This review contains spoilers
After a second playthrough, free from all the initial hype, and after replaying Bayonetta 2 once again, this game has some really underwhelming traits.
The weapons are great, but the dissolution of pairs into unique singular sets, while still good by design, that coupled with the changed progression method through splitting the currencies and aquired moves between weapons made Bayonetta just feel like Devil May Cry, which isn't a bad thing from a technical point of view, but it deters the uniqueness the franchise had build for itself with the previous systems, in which you had more freedom on how you play with the weapons, and more valuable resources that were very tied to your performance, since everything was centered on Halos.
-- Spoilers for the story begins here --
The Story is idiotic at best, Viola was rushed in and had no time to develop well, the villain manages to be worse than Aesir, and what in the actual hell did they do with Jeanne? Getting almost killed at the start of the game for the B2 throwback feels cheap. And getting actually killed by the end in the most unbelievably nonsensical way makes me believe the writers of this game absolutely hated Jeanne. Luka being promoted to a super powerful being felt unnecessary since Rodin already exists, and burned his role as a middle ground between a common person perspective Enzo provides, and the almighty point of view belonging to the other members of the cast. Calling past Bayonettas at the end, with their respective movesets and UI was a nice fanservice bit at the end of all things.
-- Spoilers for the story end here --
I'm nowhere near being an overly critical person with narrative, since I'm not the most perceptive individual for these things, but this game went below and beyond my lowest expectations.
The last negative points of this game is that the Homunculi aren't really as memorable as the Angels and Demons of previous games, I wish there were more verses with old enemies. The main story can be quite tedious to go through on a replay due to the many gimmicks the stages have, which I previously said to be short and tolerable, but are really a nuisance when you just want to engage with the core gameplay.
Putting the Lock-on on a obligatory trigger instead of the previous games hold really messes up with targeting and camera controls, having the option to choose either would be for the best, but that isn't the reality we live in.
On the bright side, this game is unbelievably well animated, seeing Bayonetta really dancing while holding the attack buttons instead of just keeping a almost static pose is really, really nice to watch, and elevates the power she provides to the player by literally dancing in front of the enemies without even straight up taunting.
The weapons are quite varied and fun to use, with the added bonus of having an extra attack button compared to previous games, with unique gunshots, movement and effectiveness to each of them.
The summons are a fun addition, they don't really bother with visibility since the camera readjusts to their presence, and do make nice additions to both offense and defense, a very nice substitute to the underwhelming Umbran Climax.
While I still prefer Bayonetta 2 due to the less gimmicky main story, Bayonetta 3 is a great game, a game with extreme positive and negative traits, but a pleasant experience overall.
The weapons are great, but the dissolution of pairs into unique singular sets, while still good by design, that coupled with the changed progression method through splitting the currencies and aquired moves between weapons made Bayonetta just feel like Devil May Cry, which isn't a bad thing from a technical point of view, but it deters the uniqueness the franchise had build for itself with the previous systems, in which you had more freedom on how you play with the weapons, and more valuable resources that were very tied to your performance, since everything was centered on Halos.
-- Spoilers for the story begins here --
The Story is idiotic at best, Viola was rushed in and had no time to develop well, the villain manages to be worse than Aesir, and what in the actual hell did they do with Jeanne? Getting almost killed at the start of the game for the B2 throwback feels cheap. And getting actually killed by the end in the most unbelievably nonsensical way makes me believe the writers of this game absolutely hated Jeanne. Luka being promoted to a super powerful being felt unnecessary since Rodin already exists, and burned his role as a middle ground between a common person perspective Enzo provides, and the almighty point of view belonging to the other members of the cast. Calling past Bayonettas at the end, with their respective movesets and UI was a nice fanservice bit at the end of all things.
-- Spoilers for the story end here --
I'm nowhere near being an overly critical person with narrative, since I'm not the most perceptive individual for these things, but this game went below and beyond my lowest expectations.
The last negative points of this game is that the Homunculi aren't really as memorable as the Angels and Demons of previous games, I wish there were more verses with old enemies. The main story can be quite tedious to go through on a replay due to the many gimmicks the stages have, which I previously said to be short and tolerable, but are really a nuisance when you just want to engage with the core gameplay.
Putting the Lock-on on a obligatory trigger instead of the previous games hold really messes up with targeting and camera controls, having the option to choose either would be for the best, but that isn't the reality we live in.
On the bright side, this game is unbelievably well animated, seeing Bayonetta really dancing while holding the attack buttons instead of just keeping a almost static pose is really, really nice to watch, and elevates the power she provides to the player by literally dancing in front of the enemies without even straight up taunting.
The weapons are quite varied and fun to use, with the added bonus of having an extra attack button compared to previous games, with unique gunshots, movement and effectiveness to each of them.
The summons are a fun addition, they don't really bother with visibility since the camera readjusts to their presence, and do make nice additions to both offense and defense, a very nice substitute to the underwhelming Umbran Climax.
While I still prefer Bayonetta 2 due to the less gimmicky main story, Bayonetta 3 is a great game, a game with extreme positive and negative traits, but a pleasant experience overall.