With excellent combat mechanics,Bayonetta is a glorious over-the-top,non-stop thrill-ride that never ceases to amaze.
The first thing that strikes you about Bayonetta is it's a very well-designed game where equal and adequate thought has gone behind each of its gameplay mechanics. The Prologue which opens after an utterly hilarious opening credit sequence basically serves as a tutorial of sorts introducing the players to the combat of the game. Bayonetta, the tall sexy protagonist with adequate physical proportions and a British accent is equipped with two pairs of revolver, a pair in her hands and another at her heels. One button is designated to each of a melee attack, a ranged attack (hand pistol) and ranged attack (leg pistol). Mix and match and you get combos. The tutorial slowly reveals one move after another all filled in between by intermittent "practice screens" where you can practice the new moves on an enemy until you're satisfied. What this results is that you aren't put right in the middle of the actual combat with a new move that you try to master. Many games often do that which results in many gamers never even attempting to learn the harder combos. Platinum understands that and designs a clever little addition. Even load screens in between the Chapters serve as a "practice screen" where you can practice the combos you've already learnt. So instead of watching a static "Now Loading" image that you do in most games, Platinum smartly allows you to practice moves in between loadtimes.
There's a LOT more about the combat than plain combo-mixing that is. Early in the tutorial you'll gain access to the "Witch Time" mechanic which is quite simply the core strength behind Bayonetta's remarkable combat. Pressing the right trigger allows you to counter attacks. However, if you happen to counter the enemy's attack at the very LAST instant, making it a risky prospect, you would trigger Witch Time where the time slows down to a near-standstill for you to take advantage. This is basically a la-Bullet Time from the Max Payne games albeit it allows you to create more frenzy and havoc upon your enemies as you lay waste upon them. Another interesting mechanic that is introduced into the combat pretty early on is the Wicked Weave mechanic. Bayonetta's demonic hair can take the shape of a variety of gigantic creatures which often creates some really hilarious sequences (albeit over-the-top ones). Upon execution of certain combos, the Wicked Weave automatically initiates an attack with Bayonetta's hair taking form of a gigantic punch or a heel and destroying the enemy in front of you. This often ended up reminding me as a tribute to Battletoads and their exaggerated appendages attack more often than not. Where Wicked Weave really shines is in certain platforming/puzzle sections that are smart but also during certain "challenge rooms" called Alfheim Portals.
Bayonetta also rewards those who build up combos to kill their enemies fluently. There's a "magic" meter below the health bar which allows Bayonetta to perform special finishing/execution moves when filled. These finishing moves are highly satisfying, utterly gory and ridiculously over-the-top moves that are unlike anything you've seen in a game before. Whether you're chopping the head of an enemy on a guillotine, or tearing them into shreds of flesh and skin with a torture wheel, they're all highly entertaining, satisfying in full gory glory. There's an extension of these execution moves for certain creatures/bosses where it basically is a gateway to perform an even MORE ridiculous over-the-top moves often involving Bayonetta's hair or Wicked Weave bringing a shameful death to the boss and a satisfying victory for you.
Since Platinum's director Hideki Kamiya played a key role in Devil May Cry's creation, it wouldn't be wrong to say some if not many of Bayonetta's general style is inspired from DMC but thankfully Bayonetta hasn't carried DMC's shortcomings. Where DMC's shortcomings generally consisted of incessant backtracking and large focus on combo-building, Bayonetta essentially moves in one direction –forward. It also adds few more parameters other than combo building, including time taken to beat the enemies and damage taken to judge what "medal" you earn at the end of a verse. This not only makes Bayonetta's combat more flexible in terms of removing the necessity of grinding for combos, but it also adds emphasis on speed since beating enemies faster is essential. This adds both thrill and variation to Bayonetta when it comes to combat.
In Bayonetta, there are normal battles, there are normal exciting battles with mini-bosses and then there are boss battles. Boss battles in Bayonetta are nothing short of epic-sized set-pieces that stretch across whole levels that involve you participating in cleverly timed action sequences intermittent with some appropriately-placed QTEs backed by highly tense action that will keep you on the edge of the seats and can send your heart beating at an abnormally high rate. None of the boss battles are average in Bayonetta. They're all good. But some especially a boss battle near the end of the game is so epic that it's bound to become one of the most memorable boss battles you'll ever come across in games. These boss battles fully immerse you in the battle where your skills in dodging, counter, attack and defense are put to test. They also punish any sort of attention lapses since Bayonetta often has the habit of throwing odd QTEs once or twice in between that keep you on your toes. These QTEs aren't over-used thankfully and are used reasonably to their strengths.
Apart from these epic-sized boss battles that give a similar feel to that of God of War, there are some on-rails shooter (or shoot-em-up) sequences in Bayonetta that not only provide a fresh change from the general combat but also serve as some highly entertaining action set-pieces at times and a tribute to the Bullet Hell shmups of Sega from the past. There's a flashy one on a bike that often goes so fast that it is a thrill to watch it initially. Unfortunately, this sequence is a bit too long and overstays it's welcome and is unsurprisingly the ONLY weak part of the whole game. The other shmup sequence thankfully is a tribute to Space Harrier and is a thrill to both play and watch.
There is also a minigame that you automatically have to play in between every chapter which is called "Angel Attack" that is a tribute of sorts to Bullet Hell shmups of Sega.
Bayonetta also features an in-game shop known as "Gates of Hell" where you can buy various items, weapons, accessories, new techniques or odd treasures that add an edge to your attacks. The in-game currency is Halos which are obtained after killing every enemy or earning bonus at the end of each level. There is a long list of unlockables in Bayonetta which often require more than 2 or 3 playthroughs to access. Some of these unlockables and weapons completely change the texture of the game and add a lot more challenge on some of the higher difficulty levels. Bayonetta has got a very deep replay value that extends far beyond a couple of playthroughs. It's both challenging and rewarding, something many of the action games today seem to lack. There are also the afore-mentioned Alfheim Portals which act as "challenge rooms" where you're tasked to complete a set objective. They're fun, varied and they utilize different mechanics and player's skill well.
There is also a plot in Bayonetta and it is paid attention on courtesy of some lengthy cut-scenes. It follows the journey of the eponymous Bayonetta, the last of the Umbra Witches who lost their battle against the Lumen Sages years ago and became nearly extinct courtesy of the Witch Hunts. Bayonetta comes across her old adversary (?) revisits some of the places from her past to uncover the reason behind Umbra Witch's extinction (?). While individual scenes always make sense, the overall plot never really does. At times when you feel like you close to understand what Bayonetta's complex plot really means to say, the story throws an odd twist in between to throw you completely off-track. Regardless to say, the story isn't really one that is meant to be understood. The cutscenes are often entertaining providing source for most of the game's humour. Bayonetta is a hilarious game alright. In it's cutscenes, whether it is busy pulling punches at other games (Assassin's Creed?Halo anyone?) or paying homage to an old-school Sega title or throwing a hilarious pun that generally sends someone into splits, Bayonetta will tickle your funny bone, figuratively speaking. It also has much because of it's beautiful leading lady a lot of sexual puns or lewd references or sexually suggestive poses that will appeal to the male gaming audience a lot. The only possible flaw is that some of the story-related cutscenes are quite long and can overstay their welcome more often than not seeing how the story doesn't make sense that often. Fortunately, nearly all the cutscenes are completely skippable which is a boon indeed on repeat playthroughs.
Graphically, Bayonetta is a beautiful game. Be it the lush green gardens of Vigrid or the shimmering streams of Paradiso, or the dark, rainy corridors of Purgatario or the burning flames from Inferno. Bayonetta's graphics help let the player's imagination loose on it's rich setting. The greatest strength however lies in the seamless transition of game from combat to cutscene and then to CGI. It's done in a mere millisecond interval that's a tremendous technical feat at times. The game especially on Xbox 360, doesn't much from the choppy frame-rate even during some heavy boss fights that utilize complex animations from ever pixel on screen. Bayonetta with it's over-the-top nature can fill the screen with random oddities but never overdoes it and always seem to does it with considerable grace or atleast with hilarious results.
Bayonetta being a Japanese game is surprisingly voice-acted quite well. Bayonetta's British accent is well-done and the voices of the rest of the supporting cast especially that of Rodin are done very well. The music consists mainly of upbeat tunes with sleazy jazz tunes put in between. Some of the music is done exceptionally well and the title track with part-English, part-Japanese vocals titled, "Fly me to the Moon", sexually suggestive it might be is still catchy. The battle themes are catchy enough as well.
A game with Bayonetta's over-the-top action, excellent game mechanics, brilliant game design, satisfying combat, high replay value and challenge doesn't come around very often. And if it does all it's elements are rarely executed with the near-perfect finish Platinum Games has managed to do with it. It never takes itself too seriously, pulls punches at everything, borrows slight elements from top action series be it the style from Devil May Cry, the combat speed and emphasis on counter from Ninja Gaiden, or the gory finishing moves and epic boss battle set-pieces from God of War, Bayonetta never even for a single moment appears derivative or inferior to any of those three acclaimed series it borrows some of it's elements from. In fact, Bayonetta stands so confidently on it's own footing, injects enough originality within itself and apart from few small bumps in between is a gloriously entertaining thrill-ride like nothing else you've seen in a long time.