I'm going to be honest, I've never really understood the draw of this game. I've poured over countless gameplay videos and starred at numerous screens and the only thing I gotten out of it all is that Bayonetta is Devil May Cry with a va-jay-jay. And that makes sense, Bayonetta is the brain-child of Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya. But now I've finally been given the chance to sit down with the game and find out for myself if Bayonetta is indeed the second coming of Christ for action titles, as most people would have you believe, or if it's simply mindless action filler.
Right out the gate you will get a feeling that this is indeed Devil May Cry with a new lead protagonist and paint job. You'll be stringing together massive combos and slaying a lot of demon creatures with everything from swords, to giant battle axes, to duel pistols, to the guns located at the heels of your stiletto shoes. Yes, you have guns attached to your high heels, and yes, they're pretty badass. The controls with which to use all these weapons are also very intuitive. At first it will seem overwhelming just how much you have to be conscious of when in combat, but within minutes you will be dodging enemy attacks, entering slow-mo witch mode and blowing away everything in your path. Bayonetta is the definition of controlled chaos.
I also have to give it up to Bayonetta for it's superb art direction and style. The monsters look fantastic, Bayonetta looks sexy (although disproportionate), and the world you're exploring looks magical. However, the real kicker to Bayonetta is that everything about the game screams Japanese anime, even down to the fast tempo pop music that kicks in during combat. And for a lot of people, myself included, that can be very off-putting.
Due to the Japanese anime influences I found myself laughing at the absurdity of most situations in Bayonetta. Whether it's the butterfly wings Bayonetta grows when double jumping, or the dragon beast that spawns from her spandex outfit, rendering her nude with only her hair to cover her swimsuit areas, Bayonetta raises the stakes for asinine in video gaming. The game literally had me LOLing multiple times (not in a good way) during a demo that only lasted fifteen minutes. Think Ninja Gaiden II times a thousand.
While it's nowhere near fair to judge Bayonetta from this short demo, I can say I came away from this demo feeling the same way I did going in. Meh. And isn't the purpose of a demo to sell you on a product? Get you excited? Bayonetta features some fun, fluid action gameplay, unique art direction, and fantastic visuals, but it still might be too much for me. I very much dislike Japanese anime and Bayonetta makes me feel like I'm playing one. That might be reason enough for me to skip it. Call me ignorant, but I just do not fall in this game's demographic. I'm of the mindset that I need an engrossing story in my video gaming to give me purpose, Bayonetta looks to have left the narrative on the floor in place for the most ridiculous shit it can throw at you.
