before walloping one of the bad guys in their face. Our protagonist is as sassy as ever when she does so, although fans will probably notice that she sounds a little different, due to being voiced by Jennifer Hale this time around instead of Hellena Taylor. Hale is a very talented voice actor though, and after a few hours of playing, the change barely stands out to me at all.

Nintendo

Back to combat, and Bayonetta 3 has spiced up battles significantly by bringing Infernal Demons right into the fray. For example, the appearance of Bayonetta’s iconic demonic companion, Madama Butterfly, is no longer limited to Wicked Weaves and Climaxes - she can now be summoned and directly controlled at pretty much any time, in all her glory, to punt foes across the screen using the Demon Slave ability. There’s a trade off, however, as using Demon Slave consumes Bayonetta’s magic gauge (which builds up during combat), and leaves her vulnerable to attack. 

While you can just go to town smushing enemies into the ground (for as long as your magic gauge allows, that is), Demon Slave can also be used a bit more tactically - your hellish friends can stun opponents with relative ease, giving Bayonetta the chance to lay into them and execute lethal Torture Attacks. Summoning them during Witch Time is also an amazing way to dish out a lot of damage, fast.

Continuing the demonic theme, another new ability is Infernal Masquerade, which allows Bayonetta to essentially merge with her Infernal Demons and take on new forms. As well as giving her an extra boost of power during battle (not that she really needs it), you can also use these forms while exploring in Chapters. Combining with Madama Butterfly, for example, will see Bayonetta sprout a pair of wings, allowing her to speedily traverse the ground and glide in the air. 

If that wasn’t enough, we also have a new character to play as in Bayonetta 3. Viola is a colourful, quirky and clumsy witch in training, who boasts a very fun move set. While there are a few comparisons to be made between her move set and Bayonetta’s, for the most part her attacks are totally different, and they feel phenomenal. Rather than a gun, Viola wields magical darts to throw at enemies, and she also packs a katana which she can throw, slash and defend with, which is ridiculously cool. 

Nintendo

Like Bayonetta, she can pull off a whole host of combos, and she can also use Witch Time, although the way she activates it is slightly different - instead of dodging at the last second, she has to raise her katana to defend right before an attack lands. This takes a little bit of getting used to since she’s also able to dodge regularly using the same button as Bayonetta, but once you get your head around it, it works much the same. 

Viola can summon her own Infernal Demon, although, again, there’s a bit of a difference in how this works. Her demon is bound to the plushie hanging from her katana, which means in order to summon him she must throw her weapon out towards her enemies. The twist is that unlike Bayonetta she can continue fighting while her demon is on the field - she just has to do so barehanded (and since she doesn’t have access to her katana, she can’t use Witch Time, either). Bayonetta and Viola are equally fun to play as - their differences don’t make either feel significantly stronger or weaker than the other, but add enough to ensure that they feel unique.

All in all, if you had any concern that PlatinumGames’ latest wouldn’t be a game of the year contender in its field, fear not. From what I’ve played so far, Bayonetta 3 has real potential to put its outstanding predecessors to shame - with combat that’s more satisfying than ever, some fantastic new inclusions to revivify an already winning gameplay formula, as well as an intriguing plot. If you love your games full of first-class action and innovative combat, watch this space - this isn’t a title that you’ll want to skip.