Bayonetta 3 is Overrated and Watered Down. Nintendo Switch Review 

I think there's a lot of value in your reviews and opinions, Mark. Some people may call you contrarian and "old fashioned", but you are one of the few reviewers online who will always focus on gameplay over storytelling and playthrough length, which is becoming increasingly rare. I may not always agree with your opinions (specially on narrative games like RPGs and Visual Novels), but I feel I can always trust you when it comes to unbiased descriptions of gameplay. Be proud of the niche you've carved. You are doing something truly different.

My biggest issue with all the commentary around bayo 3 is that people missed that a LOT of the game design that people are criticising was initially added in bayo 2. Bayo 2 was the game that made witch time a goal mechanic, and not a means to learn the dodge offset mechanic as it was in 1. The causal "press button to win" was first done in 2. The ability to use items and have it not effect rating was first done in 2. Bayo 2 is a neutered bayonetta. Bayo 3 is an astral chain spinoff.

I'm a huge Bayonetta fan but this game, god... it's so boring and soulless. I'm glad to see people like you actually adressing its flaws 'cause the game has A LOT of them and the casual players just seem to ignore them all :/ This franchise peaked with Bayonetta 2, I don't even know what this is, it doesn't even seem to be related to past events and lacks objective...

I thought I was going crazy when looking for genuine Bayonetta 3 reviews recently, lol. All points mentioned in this vid I agree with so much btw. It really does feel like Bayonetta 3 was reformed to now specifically cater to casuals, game journalists and the mainstream gaming audience to rack up sales as much as possible. It lost so much of its flair due to the absence of its original core combat gameplay, which is so sad considering just how unique and fun the initial game was.

I think the bigger problem is that literally anyone can be a video game "journalist" nowadays.

Bayonetta was not a casual game, it didn't sell well, and it was a niche game. I think they want to get a mass appeal for the franchise so they watered everything down in 3, which was what I was afraid of. You mentioned Godhand and Ninja Gaiden, damn I miss those games. When can we get more of those?!

It’s fun to go back to this video and see a lot of comments praising the game when it’s already gone and forgotten. I wonder how many people here who vehemently defended the game even care about it anymore.

I’m in the middle of playing it now. In fact I’ve played all the games in like nearly two weeks. My only issue coming into the third game is that battles don’t seem as exciting as they did in the previous games. The thing I loved about the other two is how crazy the levels could get and how it was just Bayonetta going up against these crazy bosses. The third game though makes it so she relies too much on her demons which doesn’t give me the same excited feeling and makes her seem a little weaker. Plus I feel the way the torture attacks was done before was way more exciting than now. Before you’d have to build up your magic by doing combos and dodging in time but now to get one you just have to use your demon to trigger one which isn’t as rewarding. It also doesn’t help that the animations for them are stripped down to the bare minimum now

I think the overall vision of the game was misguided, a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes a Bayonetta game great. The game became too ambitious. They tried to throw the kitchen sink at the player like DMC5 did but unlike DMC5, it's not engaging or even interesting. I agree with you: they streamlined it. Probably due to Nintendo. It feels like there was a lot of cut content too. If the future of the series is what they did here, I'll be very disappointed.

You make the best reviews, almost nobody else even talks about gameplay in any meaningful way in games. Isnt that crazy.

I don't know if this is just me but the platforming sections are driving me crazy. Specifically the ones where you have to collect 5 items in a short span of time. Bayo is so floaty and she always jumps way further than I expect. I'm spending more time on platforming than the rest of the game. That, and Viola's parry seems to have the most awkward timing. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't and I don't think I did anything differently.

Having hit-stun means the player actually has to understand concepts beyond attack/dodge and that kind of complexity doesn't seem to go over well with general audiences. Hyper armor is easier for people to wrap their minds around so developers default to it.

I actually think Demon Slave is a pretty cool mechanic and it gets more in-depth the more you advance through the game, lots of combo possibilities with your standard kit and weapons as well, I believe you might've dismissed it a bit too fast based on being a comically flashy mechanic

its not just bayonetta that has the spectacle, qte and mini game problems, its every platinum game. its astral chain, its wonder101, even nier automata, they NEVER focus on the one thing they do right.

This video is super intriguing. You make it seem like you've never even played Bayonetta 3. What puzzles are you talking about? And what is it about the action set pieces that upset you? Also found it odd how you claim every fight is the same, despite the variety of enemies the game has, Some that even adapt to your attacks and punish you for using demon slave too much.

Honestly, I think people rate it so highly because the main character is an attractive woman. Not to mention, I thought she was a lesbian until the third game showed other wise. It felt like a kind of girl boss power fantasy and gaming journalists love to seize the opportunity to make everything about identity politics. The game itself is fine, but DMC and NG are far superior...miles ahead of the Bayonetta franchise. I agree with the fact that Ninja Gaiden 2 is one of the best hack and slash games ever made.

You’re constantly mis characterizing things in this review Bayo 3 got a ton of criticism even after release, especially compared to the prior two. I’m not sure what bubble you’re in but it’s been the most mixed in reception of the series by far. To say the level design in 1 is bad because you rarely fight is just disingenuous. There’s a bit more space between fights than in something like a DMC5 but it’s still not very much. It serves as a small break from the frantic combat and nothing more.

Bayonetta has been my favourite game since 2010 and I pretty much agree. The whole story mode feels like a chore to get to end game and then there is no other modes or anything else to do and I really don't feel like playing the story again. The combat feels way to uncomfortable and like you are constantly chasing the enemies (even worse than Bayo 2) and unless you use your summons frequently you get a huge time penalty. Even an online co-op would have been appreciated (I don't see why games in 2022 can't even have a basic online mode) but I don't know if they are planning to add anything later but for now I just don't care for it anymore and I have played Bayonetta 1 and 2 more than all my other games combined.

Replaying Bayonetta 1 again. The feel is so much more on point. Gib me more Angels and Demons. I don't know what they were thinking with microsoft sigurd being more powerful than any previous bosses. Also the dumb collect the broken pieces was so out of place.

I saw the direction the series was heading when playing Bayonetta 2. The franchises died to me right then and there because I knew it could only get worse.

Hey Mark, unsure if you’ll see this, as this video is a couple months old but thanks for this. I was a huge bayo 1 fan, and am a big character action player. I felt like I was going crazy with all the great reviews this game got. I’m 3 hours in and was immediately noting how much I’m not having fun, and how little actual fighting there is. Reviews that don’t focus on actual gameplay experience are unacceptable to me, and I’m glad you pointed that out.

Platinum Games has had varying degrees of success over these past years. I wouldnt be surprised if this one misses the mark a bit, Bayonetta 1 and 2 were pretty good. My faves from them is still Vanquish and Wonderful 101.

What a shallow review. You don't say anything of substance throughout the video and then cry about the game not being (what you consider the greatest character action game) Ninja Gaiden 2. It's a non-review, a non-argument. Why are whining about setpieces in a Bayonetta game when they were there from the beginning, back when the first game was released? Why didn't you go more in-depth into analyzing combat systems that are in the game? You literally overgeneralized the entire game and then brought up game reviews and cried that the game got almost universal praise. Can you tell me what happens in the game from start to finish? Did you even finish the game? Do you understand that people can enjoy things for different reasons? Why does ChArAcTeR AcTiOn GaMeS have to be this one specific thing? You want to reduce these games to, "Functions -The Game" where nothing matters, you play as whoever and just get swarmed by hordes of enemies while enjoying the "mechanical complexities" of a game. These games can tell interesting stories, have interesting characters, and be an overall great experience. That's what the best games in the genre do - DMC3, DMC5, GoW2, GoW3, MGR, Nier: Automata, etc. If Dante wasn't Dante, Bayonetta wasn't Bayonetta, Kratos wasn't Kratos, etc. no one would give a fuck about these games. Not liking something doesn't mean it's bad.

Something I think that’s worth mentioning, aside from any direct opinion on Bayo 3, is the time pressure on games critics. It’s difficult to disentangle their relatively surface level engagement with the games they review from the time crunch of barely getting any time with a game, having to get the review out on tight deadlines, and then immediately move on to the next one. In other words, I think the profit structure of game journalism (and right there next to - internet algorithms) are a bigger issue than the people themselves. Just wanted to add that aspect to the conversation.

I just wanted more Bayonetta. Instead I got more Astral Chain and some Devil May Cry reject.

ignorance is bliss indeed. and thats why people say bayonetta 3 is amazing. its awful, its dry, its boring, it came from developers hell... where it belongs

As a long running Bayonetta fan who has played all 3 games now, I can defo say that the 3rd game is so much more different compared to bayo 1. I really dislike the dependence and almost reliance on demon slave as it gets boring after a while but then I realise I have to do it otherwise I won’t be able to kill certain enemies 😭

I feel like based on the footage shown, some of the reason you might consider the combat long-range or unengaging is because the footage shows a very safe and reliable strategy that protects your health pool, but looks very slow. I also hated V in DMC5, but I don't think that's what this is. Similar to my feelings about Beyo 1, this is not a hard game, but there is a lot of room for skill expression while maintaining a medium skill floor. Thus casuals can enjoy it while more seasoned character action game fans can sink their teeth into the full complexity of its systems. I think that's the secret to its mass appeal more than the spectacle. Most people will be able to play it, but also have room to grow. So that slave summons enable passive gameplay I think is more intended as being the easy path for more casual players who will not try to platinum each stage whereas more serious players are intended to only use that to supplement their up-close attacks.

honestly dude, I just think most people are casual players so that is who gets catered to, they play on the lowest difficulty and sludge through it for a little while, they enjoy the pretty graphics and presentation and love it profusely...for a few months. They sing the game's praises, then they discard it and mostly forget about it until the remake. Most players don't even beat the game these days. So all these decisions come down to mass-marketing the game to as many people as will purchase it, and less about the tight mechanics and it being a good game with shelf life or depth. Just my 2 cents. They care about the marketability of the game more than the gameplay itself, bc they are basically *selling a movie* to most purchasers who won't even go on to finish the experience. Sometimes I'm proven wrong though and that's nice.

Interesting that you mention Bayo 1's bad level design. For years I couldn't quite put my finger on why I always get bored of Bayo, but now that you mention it, there really are a lot of parts where nothing happens, and it's just so fucking boring. And now that I think about it, this is the exact problem I have with Nightshade too, where it just has these separate arenas with some boring bullshit inbetween. Ninja Gaiden and even MGS Rising Revengeance really do this much better.

The more importante thing for me it is that puzzles and exploration are useless in this kind of games, and many companyes don t understand that They are all about non stop pumping action. Also hate grinding. Unfortunaly i don t have a good machine to play this game and i can t review it

I already know what the complaints are gonna be 1. Too much focus on demon slaves 2. Forced to use viola 3. Forced mini games/side chapters (all bayo has this) That being said those above complaints are valid if you don't like that

Bayonetta 3 is so boring to play. And sidescrolling segments are atrocious. I wish I'd replay 1 and 2 instead of it.

The level design is absolutely one of my favorite aspects of the series, they constantly experiment with the gameplay with puzzles & level design that are related to Bayo's combat abilities, same goes for the secret missions, they can give you ideas for how to experiment with the combat at times & it emphasizes Angel Slayer as the proper ground for testing your combat abilities. If you're just gonna make levels basic arenas then it's just gonna be uninteresting. Also Bayo 3 being nintendo-fied doesn't hold any ground considering Bayo 2 was published by Nintendo & kept the style & presentation of the original. I guess with 3 Platinum didn't just wanna repeat what 1 & 2 did & just wanted a fresh new look for the series, & tbh Bayo 1 is already perfect you can't really add on top of it.

Finally a review that goes a bit more in depth than just "the combat is so awesome and depp and complex and....". Keep up the good work! Btw. have you ever looked at Assault Spy? A nice indie character action game, very streamlined and heavy combat focussed ;)

Nice review video on this game. I just learned on how I can do game reviews one day. And I also felt abit discouraged on doing game reviews after I read comments. Talking about the intricacies and the little fun quirks of the game and people would just ask "what about the story??". I am glad that you are willing to do an indepth review that many people may not even like.

Bayonetta 3's level design makes me think I'm playing Jak & Daxter at time. But I guess it was inevitable. There's much to say about 3D beat'em up history, but the genre started as very arcadey, then got interwinded with action-adventure because of Capcom and Onimusha/Devil May Cry success (which at first were both thought as new Resident Evil titles). Then they understood it was really hurting the pacing of their games plus it was difficult to add exploration, puzzles, platforming sections and make them easy enough so as to not prevent the progression of hardcore beat'em up players, so they went back from that. When they got tired of being criticized for linear level design full of nothing but combats, they went the Onimusha route again... And it's logical in a sense. The press play their games in loooong sitting sessions, they need those titles to make the breaks for them. Fast dense combats are exhausting. Anyway, I play the Bayonettas for their "Lost Chapter". The rest is just a very diluted warm-up for me. I've only poured about 6 hours into Bayonetta 3 but, so far, and while I don't think it's on the same level as the first one, it seems much better than 2. Demon Slave, while not perfect, is much better than Umbran Climax. You can just quickly incorporate it into your standard combos or use it as big punishes, it's not as omnipresent and braindead as UC. The Witch Time is no longer the only way to get proper combos! Yay! No more repulsive armor bullshit! And so far, it doesn't seem mandatory for hitting certain enemies. I still have some hope the infinite climax difficulty will remove it just like in Bayo 1. However, it seems like there's still no item penalties or so I've heard. So I don't see why they even incorporate an online ranking. Everyone will just farm invincible and attack enhancing lollipops. Enemies with super armor are way more numerous than in the first one. It's much more like 2 in that regards. Some weapons are too basic and effective just like in 2. And removing separate weapons for hands and feets is such a bummer. For now, I have to reserve my judgment. It could turn out okay, as long as the Lost Chapter is fun, intense, challenging, and the way your moves are balanced is not completely messed up.

I think most people here got caught up with their focus on the negatives and totally disregarding the positives. Bayo is ma favourite hack and slash and first of all I had more fun with it than GOW Ragnarok and DMCV. As a stand-alone hack and slash this game was so much fun that I restarted right away after finishing it. Many amazing weapons that are super original. Demons have a great variety and I would say the gameplay shines the most on Infinite Climax since you have to use all skills/Demons well right from the start. As a Bayo fan, I didn’t like her design, the cutscenes apart from some exceptions felt like a B movie- Bayo2 was extraordinary in this regard and in this game Bayo lacks her character. I might be one of the few but the villain- super advanced nano machine AI felt really like a great threat but I disliked some level design- in many it felt too barren and not all characters got the attention they deserved. So from gameplay perspective I would give it 9/10, and as a franchise game it falls behind B2/1. The first had the best vibe and I wish it was retained. Also her face looks terrible and not as sharp, powerful and witty as in past games. Overall this is a solid 8.5/10 game and I wish it got the same level of polish as B2, W101 and Astral Chain-which had great artstyle. This still might be the best hack and slash of the past 10 years and even DMCV could take many lesson mainly from level design which was terrible in DMCV. Otherwise give the game more chance and see how it clicks on the highest difficulty.

Interesting Review. I don't agree with the first critique point, since i'm a guy who likes variety and non-stop fighting or shooting can get a bit monotone for my taste, but literally every other point you made, i could relate with and gave good insight into the downfall of the series/Nintendo.

My biggest gripe is that there are way to many giant fights and on rail sections. I just wanted a whole level of regular ass enemies to fight and combo on. I couldnt get a handle on any of the weapons because it would just bounce between gimick fights.

Someone on Twitter said "The easiest way to show me that you didn't play any puppet characters until 2019 and your knowledge of action games is limited to like four titles in total is to compare 3 Bayo and Viola to V and think you're saying something smart" And I absolutely agree Not to mention this game objectively has more depth than the past 2

bayonetta 3 is amazing fam. you just sound salty its a better game then NG2

My dude...I thought I was the only one who thought Ninja Gaiden 2 was the best character action game ever... No lie I played DMC5...and as soon as I finish it I loved it...but I played NG2 after and realized what DMC 5 was missing..which was enemies who wanted to kill you.. Dmc5 enemies just feel like they're there for you to style on..while NG2 enemies feel like they're there to destroy you at all cost .

The most fun I have in character action games are definitely the angel slayer / bloody palace modes - just nonstop action without any stupid stop and go, genre shifts, cinematic sections or QTEs. Bayo 1 had some great sections as well, for instance that tower part where there's a stretch of room after room of enemy encounters. I still really need to get deeper in NGII, but the large focus on constant encounters really stood out positively to me. I still remember being super confused when first playing DMC3 and instead of constantly fighting enemies, I was mostly running around solving basic lock and key puzzles. Bayo 1 felt like it was mostly about the mechanics, and 2 and 3 seem to bother with stories and setpieces way too much. I'm hoping that maybe the more difficult modes in Bayo 3 have more interesting encounter designs... The first few hours also felt very Astral Chain to me, with the cold, alien, urban vibes. And yeah, the kicks and punches really lack the impact they had in Bayo 1! (and now I'm reminded of your term "gameplay density" 👌)

While your opinion is fine, I think this review shortchanges Platinum's usually open ended systems. If you took time to dig into the mechanics, with skill trees and others mentioning you can focus more on melee combat tactics, perhaps you should take another look. Even for Vanquish, many beginner players do not understand the combat system, but once you get into it, it's brilliant. Even Platinum's Transformer game has a crazy combo system that not many people have tried. Much like you, I also prefer melee style combat vs ranged combat. So, I will also keep that in mind as I have time to play with the systems

For me, I can't yet call it a masterpiece or a bomb, that's just hot takes or the unfortunate effect of journalists having to deliver a review by deadline within a game's release window. But in today's gaming climate, Bayonetta 3 is almost like a breath of fresh air to me, with its release timed just right. I started playing this on release day and had to pull myself away at 4 in the morning and I NEVER do that anymore, so that's telling. I do recognize what you're saying, Mark, with the deemphasis of close quarter combat and physical interaction of hitboxes, but I personally don't mind that as someone who also loves to play keepaway or zoning characters in 2D fighters, shutting opponent's options down and preventing them from getting in. So I find games like Astral Chain and Bayo 3's Demon Slave system more than a bit fascinating. I think this third instalment breaks away quite radically from the first 2 in terms of mechanics, but I also see that there is a lot that's replacing it. Where I'll fall in the end on how succesful it all is or how it will come together, I'll reserve judgement on, but I'm also taking the fact that I'm really enjoying this first playthrough much more than a lot of other 3D polygonal games of recent memory into account, as that's also worth something.

It's entirely possible that all of the 'casual bait' features are front loaded. The set pieces and large spaces between combat. These things might possibly be a non issue upon later difficulty, unlocking of all features and weapons, and sticking to the extra modes and side missions/trials. Future emergent gameplay could definitely create a new opinion.

I'm really sorry man, I watched through hoping for an in-depth look at the Bayonetta 3's combat mechanics. But the whole video is a tremendously bad take. Using game journalists is a crutch where you don't actually have to do an in-depth analysis of your own. To address some of the points raised. - The Campaign of every character action game is broken up by platforming/puzzles, B3 is no different in this regard. Some have more or less combat but all of them try to mix it up. Which brings me to - - For people that just want pure combat - every one of these games has a mode dedicated to just that. Bayonetta has witch trials, DMC has bloody palace mode. - Character action games give you so many tools and toys to play with, there's going to be cheesy strats that make the game trivial. Whether they give you enough freedom to play the game without resorting to cheesy strats, is the true measure of a CA game (B3 is unproven in this regard, but it gives a metric ton of things to play with) - Character action games don't go down well? That's maybe the worst take on the whole video - they have always reviewed extremely well. - Another rubbish take on appealing to casuals, For me, this is the beauty of character action games. Casual players can button mash and see cool stuff happen when they experience the story, whereas hardcore players can find enough depth there to sink their teeth into and practice for hours and get better. The whole tone of the video is gatekeepery, taking cheap shots and lacking any actual in depth discussion or criticism of the mechanics

I think it's unfair to pass a full judgement on a game with as much mechanical depth as Bayonetta on a first playthrough. If you want to just get to the meat of the game you can skip all the cutscenes and blast through all of the minor exploration and puzzle solving on subsequent playthroughs. The gimmick sections are understandable divisive though. I've never had a problem with them, as to me they've always felt like an extension of the core kinetic action, just delivered in a different context. I do think the more casual audience's mindset towards these games is problematic though, and it's why many consider 2 to be the best despite it streamlining mechanics to the point where you're essentially pigeonholed into one specific playstyle due to Umbran Climax and even basic grunt enemies being able to block out of combos if you don't use Witch Time. FWIW, I think Bayo 3 takes some measures to combat these issues. Obviously the Demon summoning mechanic is essential to performing well, but with each Demon having its own distinct properties, and the weapon pool being as large as it is, I think it's a much more enjoyable game to get stuck into than 2 was, at least regarding its core combat mechanics.

I'm enjoying the game as a new take on the series with some very welcome QoL changes and twists to ideas the series always had, but I 100% agree with Bayonetta 1 reigning supreme, particularly when it comes to how measured/intentional combat feels (as well as having the least amount of nonsense getting in the way). And while I personally would give Ninja Gaiden Black or even TW101 the nod in terms of level design over NG2 since their combat/traversal/exploration are integrated in enjoyable ways, I would much rather NG2's hyper-focused approach over all these other detours from fighting. I understand this stuff is there to round out the experience, but if I want a palate cleanser I can just put the controller down and take a break.

I don’t understand the complaint about qte’s cinematic sequences and game shake ups. The first game had insta kill qte’s in cutscenes and gameplay, some levels are 80% motorcycle riding and playing an 80s arcade game. The criticism of the game not having gameplay is silly considering the motorcycle/summon set pieces are STILL GAMEPLAY

Bayo 3 is a lousy and horrible game, from the way it is organised, timed wasted, the human resources wasted , the director are stupid to both design and develop the game. We wait 8 years from Bayo2 and Bayo 1 (bayo2 is the best game of all three). If bayo 3 is the strongest why she can only summon 2 hell monsters (the design of Madama Butterfly is horribly old), secondly she can't meet Aesir because Bayo 2 and 1 have dealt and she's in a timeline her father died because of Bayo 1 ( Aesir was defeated by Bayo2 ) She just grew up unsealed without facing any challenges not to mention Sigurd being a freak and why is stronger than Aesir? And where is Loki? Where are the angels from Paradiso ? And Rodin just watched and didn't help? Jeane died in a costume designed can’t be more hideous after Bayo 1 was a princess Umbran, Bayo 2 was a girl who summoned Gamora to chew on Loptr's corpse and then died by a lightsaber? The character's personality in the game is severely lacking and blank by a stupid Naruto script (wtf is Viola ,she just a child of an unknown Bayo and then she become the next Bayo4? ), despite we are in 2022 but the game development are trash and terrible graphics and lag, the character's face design is ugly and pale, compared to DMC5 it loses in all aspects, the plot and psychology are lacking and Bayonetta is also famous for its own uniqueness that is not just stuffing in and following popular things like the Multiverse or the Godzilla version that pulls her heart more than a dozen times just to summon. To sum up, I would like to put this Game in the trash and burn it, wasting time and money and showing the downfall as well as the superficiality of money greed of the Head of Platinum company. Bayo 4 don't come out because surely if Hideki continues to make the game, it will be trash like Baybilon Fall, looking at Elden Ring and DMC5, Bayo 3 is a pile of trash😊

After dmcv I knew it was going to be impossible for platinum games to be on the same level as capcoms masterpiece.

Getting tired of people judging the combat of a character action game despite barely having any hours in actually engaging in the systems Bayonetta 3 has more combo potential and depth then the first 2 combined

Everything and everyone is entitled to their opinion, and this generation goes absolutely bonkers when someone disagrees. Can we just get back to normal agree or disagreement Jesus

This game turned out to be junk after how great Bayonetta 1 and 2 were. They completely ruined the franchise. Viola is insufferable and her combat stinks. Her parrying mechanic is also abysmal. She screams from the mountain tops about how strong and badazz she is, but she’s a cringe gen-z Tik Tok kid. Thank god Platinum games didn’t give her “pronouns.” They dumbed everything down so you’re forced to use demons in EVERY fight or you’re going to get bronze. You can perfectly dodge and go hit less in every fight, but your demon summon wasn’t apart of your combos so your score and medals are crap. You can’t mix and match weapons on her legs and feet like in Bayo 2 which was sick. The game strips that from you. Every enemy is damn near the same. Bayo 1 & 2 had repeat enemies, but there was variety….I’m just really upset lol.

I am a die hard NG2 fan, it was the game that introduced me to the character action genre, which is now my favorite genre of games. Bayo 1 is at its best in the witch trials, because it's nothing but you and the combat, which Bayonetta 1 EXCELS at, absolutely tight, fluid, fun. Bayo 3 is also at its best in the witch trials but playing it I notice it lacks the tight focus of 1. I bring up NG2 because the WHOLE GAME is like Bayo's witch trials, no gimmicks, no bullshit, no big eye popping setpieces for jurnos to gush about, just you carving your way through an onslaught of armies of enemies. AAA games like that absolutely do not get made anymore. That's why casuals hate Ninja Gaiden, there's no bells or whistles to dazzle them or distract them when they're getting destroyed, it's very japanese in its design philosophy: you sink or you swim. No-nonsense.

My assumption is Bayo 3 is trying to appeal to a broader audience. The core action gameplay of the first 2 alienated most gamers.

I'm currently half through this video and already pretty confused. Gonna watch the other half in a moment but I just had to comment about your statement with "you only fight the same 3 enemies, at least in the first few hours". Like, have you ever played a game? That's literally the same in almost any action game. To slowly introduce more enemy types and variants.

The game has hitstun and combos you can even juggle the enemies you can do so much more in this game than before lol. You clearly didn't understand the game mechanics. All the things you wanted are in the game.

3:22 THANK YOU! I've been saying this about Bayo 1 for years.

"Worse and worse and worse" Bruh this only the 3rd game how tho 🤣🤣🤣 sounds like you read a wiki for the previous two games to the one you can't afford 🤣🤣🤣

first bayo was 9/10, second 7.5/10, third bayonetta was so frustrating and bad 5/10. Garbage platforming, sponge and boring enemies to fight, every fight was a mini boss very few mobs where you had to balance the agro and use witch time, and they have turned torture attacks into boring shitty moves.

The whole modern games industry has such an aversion to mechanical complexity and difficulty and such a huge focus on cinematics and graphical improvement. The reason is obvious and I don’t think all the blame falls on developers. The fact of the matter is that gaming is a business and the mass market wants simpler,easier games with a focus on flashy visuals and lots of cutscenes. When something like Dark Souls or Cuphead catches on, that is the exception rather than the rule. I’m sure both were outsold 10 to 1 by button mashers like assassins creed or movies interspersed with occasional gameplay like Uncharted or The Last Of Us. I feel it is what happens to almost every form of entertainment when it hits mass appeal. Movies like Marvel and Star Wars will always outsell more challenging experiences like the Northmen or Arrival. It’s sad to see a formerly niche series like bayonetta “sell out” like this but game developers exist to make money, so I can’t be angry at them for changing the series so that it will make more money.

I totally agree that they are blending character action and action rpgs to the point where action rpgs are becoming character action games as well. They want to sell games and they know the "casuals" want to be able to pick a game up and do stuff and not have to master a bunch of nuanced mechanics to look good while playing. I beat a lot of games by die a lot and leaning on skills learned in the early game until after years of doing so I played a game or 2 that wouldn't let me do that. Not everyone is going to try to learn a game rather than put it down

so many good points , nice video! I love Bayonetta 1 & 2 But sadly ...Bayonetta 3: Story 0/10 Music 1/10 Gameplay 3/10

as soon as you started crapping on devil may cry my brain just signed out

I enjoyed the idea of the summons. The purpose wasnt to trigger it and play stationary it seems, the dev team wanted players to summon, use one move and combo into it seamlessly. When it works, it's beautiful, cause it feels like you can fight at all ranges, and always engaging (there are combinations for the summons too which is super cool) but I wanted a better enemy design to flesh this out of the player. When you can summon Madama Butterfly and mash your way through the tanks, why would you attempt the harder stuff? Devil May Cry 5 despite having a less mechanically fleshed out V, the game managed to find a good balance between you fighting from a far while still needing to expose yourself and get closer in order to get the kill or regenerate your pets. The main difference between V and Bayo is that V is meant to provide and occasional break from the core gameplay, giving you a more on your toes, meter management, dangerous experience which is contrasted by the intense and powerful char action of Dante and Nero. It even serves as a storytelling device interestingly enough. But the summons aren't a break from Bayo 3 gameplay, THEY ARE THE CORE OF IT lmao. My main complaint with Bayo 3 wasn't even the other stuff you get to do, cause I had fun with it sometimes. The rythmic opera level made me laugh, the shooter on rails section was cool and didn't overstayed it's welcome, my only issue were the (god-awful) godzilla sections. The main gripe I have is with it's presentation. Bayo 3 is ugly and not just in the graphical sense. The technological artstyle doesn't fit at all with this franchise. Much so that they needed to add this entire multiverse, globe-trottering stuff to iterate on this poor idea. Some levels visually kinda worked (China and Paris) others (Egypt, the Island) not so much. The enemy design is nothing inspired too. The angels were beautiful yet haunting the more you damaged them. The enemy behavior was also more refined. Damn, Bayo 2 looks like a next-gen game in comparison to 3 for just how prettier it looks. There's absolutely no color, and the whole purpose of Bayo 2 was to get rid of the filter that made Bayo 1 so brown. This angelic tone creates the feeling that your in a dance rather than a combat, which is the intended vision. With the robots, androids and techno aesthetic, this feeling is lost. You're not taunting and playing with God's beloved cherubim, you're just fighitng for your life against souless creatures. It's a step back in every way artistically imo which makes me wonder why the critics enjoyed it so much, cause they don't know shit about gameplay to sing the game's praises properly (even if it's just good attempts at experimenting with long range char action, which I commend them but don't justify a 10/10 imo).

I still think that Wonderful 101 is Platinum's peak. The combat is a frantic back and forth, you have access to your entire weapon arsenal at once, and the camera is fantastic. But the game also has the highest amount of gimmick sections out of any Platinum game, so I can see why it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Majority of the GAMERS (not only journalists) actively DO NOT want combat, actively do not want depth in their games. Majority of players nowadays don't finish games, let alone replay chapters over and over to improve themselves. You might think that there is a niche of players who want non-stop action -- but there really isn't, it is so small, might as well negligible. Not only that -- listening to them (us) actively *decreases* sales. However i think combat in Bayonetta 3 is really fun, from your footage it seems like you haven't even got demon parry and demon combo finisher. B3 really has insane number of weapons (and demons) -- it is fun for that alone.

Alright, first thing's first. Bayonetta 3 is ONLY available for the Nintendo Switch. Not for the Wii-U, PS3, or Xbox 360, nor is it EVER coming to PC. With that being out of the way, I digress. Nintendo never "Nintendofied" (how you put it) this series at all. In fact, back when Nintendo funded the sequel Bayonetta 2 (Because it is a fact, that without Nintendo's aid this franchise would have been a one and done) it was Nintendo who suggested to Platinum Games to really push that M rating to its brink. The violence, language, sex appeal and what not did NOT suffer once Nintendo came on board back in 2012. And say what you want, Bayonetta 2 is just as beloved by critics and fans as the original. In fact, I'd say it was beloved even more, at least by critics. Platinum Games was in trouble financially once the turn of the decade came around. They were desperately shopping the Bayonetta sequel to many publishers. Including Sony and Microsoft Studios, who all PASSED on it. Nintendo at the 11th hour got wind of the situation and came to the developer's aid. So basically without Nintendo, we wouldn't have shit but Bayonetta part one on Xbox 360 and the notoriously terrible PS3 port that ran at less than 30 frames per second. Fast forward to Bayonetta 3. The reason that Bayonetta looks so differently than on the other two games is because this Bayonetta is NOT the Bayonetta from the previous 2 games. This game is centered around a "multi-verse" of Bayonettas. So this character is NOT the one we are used to. But don't worry, and SPOILER ALERT: The Bayonetta we know and love comes back toward the game's 3rd act. Lastly, the Demon Slave debacle. You can say what you want about this new feature, but here's the kicker. You DO NOT NEED TO UTILIZE IT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO. You can defeat your foe anyway you'd like. The Demon Slave is simply an OPTION that you may, or may not find interesting or even challenging to utilize. It's a playing choice. The combat in this game is deep and quite innovative. It's also fluent and responsive. See, Platinum games isn't trying to reinvent the wheel here. They're showing you different ways you can steer without it. It's up to us the players to choose how we get there. And to be fair Ninja Gaiden one and two are phenomenal games. But I don't want Bayonetta to be Ninja Gaiden nor vice a versa, because great games make their own identity. They mimic each other, but never completely rip off the other. Bayonetta 3 is what it is, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Tottally agree. That game has super mario 64 level design stile. Not a Ninja Gaiden stile. Not designed to flow the fight. Maybe platinum did that to longer the game tought.

Have you played Donkey Kong Jungle Beat? Really unique platformer with combos and a scoring system essential to the game.

Ninja gaiden can’t hold a candle to bayonetta 3 is something..even as a joke I would never imagine hearing

Think you might have a little bit too much rose tinted glasses with Ninja Gaiden 2. The reason people don't like NG2 as much as Bayonetta or Devil May Cry is because it's really just braindead combat. Hyabusa isn't interesting, there's zero flair, and the story is non-existent. As for the criticisms: I think if you play a hack-n-slash on normal you always have the problems you list. Devil May Cry is pretty chill on normal. Bayonetta is extremely chill on normal, even giving you auto combos. Godhand can be beaten with just a couple combos. It's just perspective, if you're not challenging yourself then complaining "it's not challenging" is kind of on you, isn't it?

It was pretty dissappointing, story-wise 1. This story pretty much ignores the angels/demons lore of the last two games, making this feel like a werid way to end a trilogy. 2. Jeanne died WAAAY to easy. 3. I'm happy with Luka's larger role and romance, but it's SUPER rushed and underdeveloped. 4. The multiverse route feels so out of place in my eyes. All in all, nothing from the previous games mattered, and it feels like a completely different franchise.

"has such a large passage of time degraded the game's combat and design? (The answer is yes)" Such a bullshit statement lmao. The combat is still top tier, definitely better than the previous games and as for the design, have you ever thought that maybe there was a clear limitation the devs faced when making this game? Just how much shit do you think a nintendo switch can do on it's hugely limited hardware? If you actually attempted a real playthrough instead of most likely rushing through 4 chapters on easy mode you would have seen the combat drastically opens up.

Noticed the astral chain gameplay clip. I hope they used bayonetta 3 as a springboard for astral chain 2. Game was really polished with really deep gameplay options. Thats why i didnt mind this particular take on bayonetta 3 lol. But youre right its def overhyped. Maybe this helena taylor stuff was a ruse lol

My problem is the hardware it's on , feels like the switch holds it back performance wise, shoulda been multiplat, or stronger hardware from Nintendo. The novility of the Switch is over.

i mean bayonetta 3 is in my top 5 games of all times and ive been playing games my whole life basically, and i love the core gameplay, and its not the same 5 enemies, every single verse tries to teach you to do something different. Viola challenges your dodging by taking it off, Bayonetta has more strict dodge timing. I mean I play a game for the story and the gameplay, and yes it does get interrupted by story sometimes, and there's a lot of different combos and different playstyles. with more than 20 weapons with their own unique sets of learning curves. your sore is shit if you start repeating actions over and over. You need to combo for a good score. the game made me cry it made me FEEL something, it was so fun to fight the bosses with context with the story. ninja giden or wtvr doesn't look interesting it feels like a sandbox where you just fight and get to the end. The jeanne sections were amazing because it was something different. the core gameplay is incredibly varied since there's a ton of weapons with a ton of demons and different strategies, there's some exclusive to the clock tower, some to madama butterfly. That shows you played the game refusing to get into the gameplay more than surface level, you found the strat to push enemies up and refuse to experiment any further... that's like playing a shooter and just using one gun because it works for the level 1 zombies .-.

enemies do have hyper armor but you can still combo with wicked weaves while on witch time or when you use the wink slave mechanic... you gotta understand the game before criticizing, man

Time for a "Character action game" tier list maybe? I would say that Bayonetta series is B tier overall, maybe A tier for the first game if I'm feeling generous. I thought the first one was pretty good at the time but didn't care for Bayo 2 as much. Will probably try the third game eventually but I'm not in a hurry.

Kind of weird how people call bayonetta “niche” even though she’s in smash the most popular “fighting” game. Now it isn’t popular popular but niche? Ehh

Feel like 90% of the game I'm play banjo kazooie (pick stuff up, find secrets etc) and the other 10% are cutscenes. Like when do I get to fight enemies?

Okay I'm gonna be honest, this...review...really makes me question if you actually played the game thoroughly, if at all. Do you know how character action games work, or if you even know what you are talking about? What are these takes??? Especially the ones about Demon Slave??

Bayonetta has always been the easier, approachable character action game, even so far back as the first one and especially if you're comparing it to its contemporaries at the time. There were also more than a handful of ways to tamp down the challenge of that game (even on the hardest difficulty) using exploits and dominant strategy like the Killgore Durga rocket launcher trick (there might be more as it's been a while since I've played Bayo 1. I seem to remember the whip having some fairly broken setups). I don't necessarily disagree that they have smoothed over some of the series edges / made it more aerodynamic, but I think that what they're really doing is leaning more into what makes Bayonetta unique. If people want blistering difficulty, play DMC3 or Ninja Gaiden Black. Not every game needs to be those games. Hell, future entries in those respective franchises don't play like DMC3 and NGB. Having said that, I rather like that Bayonetta feels less like the pseudo-sequel to DMC1 that the first game is and more like its own thing. Also, I'm absolutely withholding any greater judgement on the games overall system depth and strategic complexity until I've cleared the highest difficulty. You've made no mention here of Demon Winking and Blinking, for example. I'm not trying to be combative or anything, lol. I just think that sometimes it can be fun to challenge people's perspectives / opinions. Especially since everyone in the comments is just piling on the group think. No hard feelings or anything. Take care.

Thank you for telling the truth about these Bayonetta games. I need substance over style in my games, so they don't appeal to me. However, it sounds like you said the character action genre isn't doing so well these days but we can't say that with the prevalence of the Souls franchise, now can we? Everything From Software is doing, not to mention the Nioh games are the new generation of the more arcade-y games like Ninja Gaiden and God Hand. And they are killing it in the industry. Don't you think?

Hey Mark, have you seen the Ninja Gaiden SIgma 2 Black mod? I'm a huge Sigma 2 hater but the mod looks pretty sick, I think I'm finally ready to recommend my non xbox having friends to get into the series.

You're way too hard on the franchise. The games are consistently good even if they can have some flaws. Bayonetta 1 is no exception, the game is incredibly brutal and the QTE sections are obnoxious. Bayo 1 is very much unrefined in many aspects.

I disagree, I think her look in 3 makes her look a lot younger, ffs she has the same hairstyle that she had as a kid in the first game. If anything, they made her look more magical girl and toned downed the witch/ stripper element of her.

I got the game yesterday and played 2 hours. It is good, a fun action game. Is it better than the original? No. It suffers from ugly backgrounds, which is the most striking difference to the previous entries. The boring cutscebes were also present in previous entries. In terms of combat, seems like the same game. In terms of character water down or de-sexualiazation? Seems the same to me. Lollypops and naughty camera angles are here, but who cares. Is it better than Ninja Gaiden? No. So let's leave all drama behind and enjoy what is a good fun game. If it goes downwards later on I will report here. Right now seems like a good action game that has better prequels. So the main complaint is that prequels are better.

I couldent agree more bro. Bayo 3 is BY FAR the worst game in the trilogy. I guess I appreciate them trying something new, but the monster mechanic sucks. It lessens the combat

I think the “character action” genre has been flawed since it’s inception (Devil May Cry on PS2). It was a combination of beatem up/exploration with adventure and rpg elements. It’s always annoying when you have to unlock a million moves or go through pace killing moments in this genre. That’s why I prefer beatem ups. You have all your moves at the start and it’s focused on the action. The Ninja Gaiden games are definitely the closest to this. Of course in this day and age that’s a no no because gamers prefer longer titles not short but replayable titles.

Im at a point in my life where if im not motivated enough to finish a game then its not a great game. Hence the fate of Bayonetta 3

I just finished Bayo 3 and I have to agree with you. Combat doesn't feel as punchy, weapons seem geared towards long-range, the demon slaves slow the flow and the games structure is all over the place with its different genres, like it's trying to be a Nier game. Also I miss when we could equip different weapons on the hands and feet.

100% appreciate your opinion on this, nice to hear what another character action fan thinks. Personally Bayonetta is the only CA series I've gotten into and I'm definitely not a casual (platinum is the minimum rank I allow myself to progress with on highest difficulty) so I can understand your comments about the level design. All I really want to do in Bayonetta is fight. I think when it comes to that Bayo 1 was perfect, and the thing is once you beat the game you really don't have to interact much with the other elements of the level design, like 95% of time you'll be replaying verses to up your score, which is pure combat. Since I'm so strict with how I play I haven't gotten very far in Bayo 3 yet but with replaying the prologue and Chapter 1 numerous times I can see that it will probably be the same so I don't think level design is something I'll be to annoyed about. In terms of combat for Bayo 3 I might have rose colored glasses on right now but I find the demon slave mechanic extremely fun, and I'm on starting to scratch the surface of how it can be used in combat to extend combos. I also think that if you want to play without relying on demon slave yoy really can, unlike Umbran Climax in Bayo 2. The fact that larger enemy's tank through all your stuff means that you just have to make sure your dodging is on point, but once you do your wicked weave type attacks can most certainly get the job done. Might take a little longer but that isn't really a problem if you just want to get a more CA type experience. One thing I wish was still present is the magic meter system from Bayo 1 and 2, I loved how much that system forced you to balance magic and figure out how to gain and maintain it while fighting, now it makes doing weave type attacks a little too free. My overall thoughts are that since I I'm gonna be spending 95% of the time in combat by the time i finish the game, and since I think the combat is excellent, I'll end up rating this game highly in the end. TBD if it'll dethrone Bayo 1 as my favorite. Hype to get into the other series you mentioned though to see how those stack up.

This is why I love your channel - honesty.

Just from the setting of this game you can see that bayonetta 3 is a step down from previous games. I didn't play bayonetta for the urban landscape and the mech. Bayonetta was a medieval witch fighting angelic demons in gothic castles. It really seems that they have lost all direction for this game. The first game was the best. Second was ok. Third I'm not even interested in playing

Wow, I couldn't disagree more with your take. I've played Bayonetta 1 probably 5 or 6 times and I feel its pacing is perfect. Its highly intense and frantic most of the time split up periodically with platforming or cross genre segments. Bayonetta 2 went too far down the Devil May Cry path and was far too combat focused. I found myself wishing for some platforming or puzzle sequences. I haven't played part 3 but based on your arguments against the game, I'm sure it'll be great.

About your statement "the summon system make the game feel like the action RPG" isn't quite right, it just one of many option the game offer to you, there 're alot other close combat option too. And the game encourage player to switch around all the options as much as possible. You shouldn't over use the summon system and blame the game for that. You know Devil May Cry, right? I can turn Devil May Cry into a Sonic game if I just spam Stinger even when I'm walking but it's not the game fault. I can turn it into third person shooter too with Gun Slinger style alone 😂