First Impression: Bayonetta

Dwelling in purgatory, battling heaven sent angels, and doing business with hell’s merchant is an everyday occurrence for Bayonetta. More than everyday actually, more like every second of every day. But hey, that’s the price you have to pay when you escape the tight gripe of death, right?

While I’m only about an hour into the game I feel that I already know Bayonetta and sympathize with her struggle to stay alive, even though her history is still pretty much shrouded in mystery. Bayonetta exists in a time where good battles evil in a constant struggle for balance in the world. Witches exist but have been wiped out through prosecution over the years. Mrs. Bayonetta, a snarky brit witch with an outfit of hair, suddenly awakens at the bottom of the sea inside a coffin. Since her escape, angels have tried to drag her back down to the fiery hell she belongs. She must eternally fight off the angels or be sucked back down to hell. Why she was sentenced to such a death and how she ended up in hell is yet to be discovered.

Together with her informant Enzo she looks for sacred jewels called “Eyes of the World” that fit into her very large, yet fashionable necklace, in hope of uncovering her past along the way. She makes an agreement with Rodin, a hellish merchant, to give him the halos she collects in each change for handcrafted merchandise. Both characters are a roar and add to the charm and fantastic nature of the world. Enzo is your dirty italian mobster nit wit who will do anything for cash, even risk life and limb. Rodin on the other hand, is much more cool, very akin to characters Samuel L. Jackson plays in films.

The standout element of Bayonetta is its flair. Nothing is just a punch, a kick, or a double jump. Every action is full of over exaggerated beauty. Double jump and you’ll sprout butterfly wings. Open a door and you’ll have to use that giant key you’ve been bashing angels heads in with. And the fighting! Where to begin? There’s just so much to say.

For the sake of my sanity I won’t even try to explain how you’ll fight in Bayonetta, instead I’ll just describe how a quick battle will go.

Punch, punch, punch, kick until a fire of gunshot bursts from your boot, backflip dodge, slow motion attack time, melee combo, snap back to real time, throw an angel into a spiked sarcophagus, double butterfly jump, shoot your gun-boots at enemies below, land, shove an angels head onto a guillotine and drop the blade, engage Matrix bullet-time mode, spin camera around shooting from guns on both hands and feet.

Sounds crazy? I told you it was extravagant! The great thing about Bayonetta is that the crazy combos are only half as difficult to pull off as they look. Once I got the hang of it I was slamming giant fists of hair into groups of angels and taking no damage at all. The battles are intense and sometimes you’ll wonder how in the hell you’re going to take down that mammoth double headed dragon, but you’ll do it and you’ll do it with style!

Stay tuned for more impressions as I progress through Bayonetta. In the meantime, how have your experiences been with the fantastical world of waring witches that is Bayonetta?