Bayonetta is the sexiest action game you'll ever play in your life, bar none.
The story of Bayonetta begins at a funeral. A body contained in a casket is being prayed over, and angels are descending to claim it. These aren't ordinary angels, however. They're the enemies of Bayonetta, who drops her book of passages in exchange for her guns and carves a swath through these angelic monsters. Bayonetta is soon involved in a series of encounters by deities that test her strength, and she learns from them that there's more to her then what she remembers. There is a struggle between the Umbra Witches and the Lumen Sages, and Bayonetta is caught directly in the middle. Bayonetta can only do one thing now, and that is to continue to fight in an attempt to recover her memory.
Bayonetta is a fast-paced action game in the vein of Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden, but it is easily more ridiculous and over the top than any other similar game in its genre. The titular character wields more than just guns; she also summons giant fists and feet made out of her hair. Yes, her hair. The combat is pretty heavily reliant on her hair metamorphosing into limbs to deliver a great deal of damage. It gets even crazier when she unleashes a Climax, which is a move that summons a massive demon of hair to pulverize and eviscerate the game's many bosses.
An integral feature of the game is Witch Time, Bayonetta's version of bullet time that is used in just about every modern action game. Witch Time isn't just given out freely, though. It's earned by dodging an incoming attack at just the right time. When it's activated, Bayonetta can pound on her slowed down enemies and dish out a great deal more damage. To further reward lightening quick reflexes, a magic gauge fills up as you're attacking enemies, but reduces quite a bit when hit. As soon as the gauge is full, you can unleash Torture attacks on enemies that will most likely kill them in one blow.
The amount of moves and combos you can execute are dizzying. You can unlock more techniques from the store called Gates of Hell. Fortunately, the game allows you to practice your moves while it's loading, which is muchly appreciated. You can also unlock new weapons by finding records to give to the store keeper. He'll give you anything from shotguns to swords, and even a whip. Some enemies also drop weapons of their own if you manage to kill them with a torture move. Bayonetta offers so much variety in her arsenal, the combat never gets old.
Most action games of Bayonetta's nature give out orbs or souls to use as currency, but in Bayonetta, it's rings. You also won't find very many drops that instantly replenish your health or magic like other games. What you will find, though, are compound components that you can mix to formulate items that heal you, restore your magic, fortify your defense, increase your attack, etc. The mini-game to make these items is a bit cumbersome, but it's nice to be able to make exactly what you want when you want.
Bayonetta features a ranking system, like most action games, that rewards you depending on the medal you earn. Each battle will give you a medal, from bronze to pure platinum, and depending on how well you do at the end of the level, you'll be given an award and a bonus number of rings. You can replay levels in between chapters, so perfectionists who know they can do better can give previous levels another go round.
A few particular levels of the game do tend to drag on a bit too much, however. There are several vehicle segments in the game, and they can become very repetitive almost as if they were set on a continuous loop. One such level has you riding a missile, shooting wave after wave of enemies, ending in a boss fight. If you die during the boss fight, you'll be set back about a fourth of the level. A few levels of the game are just you and a boss and thankfully, you'll be granted checkpoints at certain stages during the fights. The game's just inconsistent, though, when it comes to length. Some can reach almost an hour, while others are over in 10 minutes.
The level designs themselves are just flat out stunning. They're filled with terrific architecture and imbued with beautiful magical symbols and other decorations. Sometimes, a level will begin on solid ground and then wind up on a metaphysical plane. Other levels take a page out of Shadow of the Colossus's handbook and become the bosses themselves, so massive in scope, it makes even some of Colossus's bosses look like miniatures. Bayonetta also seems to borrow from Super Mario Galaxy, allowing her to walk along walls and ceilings and jump to parts of stages that have their own gravitational pull. You won't experience such breathtaking levels like those contained in Bayonetta.
Bayonetta is an incredibly sexy character, so it's only fitting that the rest of her game is sexy as well. When it comes to visuals, they're smooth as silk. The game's constantly chaotic, with debris, sparks, and other special effects plastered all over the screen, and the frame rate never once dips. The character models and environments are all rendered very well, and the game looks great from afar and up close. The cutscenes have a fantastic sense of style as well, set against a frame of eight millimeter film. From both a technical and artistic standpoint, Bayonetta is quite the looker.
Even the audio is sexy. Every single sound effect is loud and sharp. The guns sound fierce, and the stomping of her hair-summoned heels sound bone-shattering. Lots of viscous sound effects are emitted as Bayonetta beats up the angelic creatures to a pulp. The sound track is absolutely fitting to the game's tone by being jazzy and upbeat. The voice acting is also terrific. Bayonetta is voiced by Hellena Taylor, and she does a splendid job. She gives the character a very seductive voice, and is backed by an excellent cast as well. Bayonetta, like any great action game, is best played with the volume turned up.
Bayonetta is a must-play. It's an action game that never takes itself seriously, but offers serious fun. The gameplay is easy to learn and addictive to play. For gamers who love mature content, it's full of screen-splattering gore, and Bayonetta winds up almost completely naked at the end of every combo. The game hardly relies on blood and partial nudity to sell itself, though, and it's clearly evident the gameplay will have you hooked from the first level. If you want an action game filled with crazy moves, insane levels and unforgettable well-designed bosses, you honestly have no business looking further than Bayonetta.