Created by the same minds responsible for hits such as Resident Evil and Devil May Cry, Bayonetta is a distinctly Japanese flavoured action game. Everything from the polarizing main character to the fast and frantic combat system shows a game imbued with Japanese sensibilities through and through. However, at its core lies a beautifully balanced and incredibly deep combat system that is as much fun to play as it is to watch in action.

Bayonetta takes place in a world where women rule, a world where a fragile balance was kept intact by two clans of Witches, however after a transgression shatters the fragile alliance the Witches become victims of a Witch hunt and are wiped out, all but one – Bayonetta.

The story in Bayonetta feels campy, is nonsensical and almost impossible to follow, the basic premise is established in the opening cutscene and beyond that the story serves as a thinly veiled excuse to get a few scantily clad well-endowed women and anthropomorphic Angels to fight each other.

While the majority of it is forgettable Bayonetta as a main character is undeniably difficult to forget, her portrayal as overtly sexy is interesting for it’s ‘open to interpretation’ nature, on the one hand it comes across as recklessly offensive objectification but on the other it seems as if she is designed as a character for female empowerment, she’s powerful, unstoppable and revels in her beauty and the attention it gets, it’s an interesting and unexpected quandary.

One of the games strongest features is the presentation, style and flash are the main concern in this game, there’s an unrelenting dedication to presentation that gives the game a unique identity, the J-pop battle music and cheesy pop/Jazz soundtrack which includes a simultaneously annoying and catchy reappropriation of ‘Fly me to the Moon’, the visual flourishes such as Bayonetta’s shadow being a butterfly, the fact that little Butterflies erupt from her feet when she jumps or the large-scale epic battles that take place on walls, ceilings, pieces of falling buildings or an exploding aircraft all contribute to it’s unique style. On occasion this comes at the detriment of the gameplay experience, on numerous occasions cinematic camera angles have made simple battles unnecessarily hard but luckily there’s a forgiving checkpoint system which makes it painlessly quick and easy to jump back into the action.

While the combat mechanics in Bayonetta feel comfortably familiar it has one small difference, as if to perpetuate the strong female main character theme Bayonetta’s fighting style is pure offense, her one defensive move serves as a tool to instantly put her in a better offensive position, pressing the dodge button just as an attack is about to hit Bayonetta activates ‘Witch Time’, slowing down all enemies, exposing weaknesses and neutralising any defensive properties enemies have, this serves as a perfect chance to deal some major damage using her substantial attack repertoire, those familiar enough with the combos and quick enough to hit the precise timing required can unleash a devastating barrage of attacks wiping out numerous waves of enemies in one smooth chain.

This mechanic gives the combat a hypnotic flow to it whether you’re playing at a basic or advanced level, the slowed time mechanic makes the timing less strict which means the advanced combos are easier to pull off and incredibly satisfying to watch.

Beating boss characters often yield rewards such as new weapons, since Bayonetta is able to use weapons in her hands and her feet weapons can be used in pairs, each different pairing opens up a new move-set for use in combat, this gives the game incredible depth and also allows players to pick weapons more in tune with their play style. While the ability to quickly switch between two weapon pairings will likely be a concept lost on most players those with the inclination to learn the different moves will appreciate the almost overwhelming combat opportunities this provides.

While Bayonetta refines the combat mechanic it still suffers from the same shortcomings as other games of the same ilk. The most notable of these is the camera which requires far too much babysitting, since combat is so frantic and fast the camera often has trouble either keeping up or placing itself in a good position, this means that often manual adjustment is required, which is a shame since it detracts from the overall cinematic combat experience.

Another issue is the boss repetition crutch that these types of action games regularly lean on, the various boss characters show up numerous times throughout the game, although it is impressive that eventually these bosses start showing up as normal grunt level enemies it still doesn’t change the fact that they’re the same enemy over and over, it suggests laziness on the designers part.

It’s hard not to recommend Bayonetta, even to the type of person this genre wouldn’t usually appeal to. It has an overwhelmingly strange but unique aesthetic style, a main character that you probably won’t forget for a while and is held together by a refined combat system that is approachable and extremely satisfying on both a gameplay and visual level.

Tamoor Hussain