I love Bayonetta as a character, as a franchise, as a bastion of the talent and creativity of Platinum games. Having completed Bayonetta 3 within this past week, my lingering thoughts and feelings about my experience have led me to the conclusion: I hate this game.
First off, the action is GREAT. Bayonetta gets more movesets and weapon combinations than I've seen any one character have in a character action game. If you didn't like Astral Chain's combat then you're really not going to like Bayonetta 3's new Slave Dance mechanic where holding down the left trigger in open environments allows you to summon a demon to fight for you while Bayonetta dances and dodges attacks like the most coked up J-pop star in existence. It feels good and mostly looks good and it's all you could really want from a game like this.
Occasionally, you'll play as newcomer Viola. I think she is fine as a character; a clumsy punk rocker who is dumb as hell, but she has her moments. My problem with her is that she gets only one moveset that doesn't lend itself well to a lot of enemies and bosses she faces. Compared to Bayonetta, Viola is a gimmick and really could have used at least a second moveset.
Jeanne is playable as well, but only for 2D side-scrolling stealth sections that are not very well put together. Her sections feel like a PSP game that would have gotten a 6/10 in 2005 and turned an otherwise cool idea to break up the action and level traversal into needless filler.
Speaking of level traversal, each level of Bayo 3 is now a pseudo open-world full of hidden fights, collectibles and objectives that require use of all your abilities to collect everything. It's tedious and boring for the most part and serves to pad the gameplay out that much further. Though collecting certain items gives you a sneak preview for a new game. It's much easier and no less rewarding to just look up the teaser on Youtube.
The level design is lacking due to the limitations of the Nintendo Switch so much so that it's becoming a major problem for every big Nintendo release. Every environment feels relatively empty and simple. Most large boss fights take place in a different dimension where there's hardly any objects or textures to save the frame rate from spiraling.
Also the new enemies and villain sucks tremendously. They are bad in a way where their motivations are dumb and they look generic and they are not all that fun to fight. In a game series that embraced weird religious imagery and sorcery you'd think Platinum could come up with something better than seafoam green AI bots that look like Twilight Princess rejects, but they didn't.
No spoilers, but the single worst thing about this game is that the ending of an already weak and far-to-serious story -- and is an ending so fucking awful that i cannot believe it's real. If you have played this game, you know what I mean. It's the special kind of bad that I cannot think of a single game that sabotages itself more. According to the credits, Hideki Kamiya himself wrote this game and he really should not have. It is devastating how much this game's plot from start to finish sucks.
The sexy, zany character action icon had a rough time here. Many highs, with just as many lows. I do not feel compelled to go back and perfect every Verse on the hardest difficulty and find every collectible because I do not find any joy in any gameplay outside of combat. It's truly a bummer and I cannot recommend this game to anyone who has played previous Bayo or Platinum games because you will most surely feel it's not up to their standard in delivering exceptional video games.
First off, the action is GREAT. Bayonetta gets more movesets and weapon combinations than I've seen any one character have in a character action game. If you didn't like Astral Chain's combat then you're really not going to like Bayonetta 3's new Slave Dance mechanic where holding down the left trigger in open environments allows you to summon a demon to fight for you while Bayonetta dances and dodges attacks like the most coked up J-pop star in existence. It feels good and mostly looks good and it's all you could really want from a game like this.
Occasionally, you'll play as newcomer Viola. I think she is fine as a character; a clumsy punk rocker who is dumb as hell, but she has her moments. My problem with her is that she gets only one moveset that doesn't lend itself well to a lot of enemies and bosses she faces. Compared to Bayonetta, Viola is a gimmick and really could have used at least a second moveset.
Jeanne is playable as well, but only for 2D side-scrolling stealth sections that are not very well put together. Her sections feel like a PSP game that would have gotten a 6/10 in 2005 and turned an otherwise cool idea to break up the action and level traversal into needless filler.
Speaking of level traversal, each level of Bayo 3 is now a pseudo open-world full of hidden fights, collectibles and objectives that require use of all your abilities to collect everything. It's tedious and boring for the most part and serves to pad the gameplay out that much further. Though collecting certain items gives you a sneak preview for a new game. It's much easier and no less rewarding to just look up the teaser on Youtube.
The level design is lacking due to the limitations of the Nintendo Switch so much so that it's becoming a major problem for every big Nintendo release. Every environment feels relatively empty and simple. Most large boss fights take place in a different dimension where there's hardly any objects or textures to save the frame rate from spiraling.
Also the new enemies and villain sucks tremendously. They are bad in a way where their motivations are dumb and they look generic and they are not all that fun to fight. In a game series that embraced weird religious imagery and sorcery you'd think Platinum could come up with something better than seafoam green AI bots that look like Twilight Princess rejects, but they didn't.
No spoilers, but the single worst thing about this game is that the ending of an already weak and far-to-serious story -- and is an ending so fucking awful that i cannot believe it's real. If you have played this game, you know what I mean. It's the special kind of bad that I cannot think of a single game that sabotages itself more. According to the credits, Hideki Kamiya himself wrote this game and he really should not have. It is devastating how much this game's plot from start to finish sucks.
The sexy, zany character action icon had a rough time here. Many highs, with just as many lows. I do not feel compelled to go back and perfect every Verse on the hardest difficulty and find every collectible because I do not find any joy in any gameplay outside of combat. It's truly a bummer and I cannot recommend this game to anyone who has played previous Bayo or Platinum games because you will most surely feel it's not up to their standard in delivering exceptional video games.
2 Comments
The game is incredibly fun to play (for the most part). It's cutscenes are, as expected, well directed and fun. There's so many little things and surprises I didn't mention in my review in case those who want to check it out can still be delighted by. It's still Bayonetta. It's still Platinum. It's silly and ridiculous in bombastic in ways that no one company in the business can compete with.
It's MASSIVE issues are it's deviations from what makes Bayonetta fun. There's too much gameplay padding with empty world exploration and traversal. Viola is poorly implemented all around. Every moment not in combat as Bayonetta is at best boring and at worst agonizing.
The story has never really mattered for a Bayo game, but it's so bad here that because it ruins Bayonetta as a character. It ruins Bayonetta as a franchise. Jeanne is treated like dirt despite being a fan favorite character. There is one character no one is a fan of that is clearly there because someone at Platinum wants them there.
It makes me, who has stuck by these games and Platinum and their plight to deliver top-of-the-line gaming experiences throughout the years -- resentful of being supportive of them and it genuinely makes me question if they've lost their touch.
So yeah, if you're checking out Bayo for the first time, It's an alright game. If you're a longtime fan, it's a worrying sign of quality decline. I hate the game for making me feel that way.
It's MASSIVE issues are it's deviations from what makes Bayonetta fun. There's too much gameplay padding with empty world exploration and traversal. Viola is poorly implemented all around. Every moment not in combat as Bayonetta is at best boring and at worst agonizing.
The story has never really mattered for a Bayo game, but it's so bad here that because it ruins Bayonetta as a character. It ruins Bayonetta as a franchise. Jeanne is treated like dirt despite being a fan favorite character. There is one character no one is a fan of that is clearly there because someone at Platinum wants them there.
It makes me, who has stuck by these games and Platinum and their plight to deliver top-of-the-line gaming experiences throughout the years -- resentful of being supportive of them and it genuinely makes me question if they've lost their touch.
So yeah, if you're checking out Bayo for the first time, It's an alright game. If you're a longtime fan, it's a worrying sign of quality decline. I hate the game for making me feel that way.
yahoowahooey
1 year ago
"I do not find any joy in any gameplay outside of combat"
"I cannot recommend this game to anyone who played previous Bayo or Platinum games"
gives it 3 stars
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