This game is so, SO good and its combat and mechanics are an improvement over Bayonettas 1 and 2, but its story stumbles and the artistic design/realistic direction they took for this game really hurts its excellence.
Still, tons of stuff to do, fantastically amazing combat, excellent voice acting all around, and lots of collectibles/replayability. I managed to achieve all the main story's bewitchments/achievements, and all that's left to do is do all the Phenomenal Remnant chapters and achieve whatever bewitchments are there. And the secret Golem fight. And also Pure Platinum this game, if I hate myself enough.
Great game. Shame it came so close to being the best Bayonetta game; it had all the makings of the best one yet, but isn't quite there.
I really hope the REALLY GREAT mechanics of Demon Slave and Demon Masquerade don't go the way of Umbran Climax from Bayonetta 2 -- that is to say, I don't want them just gone and never used again (unless Bayonetta 4 pulls a fast one on us and reintroduced a less insistent/gameplay and progress-dependent version of Umbran Climax).
I would really love to see Demon Masquerade and Demon Slave remain mainstays of the series, but perhaps rebalanced so that they aren't required to progress so often, and that you can just use it when you want to. That was the same problem with Umbran Climax in Bayonetta 2: because it was the main mechanic/gimmick of that game, it was pushed hardcore and everything was centered around and balanced with taking UC into account, complete with an incessant flashing element on screen practically screaming at you to use UC and wouldn't go away until you did.
DS/DM is a little more forgiving with respect to the UI elements (it isn't flashing at the bottom center of your screen until you use it so it can be dismissed), but all the same, the game expects you to constantly make use of it, which in turn made the garbage camera struggle to keep up and also have you constantly get hit from off-screen in a way that Bayonetta 1 would have never let you suffer through.
Camera was awful, the enemy/Homunculi designs were garbage, and the out-of-the-blue and out-of-left-field romance between Bayonetta and Luka really fucked the story and made it infinitely worse than it would've been otherwise. The story wasn't necessarily bad, but that forced romance sure was.
Cereza x Jeanne 5evr.
Really looking forward to Bayonetta 4 (and hopefully more spin-offs like Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon!), and while I'm slightly worried now that series creator Hideki Kamiya (of Devil May Cry, The Wonderful 101, and Resident Evil 2 fame, among others) officially left Platinum Games 6 days ago on October 12th, I just need to remind myself that he's been a bit hands off after the first game and focused more on scenario writing, and Devil May Cry continued on just fine without him, and even got better (DMC3 a is testament to that.)
Bayonetta 4 can't come fast enough. #Bayonetta4in2024
Still, tons of stuff to do, fantastically amazing combat, excellent voice acting all around, and lots of collectibles/replayability. I managed to achieve all the main story's bewitchments/achievements, and all that's left to do is do all the Phenomenal Remnant chapters and achieve whatever bewitchments are there. And the secret Golem fight. And also Pure Platinum this game, if I hate myself enough.
Great game. Shame it came so close to being the best Bayonetta game; it had all the makings of the best one yet, but isn't quite there.
I really hope the REALLY GREAT mechanics of Demon Slave and Demon Masquerade don't go the way of Umbran Climax from Bayonetta 2 -- that is to say, I don't want them just gone and never used again (unless Bayonetta 4 pulls a fast one on us and reintroduced a less insistent/gameplay and progress-dependent version of Umbran Climax).
I would really love to see Demon Masquerade and Demon Slave remain mainstays of the series, but perhaps rebalanced so that they aren't required to progress so often, and that you can just use it when you want to. That was the same problem with Umbran Climax in Bayonetta 2: because it was the main mechanic/gimmick of that game, it was pushed hardcore and everything was centered around and balanced with taking UC into account, complete with an incessant flashing element on screen practically screaming at you to use UC and wouldn't go away until you did.
DS/DM is a little more forgiving with respect to the UI elements (it isn't flashing at the bottom center of your screen until you use it so it can be dismissed), but all the same, the game expects you to constantly make use of it, which in turn made the garbage camera struggle to keep up and also have you constantly get hit from off-screen in a way that Bayonetta 1 would have never let you suffer through.
Camera was awful, the enemy/Homunculi designs were garbage, and the out-of-the-blue and out-of-left-field romance between Bayonetta and Luka really fucked the story and made it infinitely worse than it would've been otherwise. The story wasn't necessarily bad, but that forced romance sure was.
Cereza x Jeanne 5evr.
Really looking forward to Bayonetta 4 (and hopefully more spin-offs like Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon!), and while I'm slightly worried now that series creator Hideki Kamiya (of Devil May Cry, The Wonderful 101, and Resident Evil 2 fame, among others) officially left Platinum Games 6 days ago on October 12th, I just need to remind myself that he's been a bit hands off after the first game and focused more on scenario writing, and Devil May Cry continued on just fine without him, and even got better (DMC3 a is testament to that.)
Bayonetta 4 can't come fast enough. #Bayonetta4in2024