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[Draugoth]

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Game Information
Game Title: Bayonetta 3

Platforms:

• Nintendo Switch (Oct 28, 2022)

Trailer:

Developer: PlatinumGames

Publisher: Nintendo

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 89 average - 93% recommended - 21 reviews

MetaCritic - 88 average - 34 reviews

Critic Reviews

Destructoid - Chris Carter - 10 / 10

When playing Bayonetta 3, much to my delight, I had no clue what was going to happen next at all times. I was absorbed, and between the crazy story, the environments, and the action system that’s been refined through two prior games (and years of experience), I had very little downtime. It’s pretty much everything an action fan could want.

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Game Informer - Blake Hester - 8.3 / 10

Bayonetta 3, for the vast majority of its runtime, is an absolute blast. It's bombastic, over-the-top, and extravagant for the sake of extravagance, leaving ruins, literally, in its wake.

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GameSpot - Jessica Howard - 9 / 10

Bayonetta 3 is a show-stopping spectacle that feels familiar in all the right ways while also adding mechanics that are sure to delight old and new fans alike.

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GameXplain - Joey Ferris - Liked-a-lot

Video Review - Quote not available

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Gameblog - French - 9 / 10

It's impossible not to fall under spell of Bayonetta 3. More extravagant, frenetic, rich, varied and with even more monstrous and epic bosses, the game is the franchise at its best. However technical weaknesses, the few underwhelming environments and the readability issues can't counter the avalanche of the superlatives. A dance mastered without almost any misstep and a must-have on Switch.

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Inverse - Jess Reyes - 8 / 10

Bayonetta 3 delivers on its promise of a magical action RPG with sophisticated combat. Even with frustrating mini-games and objectives, it’s one of the best action games of 2022 thanks to its style and depth — whether or not you’re familiar with this absolutely bonkers universe.

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Nintendo Life - PJ O'Reilly - 10 / 10

Bayonetta 3 cranks up the chaos, improves the combat, polishes the level design, and adds a ton of new mechanics to the mix, making for the very best entry in this storied series to date. PlatinumGames has absolutely nailed it this time around, carefully layering on more ways to engage enemies, piling on the OTT gameplay sequences, and giving us multiple protagonists without upsetting the balance of what makes these games amongst the very best examples of their genre. With excellent performance in docked and handheld modes, incredible visuals, non-stop action, and a hugely replayable campaign that's a joy from start to finish, this really is a huge celebration of everything we love about Bayonetta, an action all-timer and one of the biggest highlights of 2022, on Switch or any platform.

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Shacknews - Morgan Shaver - 9 / 10

Quote not yet available

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Stevivor - Matt Gosper - 9 / 10

At the end of my time with Bayonetta 3, I find myself surprised at how much fun I had, and excited to go back and experience the first two titles of the series as well.

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The Independent - Jasper Pickering - 4.5 / 5

Bayonetta 3 is an outrageous and fitting return to form for the umbra witch and her posse of occultish heavy hitters. Substantial improvements and additions to combat mean there are seemingly endless options for different styles of play, as well as making the prospect of revisiting each stage, verse and hidden objective more compelling than it ever has been, with the crowning jewel being Viola’s introduction into the franchise.

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Twinfinite - Zhiqing Wan - 4 / 5

Bayonetta 3 is an ode to the longtime fans who’ve stuck with the game since 2009. While it’s certainly not without its obvious flaws and missteps, I can’t imagine that fans would be very disappointed with how this third, explosive entry has turned out.

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Video Chums - A.J. Maciejewski - 8.9 / 10

In defiance of a time when many game series are opting to mature, Bayonetta 3 raises a giant middle finger and that's awesome. Believe it or not, it's even more over-the-top than you'd expect so strap on some high heels and get ready for some action.

 

[Banjo64]

88 so far. Well played.

90 actually, 21 in.

 

[analog_future]

Not reviewing quite as well as Bayonetta 2 so far, but still a very positive start!

 

[Punished Miku]

10/10 from Chris Carter is noteworthy. Dude is a legit gamer and doesn't toss out 10s very frequently. Consider me officially hyped.

 

[F0rneus]

Expected nothing less. The Queen is back!

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Good studio hamstrung by the need for contract work. When they get the right support and budget they'll deliver more often than not.

Platinum and Remedy need to get bought by one of three already

 

[El Pistolero]

Wow! Great scores all around...I, for some reason, completely disregarded it, thinking foolishly it would not be up to par. Well, glad I was wrong...

 

[splattered]

Woo surprised! I was worried it wouldn't be as good, took so long to come out and felt like wasn't shown off very much. Yay

 

[Kabelly]

 

[AJUMP23]

Looks like it came out pretty good.

 

[Boy bawang]

This is not going to be a popular take here, but if Platinum had to be bought by someone, I would rather it be Nintendo. It's where they seem to be doing some of their best work, and I am not convinced that they have the resources to fully take advantage of state of the art hardware.

 

[Fbh]

Sounds awesome, I hope my copy arrives on Friday.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Can’t wait

 

[Topher]

This is not going to be a popular take here, but if Platinum had to be bought by someone, I would rather it be Nintendo. It's where they seem to be doing some of their best work, and I am not convinced that they have the resources to fully take advantage of state of the art hardware.

I actually agree with you here. They seem to do their best work (the last few years at least) for Nintendo than elsewhere.

 

[Astral Dog]

lmao, reading the review quotes its exactly the same as Xenoblade 3, Switch=bad!

Looks like the game delivers, of course Platinum told us last year they were working on a game worthy of her, take a couple points for being Switch exclusive, take another for the slighty "problematic" leading lady, next gen they better raise that score

 

[Fake]

Good scores at this moment. I was worry a sexy woman would affect the score, but that censor button change the table.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

I actually agree with you here. They seem to do their best work (the last few years at least) for Nintendo than elsewhere.

Astral Chain was great. I’d love Platinum to perhaps take another shot at Star Fox or remake Zero to improve on it.

 

[Punished Miku]

Astral Chain was great. I’d love Platinum to perhaps take another shot at Star Fox or remake Zero to improve on it.

No point remaking it for Switch. Will be a lesser experience than Wii U.

Fire it up sometime, or Starfox Guard. Those games feel so fresh and unique, and there's really nothing else like them. Criminally underrated games.

 

[Topher]

Astral Chain was great. I’d love Platinum to perhaps take another shot at Star Fox or remake Zero to improve on it.

Just got a Switch and Astral Chain was the first game I bought. I'm enjoying it. Platinum would probably do wonders with some Nintendo franchises if they were able to focus on them and not have to take so many jobs just to keep the lights on.

 

[Phil_the_goat]

If all you care about is button-ramming combat that’s similar to Devil May Cry, you’ll have a ball. But if you ever wanted to believe that there was something deeper to Bayonetta’s story — some grander statement about femininity and sexuality and power dynamics — you’ll find the truth to be quite a disappointment.

 

[Thirty7ven]

Sounds like same old same old but Nintendo so that’s an extra extra extra extra right there.

 

[LordCBH]

I expected nothing less from this series.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Just got a Switch and Astral Chain was the first game I bought. I'm enjoying it. Platinum would probably do wonders with some Nintendo franchises if they were able to focus on them and not have to take so many jobs just to keep the lights on.

This is unlikely to ever happen but I do have an idea of a Metroid spin off done in the style of Vanquish.

 

[AV]

Nice. Still haven't played 2 so this is going on the backlog with it.

 

[drganon]

Sounds pretty good. I just started playing Bayonetta 1 so it might be a while till I get to this one.

 

[Orta]

I really need to play the first 2. Have the WiiU double pack and on Steam too.

 

[Captain Toad]

Looks great.

Don't forget to boycott!

 

[Punished Miku]

Sounds like same old same old but Nintendo so that’s an extra extra extra extra right there.

Sure Hellena.

 

[Chastten]

Can't wait till friday!

And yeah, I do agree I would love if Nintendo were to buy them. They do great work given enough budget and they'd be great to expand Nintendo's portfolio with some over-the-top action games. Much like Monolith is for their RPG's.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Congrats to all the Bayo fans.

One of those days I'll beat the first one already, promise.

 

[Labolas]

 

[ACESHIGH]

Even if I don't own a Switch, happy this game turned out to be great. Character action games are an endangered species.

 

[NightmareFarm]

Can't wait to play it so much. I find it hard to imagine how it's going to top 2 though but I have faith in the dev team.

 

[Shifty1897]

Hell yes, it's nice to see Platinum can still deliver a kick ass single player action game when they really want to.

 

[ssringo]

Viola thankfully doesn’t fall into the trap of becoming an obnoxious “attitude-era” character. She’s relatable, she likes anime, and a lot of her physical comedy is to the tune of Trigun‘s Vash the Stampede.

physical comedy is to the tune of Trigun‘s Vash the Stampede

If I hadn't already pre-ordered this would've been the tipping point. Trigun was one of my my early anime loves.

 

[A.Romero]

I'm jelly. Wish I could play it without having to jump into another ecosystem.

It's no surprise it's well reviewed.

Enjoy, fellow gamers!

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I kinda regret not getting the special edition

 

[Astral Dog]

SHE'S BAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!

 

[applesaucejaxon]

I have a pre-order from 2018 when Amazon was giving $10 off on pre-orders. This can't come soon enough!

 

[fermcr]

Bayonneta 3 might be a good game, but don't put much faith in these reviews. Nintendo and Sony exclusives tend to be overscored and overhyped by reviewers.

Can't say the same about Microsoft exclusives... because, they don't have exclusives. Microsoft 1st party must sleeping on the job. Don't think they had a single exclusive in 2022.

 

[Fermbiz]

pffft.... I laugh at those scores, Ha. I'm glad im boycotting

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Bayonneta 3 might be a good game, but don't put much faith in these reviews. Nintendo and Sony exclusives tend to be overscored and overhyped by reviewers.

Can't say the same about Microsoft exclusives... because, they don't have exclusives. Microsoft 1st party must sleeping on the job. Don't think they had a single exclusive in 2022.

Ask Phil “Sun shines from his arse” Spencer

 

[BigbyTheSheriff]

Polygon reviewer:

 

[Chukhopops]

Holy shit this is exciting, I was worried but it seems Bayo doesn’t miss.

Polygon reviewer:

Ok NOW I know this is gonna be good.

Action game of the year coming right up.

 

[Neff]

magical action RPG

u wot m8

and sure, it could be a bit less sexy

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Oh for fuck sake I wondered when the talk of gender and sexual preference would come up.

 

[Dis]

Good to see the game performing well.

#JusticeForHideki !

 

[Jennings]

I can't wait to have Bayonetta's real life counterpart, Jennifer Hale, sign my copy.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Polygon reviewer:

Excellent.

 

[BigbyTheSheriff]

Excellent.

Just what the doctor ordered.