Bayonetta 3 – test, action

On By Garmin Philip
Each weapon harbors a new demonic form with individual abilities to unleash the often huge opponents. But sometimes it's just gooey eggs that spit out little enemies.

Hard life

Bayonetta has always been hard hit by fate: Sega first published the first part for Xbox 360 in 2009 and instead of Platinum Games commissioned an external studio for the PS3 implementation, which produced a much weaker version. Despite rave reviews, at least for the Xbox 360 version, the Devil May Cry-inspired work failed to materialize. That’s why it took Platinum Games five years and the courageous stepping in of Nintendo, of all people, to finance a sequel. The violent and sexy staged witch skirmishes don’t fit the family-friendly image of the traditional company at all. Bayonetta 2 first appeared on the unsuccessful Wii U in 2014, again garnering critical acclaim. Both games for Switch were only re-released in 2018, but part 1 was only available as a download version. Part 3 was also in bad shape for a long time: Platinum Games, under the leadership of Devil May Cry inventor Hideki Kamiya, needed eight years to finance and complete the game. No wonder, after all, the Japanese studio has been busy with hits like NieR: Automata but also the mega flop Babylon’s Fall and the discontinued Microsoft title Scalebound. Here Platinum Games diligently used leftovers, as Bayonetta 3’s biggest new game feature shows. But we’ll get to that later…

New threat, new heroes

Each weapon harbors a new demonic form with individual abilities to unleash the often huge opponents. But sometimes it's just gooey eggs that spit out little enemies.

Each weapon harbors a new demonic form with individual abilities to unleash the often huge opponents. But sometimes it’s just gooey eggs that spit out little enemies.

The Multiverse is in Danger: A villainous entity known as the Singularity seeks to conquer all universes. Together with newcomer and fellow witch Viola and their well-known companions Jeanne, Rodin and Luka, Bayonetta faces this new threat for 14 chapters. To do this, she travels through different dimensions and even encounters other versions of herself along the way. Singularity’s minions are no longer the golden angelic warriors from the heavenly realm of Paradiso, nor are they the red-violet demons from Inferno that we got to know in part 2. The new enemy species is called Homunculi and is mostly silver-turquoise-purple. Around 30 different enemy types made it into the finished game. Completely different from the playfully similar Devil May Cry, but typical of the Bayonetta series, these are rarely handy infantry, but mostly towering creatures and constructions, but also flying jellyfish, stationary enemy generators and, of course, bosses. Lots of bosses. Huge bosses.

Beat like crazy

Because Bayonetta usually competes against huge opponents, the overview is sometimes lost in the spectacle of effects.

Because Bayonetta usually competes against huge opponents, the overview is sometimes lost in the spectacle of effects.

At its core, Bayonetta 3 follows the blueprint of its two predecessors: you explore mostly hosed levels, some of which are more extensive this time than before – which invites you to explore. Every few minutes you will reach an arena. A barrier blocks off the area, a handful of enemies appear and a driving jazz orchestra mix encourages movement. One button is reserved for punches and one for kicks. A third fires Bayonetta’s pistols, keeping the attack combo going if you venture further away from enemies. The aim is to increase the combo counter while at the same time varying your attacks, avoiding hits and, on top of that, being as fast as possible in order to achieve the best possible final rating after the individual battles, here called “verses”. . The combat system gains depth by the fact that you can tap the attack buttons briefly or hold them down longer to carry out various attacks. There are also special attacks, for which you combine button commands with movements of the analog stick. In order to buy these, you must first earn demon blood through successful combos.

Series fans have known the amulet “Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa” since the debut. If you push the analog stick towards the enemy at the right moment, the attack fizzles out. This time, the amulet is cheaper than ever and thus expands the move repertoire much earlier.

Series fans have known the amulet “Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa” since the debut. Push the analog stick towards the enemy at the right moment and the attack will fizzle out. This time the amulet is cheaper and thus expands the move repertoire much earlier.

Luckily, you’re free to try out the vast array of keyboard shortcuts during the loading breaks before each level, as well as in Rodin’s new practice room. Another formative game feature since part 1 is the witch time: If an enemy hit is imminent, you dodge it at the last moment with the shoulder button. The screen turns purple, time slows down, and Bayonetta gets a chance to launch powerful counterattacks. The timing is generous, and it also hides an essential mechanic for combo pros: Super Dodge aka “Dodge Offset”. Our witch can’t block, but she knows that you can hold down an attack button and then dodge without interrupting the chain of attacks. In principle, however, the combo counter is quite merciful and offers a large time window that even an enemy hit does not lead to cancellation.

Reference-www.4players.de