--The Witches' Tears of Blood, Bayonetta
The original Bayonetta introduces both the "Trinity of Realities," a metaphysical world comprised of Inferno, Paradiso, and the "Human World" (with Purgatorio existing as a parallel realm), and the titular Umbra Witch with the power to manipulate the environment around her. The very fact that it is finally normal for a game like this to be on a Nintendo system is itself an achievement of Nintendo. The sensuality and violence are themselves inseparable parts of the game's fairly unique style, and Bayonetta earns her place alongside other notable characters of the hack-and-slash genre like Kratos thanks to her sorcery-driven attacks, stylish sensuality, and antihero personality. Even though the immediate story clearly lacks depth, the background lore and imagery delve into fictional metaphysics that so easily fit into the game's iconic sense of style.
Production Values
Bayonetta's graphics are definitely not the best on the Switch platform, but the game is a port from a previous generation of consoles, so there is nothing atrocious about them due to this context. Even if the visuals are not at the same level as the graphics of games like Luigi's Mansion 3, the frame rate holds up consistently, which is very needed because of the speed and fluidity required for smooth combat. The voice acting for Bayonetta herself and the supporting characters is mostly strong, but the cinematics are more hit or miss as far as their artistic sophistication goes. At this point, some of the cinematics look downright primitive due to amounting to little more than transitioning storyboards with subtitles. Thankfully, it is only some of the story videos that have this format, as plenty of cutscenes shown during a given level simply portray events using the same visuals as those of the main game.
Gameplay
Combat is the primary component of the gameplay, though minor platforming and puzzle solving are also components of the game--and the fighting can be very fucking difficult. The main attacks consist of kicks or shots from guns that are either held by Bayonetta's hands or attached to her boots. These attacks can be strung together in the same way that the light and heavy attacks in the God of War games can be combined in order to launch new moves, and the occasional mild quick time event adds slightly more variety to the combat. It is the witch powers, however, that provide the most opportunities to devastate your enemies.
Foremost among these powers is Witch Time, a mechanic involving a temporarily slowed perception of time that can be triggered by evading attacks at the last second. You can even continuously activate Witch Time consecutively as long as dodges are timed correctly. Another witch ability is Witch Walk, which allows Bayonetta to walk on walls without being subjected to the standard presence of gravity when there is a full moon. Witch Time, Witch Walk, and other magical powers have great uses during fights, and multiple abilities can be used at the same time.
A finishing move for bosses featuring a demon called Gomorrah, an enormous creature that bites larger foes, is accessible at the end of some boss fights, serving as the most dramatic example of Bayonetta's connection with the demonic spirits of Inferno. Other finishing moves allow you to trap angels in iron maidens, guillotine them, or spin a spiked wheel on their backs. Violent combat is the heart of Bayonetta: the puzzles and story take an obvious back seat to the focus on stylized killings. Moreover, the spectacle is given obvious priority over the story.
Story
Mild spoilers are below!
Bayonetta is one of the last surviving Umbra witches, a group that was hunted to near extinction by human witch hunts throughout history. In a modern setting, her companion Enzo recounts how she was found in a casket at the bottom of a lake 20 years prior to the main events of the game. As she grapples with a general amnesia about her identity before that, she encounters another witch named Jeanne, whose presence triggers select memories about Bayonetta's past.
Intellectual Content
Even though the emphasis is clearly placed on creating a sensual and violent game first and foremost, it is established early on that Bayonetta lives in a world modeled partially after Dante Alighieri's pitifully unbiblical representation of Christian theology. The existence of God, angels, and realms like Purgatorio and Inferno are acknowledged regularly by some of the primary characters in the universe of Bayonetta, which means that many of the plot points are created around a theology that is superficially similar to Christian metaphysics. This makes the objections of some Christians to playing Bayonetta all the more ironic.
Conclusion
Bayonetta is not the best that the hack-and-slash genre has to offer, but it is not constructed poorly. Its pseudo-"Christian" lore does help set it apart from somewhat comparable games like God of War. Its uniqueness and style might be its strongest elements, even if its strangeness might simultaneously disinterest some players. The lore is certainly not a generic copy of the lore of other games. All the same, the way that lore is presented will not be for everyone. For those who are not alienated by the setup, though, Bayonetta provides fighting encounters not unlike those of the best in the genre.
Content:
1. Violence: Bayonetta obliterates her enemies with bloody kick and gun attacks. In some cases, she summons a manifestation of her power in the form of a giant, demonic creature that grabs large enemies with its teeth.
2. Profanity: By the time the first few levels alone have been completed, everything from "damn" to "fuck" has been said.
3. Nudity: While there is no full nudity shown onscreen, some of Bayonetta's attacks have her pull back the strands of hair she wears as clothes, leaving her partially or totally naked, even if players cannot directly see it.
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