Bayonetta 3

 Switch
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 657 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 419 out of 657
  2. Mixed: 86 out of 657
  3. Negative: 152 out of 657
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  1. WindlessNight
    Aug 23, 2023
    5
    The game is fun but feels more flashy than actually fun. They took away hand and feet weapons and instead made all sets and Viola's combat feels confusing compared to Bayonetta's with the weird button placement differences. Gameplay is often littered with too much minigames that feel boring and sluggish and cutscenes often just show off exciting combat that feels like something thatThe game is fun but feels more flashy than actually fun. They took away hand and feet weapons and instead made all sets and Viola's combat feels confusing compared to Bayonetta's with the weird button placement differences. Gameplay is often littered with too much minigames that feel boring and sluggish and cutscenes often just show off exciting combat that feels like something that would've been really fun. Resolution often dips to a very noticeable amount and save points are no longer per verse and feel randomly placed around the levels. Some minigames are great, like the Jeanne sections or that singing rhythm game one, but they often feel annoying. The story's twists are either obvious or don't make any sense with the pre-established characters.
    Pretty good combat but has a story that doesn't feel like they cared enough and feels more like someone's fanfiction. Get it on sale if you're interested, or if you're new just get either 1 or 2.    … Expand
  2. EasyGamerBoi
    Aug 17, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bout time this came out. I remember watching the reveal live in 2017 & losing my MIND in excitement.. the rest is history if you know Bayonetta 3’s development. This’ll be a loaded review so lemme just preface by saying, it’s a good game but doesn’t live up to the first 2 games.
    Positives first, The soundtrack is genuinely incredible. Best in the series BY A MILE. Bayonetta is still Bayonetta, still hilarious & campy even with her new voice (Hale is a legend in the industry for a reason!), the graphics are good for a Switch game too! There were multiple parts of the game where I forgot I was playing on a last gen potato, of course the framerate will jolt me right back to reality when that happens. I don’t think it’s as bad as some reviewers made it out to be, but there are some really noticeable frame drops here which is inexcusable in 2022 for a hectic action game like this. Notice how most new switch releases ALL have performance issues? Almost like there’s a pattern & we need a update.. Anyway, I have a lot I need to complain about.. I really did not care for the combat in Bayo 3 compared to the last 2. EVERY enemy felt like damage sponges to me. I played on each difficulty to see if it was just me or the modes, but it felt the same on each difficulty. Even the most basic enemies felt like they took 5 too many hits to kill compared to the angels & demons of the other games. It ended up making the game feel slower to play and not as enjoyable to me. The demon slave additions are fun but I wasn’t as obsessed with them as I thought I’d be, some were awkward to control too. The game also peaks VERY early. The first four chapters were some of the most fun I’ve had in an action game, but right after that the game took a nosedive and never recovered imo. That’s mostly due to the story & other additions it brought with it. First of all, I didn’t think this could be a detriment to any form of entertainment but there is WAY too much variety in these chapters. Almost every 5 minutes you’re doing something different, wether it be riding the back of a giant demon down a skyscraper or having a shootout on the back of a bird, these moments are a great spectacle & some are better than others. BUT. It makes replaying levels a pain in the ***. I just want to replay some levels as Bayonetta for some good hack & slash fun, but it honestly feels like there isn’t enough of it in this game. Which leads to my next point, the Jeanne levels. They’re a decent enough distraction, but that’s all they are. If they weren’t in the game I don’t think anybody would notice. What truly killed a chunk of this game for me was Viola’s levels. Viola as a character is ok, she doesn’t really add anything to the story or have any meaningful growth (that isn’t completely forced), but playing as her? I’d rather be castrated. I HATED every single time I was put in control of her. No matter what I tried I just could not adjust to playing as her after being used to Bayonetta for so many years, Viola’s block witch-time mechanic must be bugged because it hardly works no matter my timing, I’ve asked other Bayonetta fans about this & they’ve confirmed my suspicions. Hopefully they fix that but Viola is damn near unplayable & terrible. To FORCE themselves to call her Bayonetta is the biggest slap in the face after THAT ending. Also, why insult people that play on casual mode with those “clear badges” for every encounter instead of still giving them regular rankings like the last 2 games did on their easy modes? It’s not like this game is hard. I played on Standard & whenever I was in trouble I could just pause the game and heal in the menu. No risk of death at all. The story is just a mess. Like I said it started out AMAZING, but quickly devolved into convoluted nonsense that isn’t explained, or done so in stupid ways. Bayonetta games aren’t revered for their stories, but at least you could follow the first 2 stories without being annoyed or confused & that was enough for me to be invested in them. Last thing I want to touch on is Bayonetta & Luka, while yes it was touching to see her finally embrace Luka in a loving way, I didn’t think it would be in THAT way. I get these are different versions of the characters than what we're used to, but it still feels so weird. Especially if this is the same Cereza from the first game that Luka was taking care of.. groomer alert. And yes Bayonetta IS BI, I would prefer her with Jeanne like most people, but this is a multiverse story so not every version will be with Jeanne. It’s almost like everyone forgot the meaning of the word BISEXUAL as soon as the ending hit. But I dislike the ending for more reasons than just Big Nintendo probably vetoing a popular same sex relationship for one that doesn’t make much sense canonically. Overall, Bayonetta 3 is a decent game still, but one that thoroughly disappointed me more than almost any other game this year.    … Expand
  3. JeepDaddyMac46
    Jul 15, 2023
    5
    If you love this series and the stellar fast paced combat, skip this one and stick with Bayonetta 2. The story is very poorly done, basically the meta verse comes to Bayonetta. The big issue here is the clunky combat thanks to the poorly implemented demon controls. This could have been a fun addition, but instead it’s a slow, clunky, irresponsive mechanic that you wish wasn’t included.If you love this series and the stellar fast paced combat, skip this one and stick with Bayonetta 2. The story is very poorly done, basically the meta verse comes to Bayonetta. The big issue here is the clunky combat thanks to the poorly implemented demon controls. This could have been a fun addition, but instead it’s a slow, clunky, irresponsive mechanic that you wish wasn’t included. Your favorite characters are here, but the story is so bad that they cannot make it shine. Graphically it’s worse than Bayonetta 2. Hopefully, if they make a Bayonetta 4 it will be on next Gen hardware and if we are stick with the demon control portions, they actually make those parts fun. Love my Switch but some titles need more powerful hardware and Bayonetta is suffering here.… Expand
  4. bohalaa
    Jun 29, 2023
    6
    Story 0/10
    Gameplay 10/10
    Graphics 6/10
    Art style 8/10
    Puzzles and treasures 5/10
    Music 9/10
    (I bought bayonetta game to play half the game with none bayonetta character)
    I like the gameplay of bayonetta and the art, the story is trash and hurts the old fan and force you to play with side character.
  5. Soracifer88
    Jun 25, 2023
    7
    I consider bayonetta2 in the top 3 of action games and unfortunately i am disappointed in many aspects of this sequel.
    Some things work like the summons, when you control the demons directly is a fun new mechanic that transforms many fights into a kaiju battle, the semi-demonic transformation of Bayonetta in various forms adds fun and platforming to the exploration phases and in general    I consider bayonetta2 in the top 3 of action games and unfortunately i am disappointed in many aspects of this sequel.
    Some things work like the summons, when you control the demons directly is a fun new mechanic that transforms many fights into a kaiju battle, the semi-demonic transformation of Bayonetta in various forms adds fun and platforming to the exploration phases and in general the game has a good amount of content... but unfortunately the game has many negative aspects, having removed the possibility of equipping different weapons to the arms and legs has removed a lot of the possibilities in the combos which now result all very identical no matter which weapon you use, viola is a character with a very bad characterization and very "castrated" gameplay, in general the story is a real mess the actions of the characters make no sense, the villain has zero context and explanation, the ending very disappointing and worrying for the future of the series

    pros:
    +Gameplay remains fun
    +the climax battles between kaiju
    +Good amount of content, even in the post game with good extra challenges

    Con:
    -Lack of real variety in the combo option
    -Story is a mess, the characters don't know what they're doing and the villain is without context and motivation.
    -Viola is terrible

    Bayonetta 3 is overall a fun action game but far from the quality of the previous entry in the series... a bit dissapoing.    … Expand
  6. kiwijinxter
    Jun 20, 2023
    6
    *** EDIT: 20 June 2023 ***

    Revised score from 10 to 6 now that I finished the game. Having played through the entire game, I find that it's the weakest of the 3 in the Bayonetta series. The Switch control struggles with the large monsters at times, and the exploration gets a bit confusing at times, and overall the game does get tired because it loses the fluidity of ongoing combat from    *** EDIT: 20 June 2023 ***

    Revised score from 10 to 6 now that I finished the game. Having played through the entire game, I find that it's the weakest of the 3 in the Bayonetta series. The Switch control struggles with the large monsters at times, and the exploration gets a bit confusing at times, and overall the game does get tired because it loses the fluidity of ongoing combat from the first 2 games. Overall it's still Bayonetta, but it's no match for #1 and #2, with #2 being my favourite.

    *** Earlier review below ***

    It's full-on Bayonetta action, but much BIGGER and BADDER, a masterpiece!

    Well, it took FOREVER for Nintendo and Platinum to release Bayonetta 3 and I'm only too glad it's finally here. I absolutely love the Bayonetta series so I replayed Bayonetta 1 and 2 back to back in readiness for this. Was Bayonetta 3 worth the wait? You bet! While I'm relatively early in the game, I can assure Bayonetta fans that Bayonetta 3 introduces new mechanics like the monster-controlling Demon Slave move very early on, so there's no time to feel as if this is just a same old Bayonetta game. When I first activated Demon Slave, it brought back the same feeling as when Mario first took over the T-Rex in Super Mario Odyssey. There's a certain "weight" to the monsters you control in Demon Slave, and it feels good. Because of the much larger scale of monsters you control, some fights are really between giants - a bit like King Kong vs Godzilla. This makes Bayonetta 3 the most epic in terms of scale of some battles.

    If you're new to Bayonetta, you're in for a treat. Bayonetta is an action game. An over-the-top action game. The signature of Bayonetta games is the crazy, over the top, non-stop bombastic action sequences and combos you can do. In this 3rd outing all the crazy over the top action moves remain, and certain levels have some exploration to be done, but some other things are different. For example, you upgrade your abilities in a slightly more "RPG" way and the enemies seem more agile and fluid than their rather rocky and hard predecessors. In some way, it makes them just slightly more challenging than the early baddies from the early games. But with the ability to change difficulties anytime, you can change it to whatever suits you best. Of course, the original voice of Bayonetta has changed hands from Hellena Taylor to Jennifer Hale. I prefer Hellena's voice due to stronger inflexions but I think I'll get used to Jennifer's eventually.

    As for the story (no spoilers here), right at the very beginning of the story, I thought, no way they're doing this to Bayonetta but I'll leave you to discover the story! All in all, I can say it's certainly worth the wait for the Umbran Witch's return. Bayonetta is just brilliant as ever. Love it.    … Expand
  7. J_R
    May 14, 2023
    7
    7.1/10

    The first Bayonetta game I didn't immediately start a second play through after finishing it. I actually haven't even bothered to go back and play it again. Pretty much everything here feels like a step backwards from Bayonetta 1 and 2. Gameplay is like two steps sideways and one step backwards. Cut scenes, dialogue and characters are less entertaining. Story is meh. Some    7.1/10

    The first Bayonetta game I didn't immediately start a second play through after finishing it. I actually haven't even bothered to go back and play it again.

    Pretty much everything here feels like a step backwards from Bayonetta 1 and 2. Gameplay is like two steps sideways and one step backwards. Cut scenes, dialogue and characters are less entertaining. Story is meh. Some parts of the game don't look that great and it doesn't always run smoothly. It's bloated and feels like it drags on way too long.

    Bayonetta 3 is worth playing through and it's still fun and engaging just nowhere near much as it was in the previous two games.

    7.1/10    … Expand
  8. Rex_miles
    Apr 2, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. ¿Es un buen juego? Sí. Pero a mí no me ha gustado demasiado, y menos como Bayonetta.
    Los diseños me han parecido peores, los monstruos también. No tiene el encanto del 1 y del 2, y el plot twist se ve a multiversos. Los controles no me han gustado, aunque tiene ideas buenísimas, como intentar acercarse a los "logros" de playstation cuando en Switch no existan, para rejugar los escenarios. Es todo muy loco, la verdad.

    Por otro lado, Viola no me parece tan carismática como Bayonetta, me gustaba su toque picantón pero supongo que hoy en día eso es tabú y es mejor cambiarlo. Me recuerda más a una protagonista de Life is Strange que a una Bayonetta.

    En fin, si tuviera que resumirlo, sería así: Bayonetta 3 = Spiderman No way home + Multiverso de la Locura + bayonetta + Godzilla + NieR    … Expand
  9. xellos81
    Mar 7, 2023
    7
    This game is totally a 7, no more, no less.
    has potential but also ruins the series so much that I'm starting to dislike the game more after beating it.
    Because watching the full-picture made me sad. Btw, also the gameplay itself has it's own flaws Bayonetta 3 is easy but in the meanwhile makes you feel stupid because there are too many combos to remember, get the platinum score is not    This game is totally a 7, no more, no less.
    has potential but also ruins the series so much that I'm starting to dislike the game more after beating it.
    Because watching the full-picture made me sad.
    Btw, also the gameplay itself has it's own flaws
    Bayonetta 3 is easy but in the meanwhile makes you feel stupid because there are too many combos to remember, get the platinum score is not easy at all, and also because you struggle in other stuff like cathing the Umbra tears, or finding that portal (verse) that you keep missing.
    I'm a gamer, I always been, I've played so many games, but still, Bayo 3 made me feel lost for the most of the time and in various ways.
    For example, from the speed of controlling bayonetta suddenly to the extreme sloppiness of a scene when you control a Demon.
    Or simply with the useless choiche of making Viola time shift with the small button R instead of ZR.
    I've ejoyed the game but I also have so many complains.
    Just play it because it deserves to be played, but don't expect "the final bayonetta experience" because maybe is the opposite.    … Expand
  10. ket
    Feb 19, 2023
    5
    I'm new to Bayonetta, so this review is from the perspective of a player who has never played Bayonetta before, I have put probably 8-10hrs into the game now though so have a feel of the fundamentals. I'd strongly encourage anyone reading this read it fully because there is more than meets the eye here.

    Combat Mechanics: 1. Combat is both the worst and best thing about B3, the    I'm new to Bayonetta, so this review is from the perspective of a player who has never played Bayonetta before, I have put probably 8-10hrs into the game now though so have a feel of the fundamentals. I'd strongly encourage anyone reading this read it fully because there is more than meets the eye here.

    Combat Mechanics:

    1. Combat is both the worst and best thing about B3, the animations are fluid but execution is about as modern as Tekken 1 on PSX. You have a huge move list for each weapon (too huge, and combined is rather overwhelming) with combos to memorise but there is zero ability to invent your own combos with the provided moves, memorising set-in-stone button combinations in order to pull off something is not fun and feels archaic, Tekken 3 23 years ago broke this mold successfully, yes, it was archaic back then, let alone almost a quarter of a century later. This rigidity will relegate most players to simple punch, kick, or gun moves and your enjoyment will be severely impacted because of it.

    2. Dodging in the game is awful, Bayonetta is nowhere near agile enough for the frantic pace of combat. I'm no stranger to games like this being accustomed to other games like DMC and Tekken to be perfectly frank dodging/blocking mechanics feels like a Tekken 1 alpha experiment.

    3. Bayo 3 does an extremely poor job of letting you get a feel for the controls the game throws you into several large bombastic battles in a row starting you off at 1000 miles an hour, if you have never played a DMC or Tekken title you're going to have a very rough start. Compounding this hectic, jarring start is the fact that just as you might be getting some basic momentum in battle - in the middle of the fight - the game throws up text boxes completely destroying any rudimentary momentum you might have been getting increasing learning curve difficulty, this happens several times at various points, too.

    4. There are a lot of cut scenes during and between combat at the start, during the boss fights, constantly wrestling control away from you in the middle of a fight is DO NOT DO 101 stuff.

    5. During loading you can hit a button and practice moves against thin air, this in itself is fine, however during this "training mode" is also where probably one of the most irritating things about the game occurs, you have a combo menu that displays all of Bayonetta's moves for the equipped weapon but while you might be trying to learn one particular move the list will automatically scroll to a button combination the game "thinks" you are trying to do meaning you're always going to be losing sight of the more complex combinations you are practicing. This is also where you will encounter your first bug in the game, you can't manually scroll the combo list even though you are very clearly meant to be able to.

    6. Where the hell is hit stun?

    Controls:

    Combat controls are not great, holding the ZL button will allow you to summon the currently equipped demon, that's cool, what's not cool is that you HAVE to keep holding the ZL button down while trying to control your demon, why the hell is the ZL button not a toggle? Worst of all is that there are 4 control layouts but NONE of them are customisable so you can't set your own control scheme.

    Story:

    This actually is quite solid from what I've (kindo of) worked out of it so far, what really let's it down though is that while the game offers a recap from Bayo 1 and 2 (I assume for new players) it is essentially LOCKED from new players requiring 1000.. rings?.. to purchase from the "Gates of Hell" shop meaning all new players are going to be stumbling around in the dark in terms of story plot, twists, and turns as well.

    Graphics/Performance:

    Graphics I don't find anything overly jarring however there is extremely heavy use of dithering which looks horrifically ugly, a lot of textures are also low resolution and muddy. I'm an old fashioned type of gamer and always have prioritised gameplay over graphics but when you have serious gameplay issues AND graphics that aren't all that stellar you've got serious problems.

    I have no doubt the reason for the heavy use of dithering and low resolution textures in B3 is all in aid of trying to hit 60FPS but the reality is frame rate is a mess in B3, even with Patch 1.2, and the devs absolutely should release another patch locking frame rate to 30FPS and use the performance headroom to improve docked resolution much closer to 1080p rather than what it is, which is 800p or so I'd say.

    How was it once put by Gavin Archer from Mass Effect 2? "Man's reach exceeding his grasp..." is very apt here.

    There's a good game in this mess, but Platinum REALLY need to address at least the majority of issues mentioned to get Bayonetta 3 to the level it deserves. I do have Bayonetta 1 and 2 on the way so that should tell you I don't consider Bayonetta 3 bad, it just has a massive amount of technical and gameplay issues.    … Expand
  11. Kenshiro13
    Feb 12, 2023
    7
    It's the same good ol' Bayonetta style action and mixed in some other genres but some work better than others. Admitedly some fights were badly designed since you HAVE to with the demons because they are too far away for example. But using the demon summons freely was a good gameplay idea as a whole.
    The story is what you would expect from a Bayonetta title and some of the story elements    It's the same good ol' Bayonetta style action and mixed in some other genres but some work better than others. Admitedly some fights were badly designed since you HAVE to with the demons because they are too far away for example. But using the demon summons freely was a good gameplay idea as a whole.
    The story is what you would expect from a Bayonetta title and some of the story elements were painfully obvious. But the new character Viola was something so bad in both gameplay and in character both in design and personality. Which is a bad thing considering the replay value and the future of the series which to be honest is ruined if they plan to going on like the way they were hinting.    … Expand
  12. Insane_Gamer
    Feb 2, 2023
    6
    The first game in the series that I completely completed. Because it was translated into Russian, so it was easier for me to understand the mechanics. Now I want to go through parts 1 and 2.

    The game is cheerful, it's fun to fight and kill demons. A LOT of different abilities, I didn’t even have time to dive into everything for the passage. A bunch of different combo attacks. Pumped    The first game in the series that I completely completed. Because it was translated into Russian, so it was easier for me to understand the mechanics. Now I want to go through parts 1 and 2.

    The game is cheerful, it's fun to fight and kill demons. A LOT of different abilities, I didn’t even have time to dive into everything for the passage. A bunch of different combo attacks.

    Pumped up graphics and performance. In some places the game looks very bad. 60fps is not stable, there are drawdowns up to 40, this distracts from the unbridled fun.

    Also annoying gameplay for Viola. There are so few attacks, and a witch's parry hour is not a good idea. I didn't like that I couldn't control Cheshire.

    Levels for Zhana ... what was it and why? It's like the game was stretched out on purpose. Large locations for "research" also seemed superfluous.

    The plot is ordinary, without a twist. But the last chapter was done with dignity, the scale of the fight and the power of the enemy were felt.

    In general, the game left a pleasant impression, but not without drawbacks.    … Expand
  13. PistacheVolante
    Jan 3, 2023
    5
    Si le fait que Platinum Games ne se soit pas reposé sur ses lauriers et se soit vraiment creusé la tête en terme de mécaniques est appréciable, je trouve que la sauce ne prend pas.

    Les interventions des démons sont impressionnantes c'est vrai, mais c'est au prix d'une visibilité parfois catastrophique et d'une caméra complètement à l'ouest, en plus de tirer le rendu général vers le bas    Si le fait que Platinum Games ne se soit pas reposé sur ses lauriers et se soit vraiment creusé la tête en terme de mécaniques est appréciable, je trouve que la sauce ne prend pas.

    Les interventions des démons sont impressionnantes c'est vrai, mais c'est au prix d'une visibilité parfois catastrophique et d'une caméra complètement à l'ouest, en plus de tirer le rendu général vers le bas au point d'avoir parfois droit à une vraie bouillie de pixels.

    Le sentiment de puissance lorsqu'on sort nos gros monstres est fantastique, mais on tourne très vote en rond et on se retrouve à regretter le gameplay plus terre à terre où on contrôle simplement Bayonetta. On perd vraiment en technique et en profondeur en plus de ne pas toujours comprendre ce qui se passe à l'écran.

    Là où le jeu m'a vraiment frustré, c'est dans ses milliards de phases "gimmick". On dirait que les devs avaient peur qu'on s'ennuie avec le gameplay de combat, du coup toutes les 5 minutes on a des changements de phases genre shmup, kaiju, rythme etc. Ce n'est pas forcément un mal en soi, mais c'est extrêmement mal géré. J'avais parfois l'impression que le jeu voulait absolument m'empêcher de jouer Bayonetta, c'est quand même le comble.

    Je ne vais pas m'étendre sur le scénario (et encore moins sur la fin...) sous peine de m'énerver. Je dirais juste que je trouve le délire du multivers vraiment inutile, mal écrit et surtout, j'en ai marre de ce prétexte pour raconter tout et n'importe quoi sans se prendre la tête.

    Niveau structure et level design, je trouve qu'il y a des choses intéressantes mais jamais poussées assez loin, notamment dans l'utilisation des différentes formes démoniaques pour l'exploration.

    J'avais vraiment envie d'aimer ce jeu (je suis un énorme fan des deux premiers épisodes, en particulier du 1) mais je ne m'y suis pas du tout retrouvé et plus j'avançais plus le jeu me sortais par les trous de nez. Vu la direction que prend la saga, je pense que je vais simplement passer mon chemin l'avenir tout en lui souhaitant le meilleur malgré tout.    … Expand
  14. Beez
    Dec 28, 2022
    7
    Very fun and extremely creative gameplay but only when you play as Bayonetta. The story was rubbish overall. The new playable character tried hard to be funny but was rather more annoying, and Jeanne's mini side scrolling game was a chore.
  15. roobb68
    Dec 14, 2022
    6
    I like the gameplay but the rest is very disappointing. The graphics have not evolved since bayonetta 2 (2011). the environments and story are not inspired and the colors are sad.
  16. Alirezakratos
    Dec 6, 2022
    7
    good game bayoneta 3 and bayoneta2 very good best game nintendo best game play
  17. Nightscape_
    Dec 1, 2022
    6
    I love the first two games; this feels almost nothing like them. It’s like I am playing Avengers mixed with Godzilla rather than Bayonetta. Nothing in this game feels original. Instead, it's like they ripped off a bunch of action movies.

    The story is abysmal. It makes no sense in terms of the universe the past two Bayonetta games set up. Where in the first two games, the story was an    I love the first two games; this feels almost nothing like them. It’s like I am playing Avengers mixed with Godzilla rather than Bayonetta. Nothing in this game feels original. Instead, it's like they ripped off a bunch of action movies.

    The story is abysmal. It makes no sense in terms of the universe the past two Bayonetta games set up. Where in the first two games, the story was an integral part of the gaming experience, you can tell the story was an afterthought and is only there to set up a bunch of gimmicky fights.

    Every five minutes they have you doing some weird mini game. No joke, at one point I had to play a version of rock-paper-scissors. I loved the fight mechanics in the first two games, but just like the story, game-play refinement took a backseat to gimmicky action scenes. Instead of quality story writing, we get big explosions and Kaiju.

    While I think the music is fine and there were no bugs or glitches that I encountered, the game design itself is subpar. All the levels feel empty and soulless. You will see land in the distance, thinking you can jump there, just to have the game force you back to where you were and penalize you by damaging you. You get penalized in this game for trying to explore. The the scale of enemies and the camera rotation will get you damaged if not outright killed now and again – it is not terrible but frustrating. I never had this problem in the first two games. And I have to say, the English voice acting for a new girl in the game is horrible! I had to mention her because it is the first thing you hear in the game and throughout. It's like nails on a chalk board. Gimmicky fights, cheap deaths, poor level design, bad voice acting (except from the main cast, their still good), and a dreadful story.

    I was so excited for a new Bayonetta game but instead it feels like I am playing a bad action movie with a paper-thin plot. It's all about explosions and giant monsters with this game. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes to make them choose this direction for Bayonetta, but whoever was in charge, I really hope they have been let go and are no longer working with the company. This is barely Bayonetta.

    This is a sad day as I cannot recommend Bayonetta 3. Skip this game; don’t end up depressed, let down, and out $60, like I am.    … Expand
  18. Hack
    Nov 28, 2022
    7
    The worst entry in the series by far. The game is filled with gimmicks, annoying puzzles and worst of all you don't play as Bayonetta for half of the game, I didn't buy a Bayonetta game to play as some rando character.
  19. Jaime00011
    Nov 27, 2022
    6
    Conocí al personaje de Bayonetta allá por el año 2016, cuando entró en Smash Bros 4.

    Entonces, empecé a interesarme por el personaje, he jugado sus juegos mil veces hasta el día de hoy. Vengo a exponer de manera objetiva e insesgada mi opinión de lo que es el juego. La nota que se verá reflejada la pondré cuando termine la review. Pasaré a exponer punto por punto: - Actriz de voz,    Conocí al personaje de Bayonetta allá por el año 2016, cuando entró en Smash Bros 4.

    Entonces, empecé a interesarme por el personaje, he jugado sus juegos mil veces hasta el día de hoy. Vengo a exponer de manera objetiva e insesgada mi opinión de lo que es el juego. La nota que se verá reflejada la pondré cuando termine la review.

    Pasaré a exponer punto por punto:

    - Actriz de voz, Jennifer Hale:
    Hubo una polémica en este apartado.
    La anterior actriz de voz dio unos motivos de porque no participaría en esta saga, que le pagaban poco básicamente, y pidió boicot de la comunidad al juego. Conforme pasó el tiempo ella misma admitió, básicamente (aquí hay límites de caracteres) que mintió descaradamente.

    La comunidad se volcó en su contra, esta historia es importante saberla, ahora pasemos al juego en sí.

    La nueva actriz de voz tiene una voz idéntica, clavada, igualita la anterior, prácticamente es la misma voz. Sin embargo es muy distinto, el tono, el timbre de la voz, y eso se nota si has jugado mucho bayo 1 y 2, sobre todo en escenas de bayo 3 que parece otro personaje por un tono de voz que no tiene nada que ver con lo que ha sido históricamente el personaje de Bayonetta, mucho mucho menos "badass".

    - Apartado gráfico y diseño de niveles:
    Cualquier persona que haya jugado recientemente a bayonetta 2 y pasó a jugar bayonetta 3 ha notado un cambio artístico notable. Este cambio no ha estado exento de polémica, pues hay quien piensa que es un paso atrás mientras que a otros no les desagrada este nuevo apartado.

    Hay una cosa que es cierta, sin este cambio gráfico, probablemente, no podríamos haber disfrutado de zonas y diseños de niveles mas amplios respecto a los juegos anteriores. ¿Era necesario niveles con zonas mas grandes? Juzguen ustedes mismos, yo creo que no.

    El apartado gráfico, objetivamente, se ha visto mermado sobre todo en comparación con la anterior entrega, Bayonetta 2 y es fácil comprobarlo, solo una búsqueda en YouTube te dejará ver una caída en los detalles, detalles que al final, dan una notable mejor sensación de mejor acabado en su conjunto.

    - Combate y mecánicas:
    Sin duda, esta es la mayor mejora que ha tenido el juego. Pasamos a tener nuevas armas, nuevos combos, nuevos demonios y nuevas mecánicas. Sin embargo un paso atrás dado es que a diferencia de los juegos anteriores, no podemos alternar de armas entre bazo y pierna. Esto tiene un sentido ya que le han dado "personalidad" a las armas, aún así creo que se podría haber hecho sin temor a perder esta cualidad.

    Lo mejor de todo es la introducción del Demonio Esclavo. En Bayonetta 1 los demonios salían sólo para el climax, en el 2 con el Infinite Climax y el Climax, aquí puede salir cuando tu quieras en el combate, dando muchas posibilidades y alteraciones positivas en el mismo.

    -Historia:
    La historia me produce una extraña sensación, la sensación de una idea prometedora, interesante y en parte, continuista para la saga. Pero ha sido todo lo contrario, es una historia que, pese a tener cabida perfectamente en el universo de bayonetta no me parece la mejor ejecución. Hay momentos, escenas, espectaculares y únicas que hasta me pusieron los pelos de punta, sin embargo hay otras que son dignas de olvidar, y esto pasa sobre todo al final.

    Hay una frase que definiría una parte importante de mi indignación con este juego:"Yo pensé que compré bayonetta 3".Esta frase viene referida a que gran parte del juego no jugaremos con la protagonista. Algo que en algunos juegos, como en The last of Us es algo sorprendente y emocionante, en bayonetta 3 se sobreexplota de tal manera que ya no se si estoy jugando a bayonetta 3 o a otro juego. Mini juegos muy recurrentes para seguir la historia, innecesarios en mi opinión, a lo mejor no quiero jugar taaaanto a eso, a lo mejor lo que quiero es hacer combos.

    También, la obligación de usar a X personaje para este capítulo. Me parece perfecto que este personaje sea relevante y recomiendes jugarlo con él pues de ese va el capítulo, pero dame la opción de usar a la protagonista principal en batallas, a lo mejor no me gusta jugar con el otro personaje por sus mecánicas. En juegos como Bayonetta 1 y 2, en determinadas partes usabas a otro personaje, pero de manera aislada y casual, dando así el efecto wow de controlar a otro personaje a parte del principal. Aquí todo eso se desmorona. Pero no todo es un desastre, como he dicho hay escenas, que son muy alucinantes y que si le hubieran prestado mas atención en vez de hacer constantemente el efecto wow en todo, la historia hubiera transcurrido mucho mejor.

    También la introducción de nuevos personajes y habilidades a otros mas antiguos que no acabo de entender que pintan ahí después de dos juegos donde no se sospechaba nada, pero bueno, el problema sigue siendo el mismo, la idea buena. La ejecución, sin duda, no fue la mejor.

    -Mi nota objetiva es 6,5    … Expand
  20. giannis2001
    Nov 26, 2022
    7
    Bayonetta 3 had more potential by my opinion. I liked the game a lot but I found it's predecessor better. The game came out 10 years later and I don't see huge improvement. In fact there are some things that make the experience fall behind. First, personally I think Viola has terrible gameplay. Her combos feel very slow and the enemies on this game are too fast to actually clear one comboBayonetta 3 had more potential by my opinion. I liked the game a lot but I found it's predecessor better. The game came out 10 years later and I don't see huge improvement. In fact there are some things that make the experience fall behind. First, personally I think Viola has terrible gameplay. Her combos feel very slow and the enemies on this game are too fast to actually clear one combo with her. Also, witch time is difficult to activate, and even if you do, if your parry wasn't frame perfect, then the witch time lasts for less than 1 second. I don't have a problem with her character design in general but with her gameplay.

    Also, the game is harder than other Bayonetta's which ruins the point of hack and slash a little bit, and I didn't like the weapons that much as the last game. Performance isn't that good neither. However, getting to the good parts, the combat is perfect like every other game, and the new features like Demon's control make it more interesting in some cases. Harder to learn though. The character designs are vastly improved as well, and the new story - concept is the best in the series.

    In general, Bayonetta 3 is great but there are a lot of things they could make better to deliver a better experience.    … Expand
  21. Gremlinpirate
    Nov 19, 2022
    5
    I can't begin to state my disappointment in this game. Nothing felt right from the battle system to how the combos worked. This feels like a massive step back from 2. I really didn't enjoy the new gimmick in this entry. The story was also super weak. I did enjoy Viola as a character thought, I hope this is just a misstep in the future of this franchise.
  22. AeternaInsomnia
    Nov 3, 2022
    7
    It's a good game, just not a great game like Bayo 1 and Bayo 2. There's alot done right, and alot done wrong. Story being the worst, while combat reimagining being best.

    Definitely the weakest in the trilogy, but still good.
  23. GamergodsFail
    Nov 18, 2022
    5
    Bayonetta is unfortunately a series descending in quality, with 1 being the best and this one BY FAR the worst. It's mainly due in part of a very boring and unoriginal "multiverse" story, some bad framerate and camera issues, as well as some very infuriatingly bad level design. Combat-wise, it's still a decent action game, and Jennifer Hale does her part of the new main voice well enough.Bayonetta is unfortunately a series descending in quality, with 1 being the best and this one BY FAR the worst. It's mainly due in part of a very boring and unoriginal "multiverse" story, some bad framerate and camera issues, as well as some very infuriatingly bad level design. Combat-wise, it's still a decent action game, and Jennifer Hale does her part of the new main voice well enough. I do like most of the inferno demon summons that add even more and variety and spice to the combat, but there are times where it's just a cool gimmick that doesn't stick the landing. In between all the story and verses are these drawn out, open-ended areas that serve you nothing but frustrating trial-and-error platform challenges that very often they go feeling unrewarded. This may personally be my biggest disappointment of the year. I tried so hard to like it. I just can't.… Expand
  24. Spassbremse
    Nov 18, 2022
    5
    Easily the most ambitious game in the series, it unfortunately lacks the focus of the previous games, which let's the whole affair down. The Bayonetta segments of the game are terrific, but the campaign is split into three character campaigns: Bayonetta, Viola, and Jeanne. The other two characters' sections are boring, tedious or both. The game is fun some of the time, just not all theEasily the most ambitious game in the series, it unfortunately lacks the focus of the previous games, which let's the whole affair down. The Bayonetta segments of the game are terrific, but the campaign is split into three character campaigns: Bayonetta, Viola, and Jeanne. The other two characters' sections are boring, tedious or both. The game is fun some of the time, just not all the time, and the unfun bits are far too frequent and debilitating. I still think Bayo 2 is the strongest entry in the series.… Expand
  25. bulborbplushie
    Nov 15, 2022
    7
    Good but its easily the weakest of all the bayo games, alot of the unique creative ideas arent all too expanded on but its still quite a blast, hope bayo 4 is better
  26. LinkByte
    Nov 15, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Em 2020 eu comecei um canal no youtube e bayonetta se tornou um dos principais assuntos que abordo nele, sendo até o único canal brasileiro focado nela. A espera pro terceiro jogo estava grande e posso dizer que em certos sentidos o terceiro jogo foi muito superior aos antecessores, mas que nos quesitos ruins ele também se destacou muito. Pra começar, vamos aos acertos do jogo:

    O combate certamente é o melhor de toda a saga é fluído e bonito. A exploração é divertida principalmente quando usamos o demon masquarede ou as habilidades dos demônios. O demon slave foi o grande acerto do terceiro título, controlar nossos parceiros infernais que eram meros artifícios de finalizar inimigos torna o jogo diverso e mais interessante, cada um tem sua habilidade única, tornando as lutas criativas. As fases com Jeanne são um respiro de criatividade e diversão. As novas armas são interessantes e muito bem desenhadas. o design do excelente departamento de arte da platinum continua no terceiro game e sem demonstrar sinais de ociosidade ou cansaço. Bayonetta interagindo com suas variantes é um ponto alto da história. Viola é uma excelente nova personagem. A árvore de habilidades. Excelentes momentos de ação. E claro, a trilha sonora, está impecável!

    Agora onde o jogo peca: uma câmera terrível e sofrível, que consegue em certos momentos ser pior que a do primeiro jogo. Não podemos mais customizar armas nas mãos e pernas de maneira separada, sendo que isso era um identidade da franquia. Quedas de resolução e fps que deixam o jogo com qualidade gráfica por vezes inferior aos 2 anteriores. Existem bugs de hitbox que não eram pra estar em um título que levou 8 anos pra ser desenvolvido. A gameplay da viola não é tão divertida quanto a de Bayonetta ou até de Jeanne. Esse jogo tem a história mais mal escrita de toda a saga, cheio de furos e contradições. Singularity é o pior antagonista da saga. Existem muitas áreas grande sem absolutamente nada a se fazer. Alguns acessórios quebram a gameplay, por exemplo um impede que seus demônios entrem em rage mesmo sofrendo grande danos, permitindo assim você usa-los a vontade sem sofrer consequências. Por vezes temos fases secretas pouco inspiradas.

    Minha nota pra esse novo game da nossa querida bruxa é 7.5, poderia ser muito mais se certas ideias tivessem um desenvolvimento melhor. Se realmente você for um grande fã compensa comprar pelo preço cheio, se estiver afim de conhecer a saga, os 2 primeiros games são uma pedida melhor.    … Expand
  27. Havharo
    Nov 14, 2022
    7
    I loved previous Platinum games but in this one… there’s just too many “mini games”. Large and rather uninteresting areas to explore are not in my interest either. The combat itself is fun, I just can’t feel the “punch” of it so to speak… enemies are uninspiring to be honest. Tried really hard to love this game, but I’m really surprised by all the 10/10 reviews and high scores from theI loved previous Platinum games but in this one… there’s just too many “mini games”. Large and rather uninteresting areas to explore are not in my interest either. The combat itself is fun, I just can’t feel the “punch” of it so to speak… enemies are uninspiring to be honest. Tried really hard to love this game, but I’m really surprised by all the 10/10 reviews and high scores from the critics. I mean, some parts of this game can be really clunky and uninteresting.… Expand
  28. suprememan26
    Nov 13, 2022
    5
    Very nice Game, it feels like old ones but wey some new things that help to enjoy it
  29. dacca
    Nov 13, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mais uma vez a Platinum cagando em algum aspecto do jogo. Performance lamentável e gráficos datados em comparação a outros jogos presente no switch.… Expand
  30. Omar86
    Nov 7, 2022
    6
    Third times the charm amazing game great combat awesome . Unfortunately it’s held back the switches old hardware almost unplayable
  31. RowanBlack
    Nov 6, 2022
    6
    By the end of my play through I was feeling underwhelmed by the experience. What started as flashy and over the top felt more mundane by the end. For a game based so much on style and looks it really needed an upgrade in graphics. The levels looked dull and the character models while nice felt very old and dated. The switch just doesn't have the power to show off what this game.By the end of my play through I was feeling underwhelmed by the experience. What started as flashy and over the top felt more mundane by the end. For a game based so much on style and looks it really needed an upgrade in graphics. The levels looked dull and the character models while nice felt very old and dated. The switch just doesn't have the power to show off what this game. Nothing about the game is broken but by the end of the month I might forget I played it.… Expand
  32. Dyskord
    Nov 6, 2022
    7
    - Gameplay 8/10
    - Graphics 8/10
    - Performance 8/10
    - Music 10/10
    - Story 6/10
    - Re-playability 6/10
    - Value 8/10

    - Overall Score 7/10
  33. walber33
    Nov 5, 2022
    7
    Eu tinha grandes expectativas pra esse jogo e acabei me decepcionando com algumas coisas, principalmente o foco em summons, a retirada da opção de equipar armas nos pés e/ou mãos e a performance. Apesar disso o jogo ainda é bom e o mais bonito da serie.
  34. Xplocion
    Nov 4, 2022
    7
    The good:
    The game announced in 2019 is finally out. Enemies and giant bosses
    The bad: It was made to wait and it is not up to the task. The enemies are not the most inspired. The story, although it is broad, is not interesting and they focus on multiversal conflicts that, although interesting, denote that it is another game, it feels more like Transformers: Devastation or Legend of    The good:
    The game announced in 2019 is finally out. Enemies and giant bosses

    The bad:
    It was made to wait and it is not up to the task. The enemies are not the most inspired. The story, although it is broad, is not interesting and they focus on multiversal conflicts that, although interesting, denote that it is another game, it feels more like Transformers: Devastation or Legend of Korra. The mechanics of abusing the giant beasts feel like Power Rangers chapters where the only thing that eliminates the bad guy in turn is summoning the Zords

    The meh!
    The thing about Bayonetta commanding his beast is reminiscent of Katy Perry at the Super Bowl on a giant Zord-like metal lion. In previous Bayonetta games, costumes associated with weapons were used that made Bayonetta look different (samurai, Chinese doll, ice skater...) without stretching the tired cliché of the multiverses. Games like Bayonetta 1 or Transformer Devastation teach as if confrontations with giant bosses should be done, in this game those resources are not used and they move the camera away making the characters tiny    … Expand
  35. skullketsu
    Nov 2, 2022
    7
    Bayonetta 3's stories crushed my hopes and dreams. It falls into a bland formula in the beginning, and gets even worse at the end, leaving me with more questions than answers. If this game was only story, I would probably give it a 3, but thankfully, the gameplay is absolutely stellar as per usual. Although I do think that demon masquerade is a bit of a downgrade compared to the simplerBayonetta 3's stories crushed my hopes and dreams. It falls into a bland formula in the beginning, and gets even worse at the end, leaving me with more questions than answers. If this game was only story, I would probably give it a 3, but thankfully, the gameplay is absolutely stellar as per usual. Although I do think that demon masquerade is a bit of a downgrade compared to the simpler mechanics of the first two games, combos are extremely fun and demon slave is perfect. Viola's style is personally not one I like, but I can see why others enjoy her. I also think everything is much clearer in the game, like Rodin's shop, accessories, umbran tears of blood, unlocking new skills--its all made much simpler and is also much cheaper, thankfully. I also have a hand full of nitpicks, like how the demon riding sections feel clunky, lack of costumes aside from the other bayonettas you meet, torture attacks being less satisfying to execute, no separate feet weapons, some levels not being distinct enough, etc., but none of that takes away from how fun the game can be. If you love hack and slashes, this is definitely a game you should play!! However, if you're a diehard Bayonetta fan, be prepared for a much weaker story than previous entries. I think Bayonetta 1 and 2 are much better games both story and (to an extent) gameplay wise, but I still recommend the game.… Expand
  36. onemorelevel_1
    Nov 2, 2022
    7
    FINALE TO THE TRILOGY
    Bayonetta 3 takes place in multiple places in Multiverse. It’s little bit difficult to explain, but Bayonetta is bumped into a girl named Viola, whos coming from another dimension to warn Bayonetta and ask for her help. An entity known as Singularity unleashes the Homunculi throughout the multiverse in an attempt to destroy each world without it. In the aim to create    FINALE TO THE TRILOGY
    Bayonetta 3 takes place in multiple places in Multiverse. It’s little bit difficult to explain, but Bayonetta is bumped into a girl named Viola, whos coming from another dimension to warn Bayonetta and ask for her help. An entity known as Singularity unleashes the Homunculi throughout the multiverse in an attempt to destroy each world without it. In the aim to create an Alphaverse. So, Bayonetta has to go other realms to collect five Chaos Gears. In these other realms, or realities, she comes across other Bayonettas which she also gets a new Demons, that are used in battles.

    What comes to the gameplay and battle, the game is little bit different. In the past two other Bayonetta games, you can summon Demons to help you in the battle, but in Bayonetta 3, player can now fully control them. The battle system is otherwise pretty much the same than before. You can fight using Bayonetta and her over-the-top fighting system or you can summon Demons. The only thing is that Bayonetta has to dance to keep the summoning up, if she got hit, the summoning stops. There’s also a magic meter that runs out eventually and it need to be charged to summon again.

    There’s other characters that can be played as, which are Viola and Jeanne. Controlling Viola the fighting is little bit different, because Viola can enter slow-motion called Witch Time only parrying attacks, when Bayonetta can do it only by dodgin attacks. This sudden change middle of gameplay can feel quite jarring and personally I didn’t learn the parrying very well.

    There’s also other gameplay modes; when playing Jeanne and with the Demons. In Jeanne’s gameplay it is sideway scrolling, which I hated. Jeanne has to do sneaking in a facility and get through the area with time-limit. I hate time-limits!!

    The huge Demon fights (kaiju) happens couple times in the game. It’s like some slow-motion Street Fighter between two monsters. It was a nice addition to the main gameplay, but it didn’t feel as spectacular as it could’ve.

    Even though it might sound that Bayonetta 3 has lots of different gameplay modes, but it fells short. I think Bayonetta 1 and 2 has more over-the-top action happening. This didn’t feel as “crazy” as the other games.

    What I loved in the two other games was the music. Bayonetta never let me down with the music aspect, expect in this one. Bayonetta 3 didn’t have the same kind of impact in music and I was so disappointed about it. I had waited to add new Bayonetta music into my music library, but sadly there’s nothing to add.

    Graphically the games looks terrible. I think it’s not the developer’s fault, it is Nintendo’s, because Nintendo Switch is over 10 year old mobile technology. This game could easily be on PS3 console, in fact, it doesn’t look much different than the first Bayonetta game, that game out in 2009.

    The game had some puzzles here and there. The developer didn’t seem to put much of effort to them, since they were kinda easy to solve, except one which I had to seek help online.

    As you probably know the voice-actor-fiasco that Bayonetta 3 had just before the launch, I must say, I didn’t even notice that the Bayonetta voice actor was different. It was voiced by legendary Jennifer Hale, who has done lots of video game actings.

    THE FINAL VERDICT
    Bayonetta 3 kinda let me down. It didn’t feel as over-the-top-insane-action as the other two games did. It had its nice moments with the story and few twists here and there. The final twist the game had in the end I did already saw coming. The gameplay was tried to kept fresh by adding new characters to play, but the gameplay fell short and was uninterested. Even the music was a huge let down. Bayonetta 3 was about 10 hours long and it has lots of collectables and some replay-value.    … Expand
  37. BlackSp1der
    Nov 1, 2022
    6
    The graphic quality of the game is disappointing, perhaps the problem is that the switch hardware can no longer handle games that should be released on more powerful consoles.
  38. ImperialMarch
    Nov 1, 2022
    6
    Very stylish and overall nice game. However, clunky control is on some of Demon slaves movement and in walkthrough mini games. I don't know why Platinum likes mini games this much.
    Also terrible POV in battle is not easy to overcome and makes hard you get Pure Platinum grade.
    Awful graphic and framerate are because of limited performance of Switch too. IMO, Bayonetta 2 is all time best    Very stylish and overall nice game. However, clunky control is on some of Demon slaves movement and in walkthrough mini games. I don't know why Platinum likes mini games this much.
    Also terrible POV in battle is not easy to overcome and makes hard you get Pure Platinum grade.
    Awful graphic and framerate are because of limited performance of Switch too.
    IMO, Bayonetta 2 is all time best of the series, 1 is next, and 3 is last position.    … Expand
  39. MetalAd
    Oct 31, 2022
    6
    A game with great potential ultimately brought down by weird design choices. First off, the prologue is very well done and the combat is as great as ever. Weapons are all fun to use while still playing differently and the new demon puppet gimmick is also pretty fun if used correctly. Speaking of, that really seems to be the thing for this game: gimmicks. Bayonetta 3 is basically the ProzDA game with great potential ultimately brought down by weird design choices. First off, the prologue is very well done and the combat is as great as ever. Weapons are all fun to use while still playing differently and the new demon puppet gimmick is also pretty fun if used correctly. Speaking of, that really seems to be the thing for this game: gimmicks. Bayonetta 3 is basically the ProzD skit about too many game mechanics. Boss battles completely lack the fun and creativity of the first game (it doesn’t help that the enemy design is completely boring and forgettable). A whole chapter dedicated solely to a massive multi phase boss battle? Nah, those days are gone. Here’s a standard enemy with a bigger HP bar and some mini game at the end. Rock-paper-scissors, holding a target over the enemy or spamming a single button until the enemy is gone. None of those are actually fun. Neither are the 2D levels as Jeanne, but at least those are short. However, by far the worst gimmick is Viola.
    Where do I even start? Viola is probably the worst playable character I have seen in many years. Imagine 2013 DmC Donte except ten times worse. She looks like a clown, acts like a clown and plays like the Walmart version of Raiden from MGR. Even her voice acting performance is pretty lackluster (apparently she’s voiced by some influencer in the English dub, which kinda figures). Being forced to play as her feels like some form of punishment for enjoying the Bayonetta levels too much. Her gameplay lacks the variety that Bayo has, she feels stiff and awkward and her counter move is really weird to pull of. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Not that it actually matters because you can’t use it anyway when you summon Cheshire, which is what you need to do if you actually want to do some damage. Then there is also the smart decision to have the block button also do a homing-in-move, in other words if you are unlucky instead of blocking you are diving right into the enemy attack. Great design choice. Even her role in the story is completely irrelevant. All she does is telling Bayo and Jeanne what to do at the beginning and that’s about it. You could write her completely out of the story and nothing would change, in fact it would only improve things. It’s obvious that PG didn’t really put too much thought into her and her sole purpose is to attract the western Gen-Z audience that majors in gender studies and gets offended over everything. The questionable naïve angel mode is just further proof of that. That kind of westernization of Japanese games was very common in the PS360 days and killed many beloved franchises (Ninja Gaiden, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil to only name a few). Bayonetta didn’t fall quite as hard as those; you can still have fun if the game lets you. However, this is the first game in the franchise where I’m not trying to go for completion and it’s also the first time I’m not looking forward to a potential sequel, especially after that terrible, terrible ending.    … Expand
  40. airmaverick
    Oct 30, 2022
    7
    Bayonetta 3 is a non-stop action thrill ride that is unfortunately lacking in the core action game play that is fundamental to the genre.

    Yes the graphics look like they are from an older generation, however it is an accomplishment that the game runs this well and loads this fast on the Nintendo Switch hardware at all. Characters are animated well and look good moving about and the    Bayonetta 3 is a non-stop action thrill ride that is unfortunately lacking in the core action game play that is fundamental to the genre.

    Yes the graphics look like they are from an older generation, however it is an accomplishment that the game runs this well and loads this fast on the Nintendo Switch hardware at all. Characters are animated well and look good moving about and the set-pieces and non-stop action truly feels epic. Story is the usual over the top non-nonsensical fun.

    Unfortunately the gameplay loop has devolved into - spam dodge for witch time, throw out a demon, wait till your magic runs out, spam dodge for witch time, charge up magic and repeat. Spam heal items in as required.

    Most enemy types have been created around the new demon summon mechanic and there are no enemies designed to utilize Bayonetta's actual fighting combos. Gone is the fun of countering specific enemy types and stringing together huge combos by mastering the move sets.

    Another annoyance is the over reliance on too many QTEs, mini games and gimmick boss fights that you never actually get use any of Bayonetta's huge combo arsenal against well designed close quarter enemies. Every time you start to enjoy the fighting, it is interrupted by one of these strange events.

    End game content for this type of game usually involves unlocking everything and then aiming for platinum medals on the hardest difficulty. However, this time around I have no interest to even try.

    As interactive entertainment it's fun and I enjoyed my play time. However I feel no need to replay it again.    … Expand
  41. r0mer0
    Oct 30, 2022
    5
    Reducing frame rate and resolution in a game designed exclusively for a single platform with known hardware is inexcusable.
  42. OutlawTX
    Oct 30, 2022
    6
    I absolutely love Bayonetta 1&2 and own them on multiple systems. Both were spectacularly over the top spectacles that were fun and campy yet stylish and sexy bound together with near perfect combat. First and foremost the combat just seems off in 3. It doesn’t feel as fluid as its predecessors. Also, I’ve noticed that the camera seems to always be in the wrong place for being able to seeI absolutely love Bayonetta 1&2 and own them on multiple systems. Both were spectacularly over the top spectacles that were fun and campy yet stylish and sexy bound together with near perfect combat. First and foremost the combat just seems off in 3. It doesn’t feel as fluid as its predecessors. Also, I’ve noticed that the camera seems to always be in the wrong place for being able to see attacks, making the perfect dodge move incredibly frustrating. The combos just don’t seem to have the punch that they once did. It seems like the demon summoning makes the actual fun, fluid combat take a back seat while you lumber around controlling the big slow, dopey demons. And my God, that stupid hurtling through Tokyo on the dragon level was sooo bad. So annoyingly stupid. What really doesn’t help the game is the Switch’s capabilities. Grainy resolution with PS3 era graphics. The other thing that’s off are the characters faces. There’s times that they look fantastic but far too often they just look off and kind of weird. I wanted to love this game and was so excited for it but I’m incredibly disappointed. It feels like a less capable developer tried to make a Bayonetta game. I don’t even know if I’ll finish it.… Expand
  43. W_Balg
    Oct 30, 2022
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A mediocre action game at best without the charm of the first two Bayonetta games. Platinum wanted to reinvent the wheel when all the wheel needed was a few improvements. They also developed a Switch exclusive the scope of which (at least in theory) far surpasses the capabilities of this really dated hardware.

    This is the first game that actually made me want to post a review on Metacritic because the overall positive reception of Bayonetta 3 really baffles me and I think it's not justified at all.
    First of, one of the big new mechanics: Demon Slave. On paper, this sounds really cool, and it actually gives you more tools to work with to mix up your combo game. What's not cool is, in order to accommodate this new mechanic, most areas had to be made way too large and the camera is almost always zoomed out, taking the focus away from the player character. Combine this with the reduced and blurry environment visuals (because the Switch is just not able to handle the scope of Demon Slave) and you get a game that looks like a blurry mess almost all of the time.
    Being able to swap between two different weapons (even mid-combo) is nice, but it's nowhere near as unique as being able to assign different weapons to hands and feet in the first two games.
    Demon Masquerade is ok, it's basically Beast/Crow within with a bit more variety that's tied to the weapon Bayonetta is currently using. This is one of few new additions that I think is beneficial for the gameplay.
    The action is constantly being broken up either by cutscenes or gimmicky verses that don't have much to do with the actual combo-heavy beat-em-up action which is supposed to be the meat of a Bayonetta game. These sections also look completely unimpressive (not even on par with Bayonetta 2 visuals) thanks to the fact that Kamiya basically decided to disregard the capabilites of the hardware he was developing for. I personally already had a problem with gimmicky sections in the first two games and I was hoping that Platinum would mostly do away with these and would focus even more on the combat in this game. Unfortunately that's not the case.
    The combat itself also feels somewhat worse than in Bayonetta 1 and 2, which is mostly due to the large „arena“ fights. Due to the fact that the camera is always zoomed out, you can't always tell what the smaller enemies are actually doing and the bigger ones can easily hit you when they're off screen. New enemies are quite bland, both mechanically and visually, and their colour scheme blends in way too much with the environment. Even returning enemies from the first two games feel off and their models look worse. Even then, there were times when I was thinking, „ok, this game might not be that bad after all“ only for the action to be interrupted by another demon-riding section, some other gimmick or an uninteresting/visually unimpressive cutscene.

    Bayonetta as a character also feels watered down and too tame compared to the previous entries, and I really don't care about the fact that this is a different version of Bayonetta. She is less fun, tongue-in-cheek and overall less „badass“.
    The story was never the strong point in a Bayonetta game, but this one is even more uninteresting and just rides the multiverse bandwagon that seems to be all the rage in popular fiction these days. The ending is basically „rocks fall, everybody dies“. I'd only recommend this game to the most hardcore Bayonetta fans and I think even some of those fans would be disappointed with at least some aspects of this game.    … Expand
  44. LeonGehste
    Oct 29, 2022
    7
    Been a fan of Bayonetta since the first game came out back on the PS3/Xbox 360 and was excited when a 3rd was announced. The gameplay and battle system of the game is one of the best things of the game along with certain Boss fights, I won't say to avoid spoiling anyone. The story in my opinion is OK at best, the first half was good then it kinda started losing itself at a certain point.Been a fan of Bayonetta since the first game came out back on the PS3/Xbox 360 and was excited when a 3rd was announced. The gameplay and battle system of the game is one of the best things of the game along with certain Boss fights, I won't say to avoid spoiling anyone. The story in my opinion is OK at best, the first half was good then it kinda started losing itself at a certain point. Lot of seriousness at parts and silliness as well. Overall i enjoyed what I played but i do have some worry about the future for the series.… Expand
  45. luffyahay
    Oct 29, 2022
    5
    The gameplay is one of the best i ever played if not the best. I am a big devil may cry fan so i do prefer DMC5 but dude this game is absolutly amazing gameplay wise. But that is just wasted bcs of the bad graphics and effects. The game gameplay would improve with better more clear effects and graphics. I love it but It needs a pc release pushing the graphics to what games today look like.The gameplay is one of the best i ever played if not the best. I am a big devil may cry fan so i do prefer DMC5 but dude this game is absolutly amazing gameplay wise. But that is just wasted bcs of the bad graphics and effects. The game gameplay would improve with better more clear effects and graphics. I love it but It needs a pc release pushing the graphics to what games today look like. it would make this game compete with Elden ring for game of the year. RIght now no game has a chance against elden ring and no game coming seems to have a chance. I had hope for bayonetta but it is not it without the graphics. Lastly for anyone who reads my review and says god of war. Dude that game has no chance. god of war 2018 had **** bosses and no challenge at all for a combat heavy game so it did not deserve it that year and not this year either… Expand
  46. Laki191
    Oct 29, 2022
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is the worst in the series, the combat is not as fluid as in 2 and 1, hits have way less inpact in this one, some enemy desgine are great other not so much, overall a let down, demon slave mechanic is the one of the worst things, enemys shield so you are forced to use it, the new weapons are boring, the only thing ok was the yoyo, the constant transforming into madam butterfly and other demons is hella stupid, no clothes are coming off this time only in demon slave form, Bayonetta herself is just a shadow of her former self shes just a different character lost almost all sex appeal she had going for her, viola and luka feel forced, kamiya himself said she has nothing for him only teasing,
    This has really the worst story, it kinda negelects the events happening in 1 and 2
    jeanne is unplayable, costumes are boring, nothing really feels great in this game it lost alot of uniquness is had, the art in bayo 1 and 2 was a lot better also and the models, hashimoto carried both game with it, this one is made withouthim so i guess thats it    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Best Switch Game of 2022
6
#6 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2022
1
#1 Most Shared Switch Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 125 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 110 out of 125
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 125
  3. Negative: 0 out of 125
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 24, 2024
    80
    It's just still an overblown, entertainingly inappropriate, B-grade, sexist action ride that doesn't let anything tie it down or control it. [Issue#324]
  2. Het Nieuwsblad
    Jul 31, 2023
    80
    Bayonetta 3 excels in over-the-top madness. In the best possible way. But the story with wacky characters across parallel universes, is just the canvas for the real highlight of Bayonetta 3: the action. The titular witch's lightning-fast attacks are complemented her own magical powers, but you can now also temporarily take control of several enormous creatures, the "Demon Slaves”.
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  3. Starbit
    Feb 7, 2023
    90
    Bayonetta is back and the long-awaited third game not only builds up on the excellent formula of games past, it goes one step forward and adds new protagonists, experiments with elements of other genres, improves on its plot structure, and allows all kinds of players to enjoy it, creating an experience that's both familiar and fresh, as well as accessible, thrilling, gorgeous, and enveloping. Bayonetta 3 is a fantastic addition to the Nintendo Switch catalogue and it deserves to be on everyone's collection.
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