Bayonetta 3 (for Nintendo Switch) Review (2024)

Bayonetta 3 has some big high heels to fill. Not only is it a sequel to one of the best action games ever made, but there wasn't a peep about its progress after developer PlatinumGames revealed the title way back in 2017. We worried that the team may have struggled to figure out how to end the trilogy in the spectacular fashion it deserves.

Our worry was misplaced. Bayonetta 3 is exceptional, not simply a linear improvement over its already remarkable predecessors, but a new game full of creative, madcap, and surprisingly touching revamped takes on its gameplay and world. It throws so much against the wall and still manages to refine the vast majority of what sticks. This Nintendo Switch exclusive ($59.99) won't disappoint series fans looking for thrilling, supernatural battles. Bayonetta 3 is an Editors’ Choice winner, and one of the best games of the year.

(Credit: Nintendo)

Every Witch, Everywhere, All at Once

Bayonetta as a series understands better than most that story should serve gameplay rather than the other way around. The ridiculous cutscenes—equal parts action movie and anime gags—get you pumped for the ridiculous fighting. Still, Bayonetta 3 has a story that PlatinumGames wants you to care about, especially if you’ve followed the series from the beginning.

Taking a page from recent multiverse epics, such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Everything Everywhere All At Once, Bayonetta 3 finds the titular witch facing foes that threaten not just her reality, with its warring angels and demons, but other universes, as well. She’ll team up with her colorful variants (now all voiced by Jennifer Hale following what seems to be a contentious breakup with previous voice actor Hellena Taylor).

Things get exponentially wilder from there before things escalate into a truly wild finale, an ending that dares you to ask yourself if you would ever cry over a video game where a lady sticks her middle finger into her motorcycle’s ignition like a key to rev up the engine. If you’re a newcomer, don’t worry. The story makes so few references to previous events that it’ll make about as much sense either way.If you were uncomfortable with the nudity in past games, now you can choose to censor it.

(Credit: Nintendo)

Ladykiller

As one of developer PlatinumGames' earliest titles, the original Bayonetta dazzled audiences upon its 2009 release. Sure, larger-than-life director Hideki Kamiya practically invented this style of stylish action game with the Devil May Cry series, but Bayonetta polished them to a blinding sheen. Somehow, 2014's Bayonetta 2 was even better. If you missed that non-stop thrill ride on Wii U, the Switch version remains a perfect, flawless diamond of an action game.

Bayonetta is the 3D descendent of classic beat ‘em ups. The genre tasks you with assaulting enemy hordes as slickly and as quickly as possible by mastering complex fighting systems. Whereas God of War and Nioh opt for weighty, methodical, and (relatively) realistic combat, Bayonetta 3 retains the high-flying, anime-style combos PlatinumGames fans know and love. Bayonetta’s erotic, athletic acrobatics are bloody poetry in motion. There’s plenty of depth, but the combat is easier to understand than more niche PlatinumGames mechanics, such as Astral Chain’s tethered weapons and The Wonderful 101’s crowd-control abilities.

As a longtime series fan, I picked up Bayonetta 3 without issue. Within seconds, I was punching, kicking, jumping, shooting, and utilizing Witch Time (a time freeze that occurs when you bust out a perfect dodge, so you can wallop foes). In previous games, that’s all you really needed. The relentless pace, especially in Bayonetta 2, meant the challenge came from just keeping up. You could experiment with the combat if you wanted, but there’s nothing wrong with keeping things straightforward. However, Bayonetta 3 soon reveals a slightly different set of priorities.

Previously, Bayonetta summoned massive demons out of her infernal hair vortex for wonderfully over-the-top quick time events. Now, you have far greater control over using the demons in battle. The result is spectacularly creative combat, one that lets you mix and match multiple elements to suit your playstyle. It’s the perfect combination of Bayonetta’s raw, technical craft and Hades’ addictive experimentation. Let’s break it down.

(Credit: Nintendo)

Make My Monster Grow

You can no longer equip separate weapons to your hands and feet. Instead, weapons now come with corresponding Demon Masquerade combos, which change the monstrous limbs that appear as you strike (and they even alter your running animation). For example, you can equip guns, deadly yo-yos, and a chainsaw that shoots smaller chainsaws. In addition, you can swap between two sets on the fly, such as a light weapon and one better suited for heavy blows.

An even bigger innovation, literally, is that you can now manually guide the gigantic demons you conjure. Using the Demon Slave power, you initiate an impromptu kaiju battle in open spaces to deliver massive damage. Giant woman Madama Butterfly dishes out Virtua Fighter-style martial arts, while Wartrain Gouon is a phantom choo-choo train that plows through foes once you draw a track on the battlefield. Demon Slaves have their own skill tree, so you can unlock moves for them separate from Bayonetta’s weapons.

Demon use requires a satisfying amount of strategy due to how they burn your magic meter, slowly attack, and leave Bayonetta vulnerable. You can take three demons into battle, but they temporarily die if they take too much damage. That makes the system more interesting than the linear power boost you got from Bayonetta 2’s Umbran Climax mechanic. Softening up foes with Bayonetta’s speedy normal attacks before finishing enemies with a final, demonic blow never got old. A well-timed button press at the end of a combo even causes a demon to make a surprise sneak attack for free. It makes me wonder if this is what Scalebound was supposed to be before Microsoft pulled out and Platinum canceled it.

All of these combat options, how different they can be and how well they synergize with each other, prove that the series still has new ways to surprise and delight. The somewhat lumbering nature of Demon Slaves somewhat scales back the battle pacing, but it’s also a nice contrast to Bayonetta’s blazing speed. Despite the many systems to track, I never became overwhelmed; the mechanics make sense and flow into each other. Unlike Doom Eternal, Bayonetta 3's extra complications enrich the experience instead of spoiling the previous purity. Bayonetta 3 drops Bayonetta 2’s multiplayer score attack mode, but that’s no huge loss. You can share scores to online leaderboards.

Bayonetta 3 even introduces an entirely new playable character, Viola, with her own unique playstyle. Like a genderswapped cross between Vergil from Devil May Cry and Trunks and Dragon Ball Z, Viola is a punk rock youth who fights with a sword and darts. Instead of dodging to trigger Witch Time, Viola parries attacks to freeze time. She can also summon a single demon, a giant cat, who autonomously attacks while Viola switches to her fists. Lacking Bayonetta’s customization options, Viola is a simpler character to understand but a more technical one to master. She adds another fresh ingredient to the game’s delectable stew.

(Credit: Nintendo)

Big Hair, Don't Care

You’ll spend most of your Bayonetta 3 time fighting, but the game also offers plenty of exciting moments between battles. In many ways, this is the most I’ve ever felt Nintendo’s game design philosophy influence a Bayonetta game. The creators constantly throw new gameplay nuggets at you, similar to Super Mario 3D World.

One appropriately ridiculous set piece features Bayonetta riding a demon across collapsing train tracks and twisting skyscrapers. It was like a scene from Inception, and it culminated in a climactic quick-time event and cheeky one-liner from Bayonetta. A later boss battle, for reasons I won’t spoil, gave me Cho Aniki vibes. You’ll occasionally use Demon Slaves to solve environmental puzzles, like using a giant bird to spin fans with gusts of wind. Heck, Bayonetta’s witch friend, Jeanne, even stars in her own adventure, a 2D stealth game complete with a Cowboy Bebop-style intro.

Once again, Bayonetta 3 chooses creativity somewhat at the expense of pacing. These little moments hold up the raw momentum, unlike Bayonetta 2 which trimmed off all possible fat. However, Bayonetta 3 is more substantial, and its content feels more meaningful than the original Bayonetta's slower moments.

(Credit: Nintendo)

One mild disappointment is the new enemy faction. Instead of fighting hellspawn or horrifying angels, Bayonetta now fights man-made monsters called Homunculi, creatures that don’t look much different from your average alien fodder. Later enemies feature more elaborate, Evangelion-esque designs, especially once the game leans into the idea that the monsters are made of human souls.

All of Bayonetta’s 3 fresh action takes place across a fresh set of locales. This is a globetrotting adventure with a far greater variety of surprisingly expansive environments, even if the path forward is still relatively linear. You fight in ancient islands, urban streets, and burning deserts. With so much going on, Bayonetta 3 is one of the more visually impressive Nintendo Switch games, and it features a smooth, steady frame rate during the absurd, chaotic fights. The game seems to employ dynamic resolution to keep things stable, as I noticed more blur and pop-in when playing in handheld mode. Meanwhile, the soundtrack has all the anime bops and lunar love songs that people associate with the series.

Bayo's Back

Bayonetta 3 builds upon the series' excellent mechanics by introducing more exciting, innovative, and inspired ideas that justify the five years we waited for it. Its flexible, freeing action encourages you to experiment with new ways to punish naughty supernatural children. The game world is bigger and more bustling than ever before, and the overall journey gives the character a satisfying climax. Bayonetta 3 is an Editors’ Choice winner, and a must-play for hard-core Nintendo Switch owners. Finally, the witch is back.

For more recommended Nintendo Switch titles, check out The Best Nintendo Switch Games and The Best Nintendo Switch Games for Kids (which definitely does not include Bayonetta). For in-depth video game talk, visit PCMag's Pop-Off YouTube channel.