Bayonetta 3 Review: An Elegant Climax (Switch)

After a lengthy wait, the iconic umbra witch returns to the switch. Featuring over-the-top, destructive gameplay and the series’ most ambitious narrative yet, Bayonetta 3  is ready to review, packing all the punches, kicks and bullets into one refined package. With more mechanics, summons and ways to slay your foes than ever before, this third entry doesn’t disenchant.

As the most anticipated title in the series yet, the game had some high heels to fill after the success of its predecessors. Bayonetta has become increasingly popular over the years. With her introduction to the Super Smash Bros series and Nintendo publishing both the second and third instalments, the third one’s success was set in stone.

Bayonetta 3 is available now to purchase exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.

Story – Most Ambitious Yet

Bayonetta (or Cereza) is enjoying some light shopping in New York City when a voice reaches out in her head, asking for her aid. As it turns out, a new evil threatens not just Bayonetta and her allies, but the multiverse itself. Only with the help of the mysterious Viola and a scientist named Sigurd can these strange human bioweapons known as Homunculi be defeated from the universes along with their master. Bayonetta has gone from fighting for herself to fighting for others, to fighting for the world. Only this time, the threat is far greater than she ever could’ve imagined.

The witches face their biggest challenge yet

In this series, the narrative isn’t always taken too seriously. There are often rather absurd and seemingly disjointed events flashing around while you enjoy pummeling any foe that stands in your way. As a fan of the stories though, I have to admit that this one is definitely the most emotional of all three games, especially towards the last chapters. The pacing, however, felt quite rushed. Beloved characters, both new and returning often get little screen time and don’t feel massively relevant. There are instances where parts of the story feel unexplained, which is a recurring aspect of the series. I suppose it’s a personal thing, whether or not you enjoy specifics being left up to interpretation or having to dig through character bios to get the facts right.

Realistically, the story of the Bayonetta games is not what sells the game. It’s the beautiful, flashy combat. Despite narrative not being the selling point of the series, I’ve always loved it. There are heartfelt, emotional moments and this protagonist delivers her snarky, patronising personality as usual. I won’t spoil anything in this Bayonetta 3 review. Though, I’ll warn many that the ending of this entry isn’t like any other, so brace yourself.

Gameplay – Gloriously Destructive

In this series, the gameplay is often the most attractive aspect of the game. You’ll be controlling a character (mainly Bayonetta) from a third-person perspective, equipped with unique weapons and abilities to upgrade. You’ll spend most of the game hacking and slashing your enemies to pieces throughout the verses in every chapter. When you’re not smashing ugly monsters apart, you’ll have a chance to explore the world around you. Find hidden verses, collectables, and such which add another layer of replay value.

Hair-raising battles keep you on your toes

After each verse in Bayonetta 3, you can review your performance. This ranges from a literal stone award to pure platinum. Use a mix of combos, avoid taking damage and finish the verse with decent time in order to score high. You’ll gradually see yourself improve over time which feels rewarding in itself. The new additions to the gameplay make it even more fun to go back and unleash demonic havoc on previous levels.

Bayonetta

With each new instalment, the gameplay finds a way to exceed itself. Bayonetta 3 is no different. Bringing in the new Demon Masquerade mechanic allows you to combine with one of Bayonetta’s demons in order to unleash devastating new tricks. Then there’s Demon Slave, an ancient art that allows you to fully control the demons that are summoned mid-combat. Bring in Gomorrah to tear apart your foes or Madama Butterfly to mesmerise them. Stringing attacks together with your demons and your character has never felt so exhilarating and ridiculously over-the-top.

Braver than ever, Bayonetta is ready to save the world

In general, the combat of these types of action games is one that you get used to with time. As a beginner, your first playing experience might feel harsh and difficult to come to terms with. However, with time, you come to learn how to beat the game’s enemies and how to use your character’s moveset to its potential. Patience and perseverance are key.

Viola

While bringing huge demons to the fight is exciting enough, this time around, the main story doesn’t just feature the titular protagonist as a playable character. Some chapters have us following Viola, equipped with a fire-enchanted katana and a rather strange demon of her own, Cheshire. Viola comes with her own set of combos, fighting music and playstyle. While Bayonetta will control her demons with Demon Slave, Cheshire is less… trained. Instead, it’ll fight by itself, meaning you can control Viola while Cheshire is active.

Mysterious newcomer Viola brings the fire

Viola is a welcome addition to the narrative in my eyes, and her gameplay can be fun. She uses a grappling hook as well as her double jump and her combat comes with a new way to activate witch time. While she can dodge, parrying an attack with her sword’s block function is the way to activate witch time. This means being very accurate with the timing. High skill, high reward. Though I found her less fun than pummeling homunculi to death with the titular witch herself, she’s still enjoyable.

Jeanne’s Spy Action

Another interesting part of the game is Jeanne’s Spy Action chapters. In this side narrative, Jeanne infiltrates a laboratory infested with homunculi. Packed with 2D, side-scrolling stealth missions and rather comedic scenes. It makes for a nice change to see Jeanne have her own playable narrative. You can crawl through vents, quietly assassinate enemies and find new weapons to defeat your foes. Go in guns blazing or go undetected- the choice is yours!

Jeanne’s on a mission of her own

Apart from all the destructive fun, there is one thing I will say about the game’s overall performance. It does tend to struggle at times, even in the first few chapters which include bigger landscapes. Although I kind of expected it to be this way due to the limitations of the switch, it’s sad to see that it doesn’t feel fully optimised to remain consistent. Luckily, it isn’t overly noticeable and I don’t think it takes much away from the gameplay.

Graphics & Audio – A Mixed Bag

Generally, each game in a series will improve upon its graphics with each instalment. Bayonetta 3, however, feels like an upgrade when reviewing some areas, but a slight downgrade in others. It deviates more towards Bayonetta 1 with its darkened, gothic feel while keeping some of the dazzling beauty from Bayonetta 2. It seems as though graphics weren’t the top priority here, rather having larger areas to explore, and bigger battles to happen.

Gomorrah returns yet again!

Using the Nintendo Switch’s more limited hardware, this sequel wasn’t expected to look like the modern AAA games you might see using the full power of the Xbox Series X or PS5. It’s stylised and has never tried to look overly realistic. I think the graphics are more cohesive than the first game but less so than the second. I don’t think the game takes a massive hit from this though, as it still feels stylish and dazzling in its own right.

As for the audio, I think it might just be the best in the series yet. Music in these games is something that has always been well-received. Mixing jazz and pop together for glorious battle themes and remixing old songs like Fly Me to the Moon and Moon River for an ironically explosive scene is part of the game’s charming humour. Al Fine, one of the main battle songs is beautiful and emotional in a way no previous song has been before. There are also a few remixes of old fan favourites from the original game which will please long-time fans.

Bayonetta 3 was reviewed on Nintendo Switch.