First off, removing weapon slots was a mistake. There was so much fun in trying different combinations and seeing what worked best. Pairing a slow weapon in your hands with a fast one in your legs; using one with a lot of range and another for close quarters... even using the same weapons in different slots added some new stuff to try out. Now no matter the weapon variety you're cycling between two sets of one weapon, and the fact that you can't cover for their shortcomings as much, means there's some that are not that good to use. Even with the better ones, you still feel more limited because it's just a single weapon.
Combat is awful, doubling down on all of 1 and 2's mistakes. At least, with Umbran Climax you were just using more powerful weaves, but summoning demons is a whole new level of button mashing where now you don't even fight the enemy yourself. What's worse is that DMCV did this better years ago with V, and that was still the weakest part of the game. V felt like a more casual character designed around fighting from a distance with summons, helping players with not having to worry too much about positioning or dodging, but in doing so it also removed a bit of fun - after all those aspects are part of the gameplay too. But demons in Bayonetta 3 don't really have proper movesets, so it all comes down to watching half of (because the camera is not made for it) a giant demon stomp on enemies two slow-ass-attacks at a time.
Demon summons trivialize every fight, and there's the fact that well, you could not use them despite being the mechanic that the game is centered around, but nonetheless you're still suffering from the fact that every other combat aspect has been watered down to make way for it, like the aforementioned weapon sets. Other problems include bloated HP pools on enemies and them having so much armor that your wicked weaves have zero weight to them, just compare the ones in 1 to 3. So you can either spend three times as long fighting simple mobs or inanimate enemies that spawn other enemies, or you can press the summon button and wipe them in 20 seconds and get a perfect platinum, by not really engaging with enemies. If you want to take longer on a fight by actually fighting them yourself, bear in mind this is a game where your performance is also dependent on time. Also, magic is no longer a resource that you accumulate by performing well, but a gauge that continuously recharges so you can keep summoning demons instead of playing yourself.
I don't really have much to say about Viola other than the fact that they should have probably polished Bayo more instead of adding another character that also feels incomplete and it's just Bayonetta but with parries, something you could do in previous game. I'd say her character falls flat also but so does everything in this game.
Previous games were already generous with the fact that you didn't need to learn enemies patterns too much, the generous WT window allowed you to hit them stopped in time, bat within even allows you to get hit first, but in 3 there's not even that much of a need to know how to get openings even. Just let your giant summon stunlock them. It's not helped by the fact that you're constantly seeing the same formations of enemies that are approached in the same way throughout the game, and it's just tiring. They also have less personality than ever, in 1 & 2 at least you talked to some enemies and such, but in here they're just mindless mobs and then recolors. Their designs are also the least interesting of all games (as a whole, the game looks kinda ugly in contrast to previous entries).
But not only is the combat bad, it's a smaller aspect of the game than ever. Before, you could expect a gimmick level or two, or to have verses separated by non-combat sections. In here it seems almost every level has its own shitty segment: bad platforming, bad shmup, bad rhythm game... even not-optional side chapters consisting of dull 2d "stealth". And I fail to see how anyone could actually enjoy kaiju battles when it's just a slow rock paper scissors minigame being framed as an epic battle.
But that's more or less the whole problem behind the game, prioritizing spectacle above actual gameplay. It makes it easy to pick up, but if you're looking for an actual action game it's a huge disappointment. There's so much stuff they could've polished but instead they kept shoving all that in. Level design is worse than ever and still plagued with awful decisions like those timed chests that I believe nobody enjoys. All these bareback sections and the downgrade in combat just seems to scream that they don't actually want to make Bayonetta, or at least as an action game, and I sure as hell don't want to play it. I've been playing both this and Ninja Gaiden Black and the difference is just abysmal. Please play NGB, it's a very good action game.
Story is shit, but who gives a fuck. I'd say skip all the cutscenes but some have QTEs on them where you're forced to watch and there's also forced walking sections and stuff.
Combat is awful, doubling down on all of 1 and 2's mistakes. At least, with Umbran Climax you were just using more powerful weaves, but summoning demons is a whole new level of button mashing where now you don't even fight the enemy yourself. What's worse is that DMCV did this better years ago with V, and that was still the weakest part of the game. V felt like a more casual character designed around fighting from a distance with summons, helping players with not having to worry too much about positioning or dodging, but in doing so it also removed a bit of fun - after all those aspects are part of the gameplay too. But demons in Bayonetta 3 don't really have proper movesets, so it all comes down to watching half of (because the camera is not made for it) a giant demon stomp on enemies two slow-ass-attacks at a time.
Demon summons trivialize every fight, and there's the fact that well, you could not use them despite being the mechanic that the game is centered around, but nonetheless you're still suffering from the fact that every other combat aspect has been watered down to make way for it, like the aforementioned weapon sets. Other problems include bloated HP pools on enemies and them having so much armor that your wicked weaves have zero weight to them, just compare the ones in 1 to 3. So you can either spend three times as long fighting simple mobs or inanimate enemies that spawn other enemies, or you can press the summon button and wipe them in 20 seconds and get a perfect platinum, by not really engaging with enemies. If you want to take longer on a fight by actually fighting them yourself, bear in mind this is a game where your performance is also dependent on time. Also, magic is no longer a resource that you accumulate by performing well, but a gauge that continuously recharges so you can keep summoning demons instead of playing yourself.
I don't really have much to say about Viola other than the fact that they should have probably polished Bayo more instead of adding another character that also feels incomplete and it's just Bayonetta but with parries, something you could do in previous game. I'd say her character falls flat also but so does everything in this game.
Previous games were already generous with the fact that you didn't need to learn enemies patterns too much, the generous WT window allowed you to hit them stopped in time, bat within even allows you to get hit first, but in 3 there's not even that much of a need to know how to get openings even. Just let your giant summon stunlock them. It's not helped by the fact that you're constantly seeing the same formations of enemies that are approached in the same way throughout the game, and it's just tiring. They also have less personality than ever, in 1 & 2 at least you talked to some enemies and such, but in here they're just mindless mobs and then recolors. Their designs are also the least interesting of all games (as a whole, the game looks kinda ugly in contrast to previous entries).
But not only is the combat bad, it's a smaller aspect of the game than ever. Before, you could expect a gimmick level or two, or to have verses separated by non-combat sections. In here it seems almost every level has its own shitty segment: bad platforming, bad shmup, bad rhythm game... even not-optional side chapters consisting of dull 2d "stealth". And I fail to see how anyone could actually enjoy kaiju battles when it's just a slow rock paper scissors minigame being framed as an epic battle.
But that's more or less the whole problem behind the game, prioritizing spectacle above actual gameplay. It makes it easy to pick up, but if you're looking for an actual action game it's a huge disappointment. There's so much stuff they could've polished but instead they kept shoving all that in. Level design is worse than ever and still plagued with awful decisions like those timed chests that I believe nobody enjoys. All these bareback sections and the downgrade in combat just seems to scream that they don't actually want to make Bayonetta, or at least as an action game, and I sure as hell don't want to play it. I've been playing both this and Ninja Gaiden Black and the difference is just abysmal. Please play NGB, it's a very good action game.
Story is shit, but who gives a fuck. I'd say skip all the cutscenes but some have QTEs on them where you're forced to watch and there's also forced walking sections and stuff.