The gameplay is somehow worse and way more one-dimensional than the first game's, at least at a beginner's level, Witch Time is stupid OP and makes every fight into a game of "time the dodge kinda right", most of the bosses suck because the camera can't fit them in the frame so dodging their attacks is basically guesswork, and generally it feels a lot more toothless. Maybe better on a second playthrough? But it has to actually deserve one, and for me it didn't.

Presentation-wise, it's super pretty. I was shocked to see such a great looking game on Switch, and basically couldn't play handheld because of how many details there were in every single bit. It's also very colorful, which is something that Bayonetta should be and the first game wasn't. The story starts off on a good note, promising to sidestep the timey-wimey BS that ruined the first game's plot, only to plunge into it and ultimately leave me just kind of annoyed.

There's nothing wrong with Bayonetta 2, but at the same time I struggle to think of anything it did that I really loved. I used to have a very high opinion of Platinum, but after seeing them squander a lot of their more recent games, including this one in my opinion, and looking back at the flaws of the ones I actually like (Vanquish/MGR/Bayo 1), I can't help but almost think that they might have just accidentally lucked into making good games, and failed to replicate that ever since.

la verdad es que el primer juego me acabó aburriendo pila y tenía miedo de este pero vaya juegazo na que ver, pa empezar que varía bastante en los escenarios y hay ciudades y tal, en el otro parecían todos los capitulos el mismo con el mapa ese de los angeles, también los climax molan muchísimo más y no son siempre los 3 mismos creo que ni repiten encima y además todas las fromas de jugar que tiene como la serpiente, surfear, volar, montarse en los enemigos estos caballo, hasta puedes controlar al crío en algún punto y al malo al final, incluso haces un combate tipo boxeo con tu monstruo del pelo y otro capítulo entero eres un mecha o controlas un jet es que está brutal en todo y soluciona todo lo repetitivo que puede ser el otro juego o cualquier hack slash de esos por que no tienen mucho más

(Note: This is my second playthrough of the game, but I'm playing the Switch version for the first time)

An improvement over the first game in many regards, combat wise, it's more fluid and satisfying, and more forgiving on the Normal difficulty than the previous game, meaning you'll see the Game Over screen less often than before, though, some fans may agrue that the game is too easy compared to Bayo 1, especially with the addition of the Umbran Climax mechanic, which is kinda like the Devil Trigger from the Devil May Cry games, also, no "do or die" QTEs, thank God, oh, as for the newly introduced weapons, nothing tops the Rakshasa dual blades, that, and probably the Chain Chomp, lol.

Story wise, it can be hard to follow, just like the previous game, but at least you can catch the main gest of it, also, a lot of callbacks to the first game, so, unless you've played Bayo 1 beforehand, you're gonna be even more confused, then again, story was never Bayonetta's strongest attributes, it's all about the characters, the lore, and the ridiculous setpieces, though, I will say, Bayonetta's personality is slightly better here than in the previous game, she's mostly still cheeky, nonchalant, and laughs in the face of danger as before, but here, she has some serious moments when the situation demands it, which is an improvement I welcome.

Graphically, it's one of the best looking WiiU/Switch game out there, and has more colorful and vibrant setpieces than before, a complete contrast to Bayo1's depressing brown & grey locations, which was standard for a lot mid/late 2000s games, thank God the industry moved away from that mindset, lol, also, the game runs at a solid 60fps, and it never dips below that during gameplay.

Aesthetically, it's the same as the previous game, though, I will say, Bayonetta's default outfit with the pixie haircut is easily her best look, hell, I think it's even better than her look in 3, lol, and the demons, while kinda neat looking design wise, are nowhere near as creepy and freakish looking as the "Biblically accurate" angels from both games, you'd think with demons, the character designers would make them even more grotesque and off putting to look at than the angels, but nope, it's all sharp edges and cybernetic looking...meh.

The music is fine, I guess, aside from Tomorrow is Mine and Moon River, none of the music tracks in the games really stood out to me all that much, unfortunately.

Overall, this is still a damn good game, it was well received back when came out, and nearly 9 years later, it still hold up, a must have for WiiU/Switch owners, easily recommended. 👍

La versión más pulida del primer juego, básicamente. La similitud es evidente incluso en la trama, que en este caso no puede evitar sentirse como un déjà vu (sí, como Vigrid) de la primera entrega, sólo que definitivamente menos inspirado pero igualmente trabajado para dar profundidad a los acontecimientos, lo cual nunca está de más y se agradece.

Por el lado jugable hablamos de uno de los hack n slash más refinados en su forma. Por una parte, con respecto a la primera entrega, es un juego definitivamente más accesible, pero por otra las asperezas que tenían que ver con el diseño de los enfrentamientos fueron en su mayoría suprimidas y el sistema de trofeos, los ítems y su creación/compra, las armas (aunque no haya podido probarlas todas aún), etc. fueron en definitiva reformados para entregar una experiencia de juego mucho más justa y diversa. Suele decirse que aquello que funciona no debería cambiarse sustancialmente, y es precisamente lo que hace este juego aún logrando una experiencia renovada e intensa.

This is the second of a three-part retrospective I’m doing on the Bayonetta trilogy. Stay tuned for my thoughts on the third game!

Whenever a book, movie, or game that resonates with consumers is released, they always seem to desire a follow-up. That is the curse of the sequel and it’s tricky to judge what constitutes a good one. Do you play things safe and create more of the same type of content that fans loved? Do you go in a radically different direction to avoid stagnation, but risk alienating your core audience? Or do you try to find a middle ground between both extremes?

I have enjoyed safe, iterative sequels, but I also believe video games are an art form, so my perspective is twofold. For one, developers should feel free to create the games they’re interested in. And secondly, daring sequels will bear more fruit in the long-term. A straightforward sequel is okay every now and then, but we have to remember that the old games aren’t going anywhere. Gaming can’t evolve without taking risks, so we should be thankful when a developer creates a sequel that won’t necessarily sit right with everyone. I agree that a gaming franchise should hold onto core elements between installments, but this process is not always cut-and-dry. Sonic and Paper Mario, for example, made very controversial changes to freshen things up while attempting to hold onto the original appeal. Whether they were successful is up for debate, but at the end of the day, you would be hard-pressed to argue the newer games never offer a fresh experience.

So, what does this all have to do with Bayonetta 2? Well, it’s a weird sequel. It’s both very similar and different from the first game, and not necessarily in a good way. I’ll explain why, but suffice to say I think it’s merely an okay sequel, especially after playing Bayonetta 3.

To start with the positives, Bayonetta 2’s art direction is stunning. It’s a monumental improvement over the first game’s washed-out colors, which was an unfortunate trend during the seventh generation of consoles. Gimmick levels were toned down and the few we do have are better paced and have slightly more gameplay depth. Muspelheims (the equivalent to Bayonetta 1’s Alfheims) are much easier to find and their challenges more reasonable. The addition of demons to the enemy roster alongside some new angels was great and most of them were very fun to fight. Enemy telegraphing was also a lot better, keeping most fights feeling fair. There are no more gotcha QTEs that can one-shot the player. And finally, the weapons were excellent. The new weapons had even cooler designs than the returning ones and they together allow for even more playstyles.

Bayonetta 2 also tweaks the combat with a powerful attack boost called Umbran Climax and a greater emphasis on Witch Time in the enemy designs. These initially seemed like positive changes, but everything is designed around them to the point the player is no longer dictating the pace of the combat. Enemies have larger health pools so that Umbran Climax doesn’t feel too OP, but individual attacks end up feeling much weaker than the first game. This is best seen on Infinite Climax, where enemies not only take forever to kill, but they hit like trucks. Witch Time is still available, but you’re practically required to use it for defeating bosses like Masked Lumen. These fights are blatantly unfair when playing as Jeanne since the boss almost always blocks or dodges your attacks unless you’re in Witch Time. Her activation window is much smaller than Bayonetta’s, so the challenge really falls apart. It’s disappointing coming off of the first game’s elegant difficulty design.

Now, I could forgive these tweaks if there were way more gameplay additions or overhauls. Sadly, that isn’t the case. I get the impression Platinum didn’t want to change the combat too much because it worked so well before. However, it’s clear Bayonetta 2 both altered and didn’t alter aspects about the first game. This is what I meant when I called it a weird sequel. It improves several things outside of combat, but the core gameplay is both identical and completely different from before. As such, it ends up simply being “more Bayonetta” for me. A follow-up to a great action game is practically guaranteed to be a good time when a lot of its features are still present. Just don’t expect that second climax to hit the same as the first.

Just enough of a step down from the first to be a slight disappointment but not nearly enough a step down that it's not still a great time from start to finish. Most of the problems with this game are only going to bother you if you're an elitist action game nerd like me, and at the very least they don't totally invalidate what a solid combat system Bayo 2 still has. There's some really weird stages and mechanics that I don't think are very fun to interact with, and the boss fights are more of a mixed bag but what's here works for the most part. At this game's very worst it's just kind of meh, but still has more than enough quality action game goodness to keep me engaged, even if nothing QUITE hits the same highs as the first game.

On the bright side the QTEs are gone! Fuckin thank you.