KevMorrell
1 review liked by KevMorrell
Bayonetta 3
2022
Is it controversial to say this is the worst game of the year for me? Maybe not worst, but at the very least the most disappointing game of the year.
Bizarrely enough, my feelings towards the gameplay itself really took a turn. While it's still fun to combo and rip and tear through baddies, the Demon Masquerade system radically changes the combat from the other two games to an extent that the overall combat becomes real watered down and easy to wash enemies as long as you pay attention to enemy attacks when they actually attack you. Everything is big here, both levels overall and the enemies too, which makes trying to play as Bayonetta herself without using a demon a real chore. The demons aren't bad to use and some are enjoyable, but much of the complexity and charm to the combat in the previous games are lost for just more spectacle here. Doesn't help with the new skill tree system here with multiple new weapons available replacing the option to buy moves from Rodin and not having to buy them every single time with each new weapon. The diversity of the weapons available unfortunately doesn't amount to much difference in their toolkits at a real deep level. Also, the less I talk about Viola, the better because her combat is awful and underdeveloped compared to Bayo's, it reeks of leftovers from 2B's combat in Automata but even worse. Maybe Bayo 4 will make her toolkit actually interesting!
Speaking of, the story just got worse running through a second course of it. The multiverse concept was doomed from the start and becomes real redundant after the second or third time through. Significant plot events fly out of nowhere with as much of an explanation as a shrug. The vibes of the returning characters are off completely in an otherwise real "serious" story that falters hard in the execution and is desperately missing the campiness that is core and beneficial to the stories despite how messy they all are. The ending itself goes on for way too long on whether Bayo and the other characters can finally kill boring, yassified Jeff Bezos. It then concludes with very concerning plot decisions that honestly turn me off for the next entry of the series unless P* changes course drastically and that's if the studio even exists to release to hypothetical fourth entry of Bayonetta. At least Bayo 1 and 2 exist as a cool duology I guess?
Bizarrely enough, my feelings towards the gameplay itself really took a turn. While it's still fun to combo and rip and tear through baddies, the Demon Masquerade system radically changes the combat from the other two games to an extent that the overall combat becomes real watered down and easy to wash enemies as long as you pay attention to enemy attacks when they actually attack you. Everything is big here, both levels overall and the enemies too, which makes trying to play as Bayonetta herself without using a demon a real chore. The demons aren't bad to use and some are enjoyable, but much of the complexity and charm to the combat in the previous games are lost for just more spectacle here. Doesn't help with the new skill tree system here with multiple new weapons available replacing the option to buy moves from Rodin and not having to buy them every single time with each new weapon. The diversity of the weapons available unfortunately doesn't amount to much difference in their toolkits at a real deep level. Also, the less I talk about Viola, the better because her combat is awful and underdeveloped compared to Bayo's, it reeks of leftovers from 2B's combat in Automata but even worse. Maybe Bayo 4 will make her toolkit actually interesting!
Speaking of, the story just got worse running through a second course of it. The multiverse concept was doomed from the start and becomes real redundant after the second or third time through. Significant plot events fly out of nowhere with as much of an explanation as a shrug. The vibes of the returning characters are off completely in an otherwise real "serious" story that falters hard in the execution and is desperately missing the campiness that is core and beneficial to the stories despite how messy they all are. The ending itself goes on for way too long on whether Bayo and the other characters can finally kill boring, yassified Jeff Bezos. It then concludes with very concerning plot decisions that honestly turn me off for the next entry of the series unless P* changes course drastically and that's if the studio even exists to release to hypothetical fourth entry of Bayonetta. At least Bayo 1 and 2 exist as a cool duology I guess?