Bayonetta 3 is one of the most anticipated games of 2022. Announced all the way back in 2017, its development has been mired in mystery, and many started to wonder if it would ever see the light of day. Luckily, a new trailer has set the game for an October 2022 release.
While it’s good to know the game is going to be released, it now has to contend with various expectations from fans and critics alike. Being the 3rd game in a series is never easy, especially when the series is as iconic as Bayonetta. It’s hard to know if Bayonetta 3 has what it takes to be a fitting 3rd entry, but there are a few things it definitely needs to knock out of the park.
8 A Killer Main Theme
One of the shining features of the Bayonetta series is its smooth soundtrack. Each of the previous games featured a cover of a famous song(Bayonetta 1’s “Fly Me to The Moon” rendition and 2s “Moon River”), as well as an original main theme(1s “Mysterious Destiny” and 2s “Tomorrow is Mine”).
The latest Bayonetta 3 trailer featured what seems to be its own original theme, which does sound perfect for the umbra witch’s third adventure. Finding out if it fully lives up to “Tomorrow is Mine” though, will have to wait till the full version is released.
7 Satisfying New Mechanics
A big part of an action game’s identity is in its combat, and the mechanics that make it stand out. Bayonetta’s claim to fame has always been its ‘witch time’, along with Bayonetta 2's ‘umbran climax’. It is to be expected then, that Bayonetta 3 will add something new to the formula.
Luckily the trailers so far have shown off large scale kaiju battles and new ‘demon masquerade’ transformations for Bayonetta based on her demon allies. While the latter seems like a perfect addition, the kaiju mechanic runs the risk of straying too far from the series’ identity as a tight, precise action game.
6 Interesting New Enemies
While Bayonetta 1 pitted the titular witch against an army of angels, 2 made the interesting addition of demons to the bestiary. This addition seems obvious in hindsight, and the demons ended up being part of the game’s most memorable fights.
With a lack of a natural third to the angel-demon pair, Bayonetta 3 has apparently gone with man-made ‘homunculus’ enemies as its main ground troops, according to the newest trailer. On the surface they look very visually distinct to the glittering angels and robotic demons, but it remains to see if they will earn their place as the series’ newest enemy class.
5 Fun New Weapons
Similar to its action game siblings like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta is a series that features quite a lot of optional weaponry that expands the arsenal and playstyles available to the player. Bayonetta 3 needs to do the same.
The two trailers so far have shown some signs of alternative weapons beyond Bayonetta’s trusty gun quartet. And, her new demon transformations seem to be building off of these weapons, giving them even more versatility and identity.
4 More Character Development
Bayonetta’s main cast have been through a surprising amount in only 2 games, particularly the umbra witches Bayonetta and Jeanne. For the most part, they have not changed much in the way of personality.
Bayonetta 3's newest trailer has introduced the possibility of several alternate universe Bayonetta, implying that she might be due for a deeper character study than the other games allowed for. With how interesting this cast is, hopefully this will be the game to give them a proper status quo shifting challenge to push their characters forward.
3 A Strong Antagonist
While the first game featured quite the foreboding antagonist in Balder, many felt as though Bayonetta 2’s Loptr was an underwhelming antagonist, as his motivations and personality did little to compliment or challenge Bayonetta’s character directly.
Bayonetta 3 has given little clue as to its main antagonist so far, but it will have to be someone who can make an improvement on Loptr’s underwhelming performance. With the promise of alternate universes on the table, maybe Balder could even return to fill the role again, as he partially did in Bayonetta 2 as the masked lumen sage.
2 A Compelling Story
Speaking of alternate universes, if this will be the main driving factor behind Bayonetta 3’s story, it has a lot to live up to. Alternate realities have been an often used story device in recent years, from Marvel’s What-If? to the critically acclaimed Spiderman:Into the Spiderverse.
Not only do the mechanics behind the dimension hopping need to be compelling, but the choice of new realities and characters will also have to engage the audience. This is not even mentioning having to match the emotional weight of Jeanne’s rescue, which drove the story of Bayonetta 2.
1 Make Viola Work
The biggest mystery the trailers have offered up, is actually not in story, but in a specific new character; Viola. She is stated to be an umbra witch in training, and is shown to be the main playable character for some portions of the game, possibly being a new protagonist for the series.
Devil May Cry 4 pulled off a similar trick with the introduction of Nero as DMCs new protagonist, a move that most fans grew to approve of. If Viola is attempting to share the spotlight with Bayonetta herself, she will have to jump through many hoops, not only in her gameplay and personality, but in her relationship with the long-established characters in the cast.
Bayonetta 3 is releasing on the 28th of October, 2022 for Nintendo Switch.