Modern action games, and really modern games in general, always have to find some balance between visually thrilling cutscenes and solid gameplay. Obviously the gameplay is the more important element in this equation; without engaging gameplay you're watching a movie at best and struggling through something painful at worst. Cutscenes do remain important however. Obviously they tell the story most of the time, but they also are an important part of lending a style and personality to a game that you can't always communicate in in-game events. And of course adding to the mix are the ways in which cutscenes are made interactive: dialogue choices, Quick-Time Events, etc..., which also have to be balanced well.
In the end, there are few to no games that balance this perfectly and so the end result is that most games end up either heavy or lacking in cinematics. The current trend in the industry is to start to move away from cutscenes in games, with the thought that they break the immersion and flow of the game. This is clear in several recent releases, as more and more story is told to you while exploring or in transit. I, however, remain of the opinion, that cutscene-heavy games can still be very impressive and entertaining, such as the game I'm reviewing today, Bayonetta.
The story of Bayonetta is, admittedly, pretty generic and not that enthralling or interesting. The plot follows the titular character Bayonetta, a witch who was sealed away for centuries, has amnesia, and is looking for a mysterious, elusive gemstone. All of those have to be near the top of the list of most commonly used video game plot devices, up there with evil relatives and orphaned heroes. Also, since witches' powers come from pacts with demons, Bayonetta is both often hunted by the forces of Heaven as well as called to sacrifice these not-so-angelic angels in order to satiate her infernal partners. On the positive side, Bayonetta has a great sense of humor and the game is rife with both amusing one-liners and references to other Capcom and Sega games.
Now I know what those of you who haven't played the game are wondering - how can a game without an interesting story work well when heavy with cutscenes? Two words: Awesome style. Bayonetta was developed by the mind behind the Devil May Cry series, Hideki Kamiya. If you don't know what this means, it means the game emphasizes Rule of Cool (and sometimes Sexy) first and worry about the rest later. You're probably thinking this sounds shallow - and really, it is - but that's usually the last thing from your mind when bullets and people are flying through the air, dragons are tearing your enemies apart, and you're bisecting your enemy with a massive chainsaw. Most of the scenes in this game just pure adrenaline and pure fun and are completely enjoyable.
Gameplay-wise, Bayonetta is primarily a close-quarters action game with a variety of weapons to use similar to its DMC predecessors. The combat focuses on relatively simple combos consisting mostly of different combinations of 2 buttons as well as heavily emphasizing well-timed dodges which, if performed right, will activate Bulle- I mean, Witch Time, slowing everything down and giving you an great opportunity to hack away at your vulnerable foes. In addition, as you perform combos and dodge blows without getting hit, your magic gauge will fill and you can pull of devastating Torture Attacks, cinematic attacks that tear your enemies apart. Everything about the combat flows as smoothly as anything I've ever seen and is an absolute blast to play. The boss fights are usually on a grand scale and it always feels like a huge feat to bring one down. It's fast, it's exciting, and most of all it's a lot of fun.
The game also mixes in short segments of other styles as well, including some driving segments and a rail shooter-esque part. While not quite as good as the combat segments, they are fairly well done and for the most part pretty enjoyable. Several of the scenes involve quick-time events as well, and these I had more of a problem with. A lot of the time the timing for these events felt a bit too strict for me. I failed a majority of the events the first time, only getting it right when I had already failed once. This wouldn't bother me so much if they weren't life or death, especially since the level rankings heavily penalize death. Another notable feature of the game is the difficulty. On Normal, the game will give an experienced gamer some challenge but it's not too bad. However, as you unlock the higher difficulties, it becomes quite a struggle to get through the levels. The highest difficulty, Nonstop Infinite Climax, was one of the harder things I've attempted in a video game recently. That said, it never really got frustrating; I always felt like I could win fights, it just took a bit more effort to get there.
I played the PS3 version and while for the most part the game ran fine, the loading times were definitely an issue. The game tends to load when you do do anything - when you pause, when you open the menu, when you get an item for the first time, in addition to in between chapter segments and new locations. Some of the loading screens give you an empty void to practice in, which is nice at first but when you know most of your go-to combos, it's just more time to kill waiting to load. I don't think it ruins the game by any means, but it's definitely a notable problem. Also, for the audience who cares about trophies, Bayonetta's Platinum isn't too hard to get and the requirements are generally pretty reasonable without a lot of tedious or insane goals (though you may need an FAQ for finding a few collectibles).
I don't personally give much weight to graphics but I will say that Bayonetta looks amazing. The designs all look great and I particularly love the designs of the various angels. They all look very unique and varied but at the same time retain thematic similarities like a sort of sculpted theme to their look or shiny metallic armored parts, which contrasts nicely with the somewhat grotesque, bloody look they get after fighting them for a while. The details on the various big attacks look spectacular as well. The backgrounds look good, though I will say some of the city designs are a bit forgettable.
The music in this game is absolutely great as well. Most of it very upbeat, fast and catchy and really gets you into the action. In particular, the game has a rendition of Fly Me to the Moon it uses to accompany any moment of mass awesome that was incredible and really got that song stuck in my head for days. This is definitely one of those games I would get a soundtrack of if it came at a reasonable price.
All in all, even though it was a year and a half old by the time I finally got around to playing it, Bayonetta is easily still better than almost any game I've played that's come out since then. It's a fast-paced, sometimes unforgiving, sometimes silly, and almost always awesome ride. Admittedly, if you have interest in this game, you've probably already played it. Still, if you like action games, if you like Devil May Cry, if you like games that don't take themselves too seriously, get this game. And honestly, if you're just looking for a good game, you probably won't go wrong here either, especially at the discount price it's going for now. See you next time!
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