While the game Bayonetta is easily Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kameya’s best game in many respects, it also reflects some of the most dated and frustrating aspects of the genre that he helped create.
It would be easier to write Bayonetta off if it weren’t so brilliant at times. When the combat works, it really works. The combo system and character movement bear much more resemblance to the nuanced control of Ninja Gaiden than Devil May Cry, which is a good thing, and the dodge button/Witch Time mechanic add a host of new offensive options absent in any other game in the genre.
Even without Witch Time, most encounters in the game are very well designed. Success is extraordinarily gratifying in a way it only is in these kinds of games, and that reward will likely keep those who master Bayonetta’s nuances coming back for more. Combos are easy to vary up (though occasionally a little over-complicated), and enemies are balanced and fun to fight—usually.
It’s where the encounter design is more punitive and less fair that the game becomes frustrating and a real trial of one’s endurance. One type of enemy in particular personifies this dichotomy, the Graces and Glorys. For most of the game, these enemies pose the greatest challenge you’ll find: They’re fast, do a huge amount of damage and will loop you into combos that are incredibly difficult to break. They require some of the most precise dodge timing in the game to invoke Witch Time, but it’s that challenge that makes them enjoyable. Until, that is, they reappear as Gracious and Glorious, shinier versions that deal more damage, have more elaborate combos and against whom Witch Time cannot be engaged.
Too often in the latter half of the game, combat scenarios become something to be endured, rather than enjoyed. It also becomes increasingly difficult to determine what is or isn’t an attack with several later enemy types, adding to the confusion and frustration. Where previously battles would be won through a combination of tight reflexes and well thought out strategy, later confrontations increasingly depend on luck and grinding continues into a level, hoping each checkpoint has put you a little further than you were before.
Bayonetta’s presentation veers wildly from beautifully insane to frustratingly obtuse. The creature and world design are distinctive and interesting, and I was always excited to see each new enemy type introduced. Bayonetta’s climax moves are also a lot of fun to watch, and become more and more ludicrous over the course of the game. The graphics and effects generally get the job done, with great animation, but some rough spots here and there, with a fairly constant frame rate.
However, the cutscenes are painful. Swinging from pseudo-philosophical analyses of Heaven and Hell to dolly and crane shots of cleavage and asses, it is perhaps the most objectifying and demeaning imagery in a mainstream game this generation. Whether that’s an insurmountable problem is a personal decision, but it bears mentioning.
Bayonetta is so interested in demanding you look at how stylish and “sexy” it is that it doesn’t notice when the gameplay suffers for it. This is yet another issue that becomes more pronounced as the game goes on. At first, the camera is largely solid, if a little finicky. Later, though, in its attempts to present an epic view of the scenes the developers wish to set, it’s easy to get lost amidst all the chaos, whether it’s because Bayonetta is a tiny character on a huge backdrop or because the screen-filling mini-bosses or end-stage bosses literally block all view of her entirely. This leaves the player to desperately pound out combos blindly, hoping that the damage won’t be too severe.