Bayonetta 2

Note: This review contains spoilers for Bayonetta.

Following the success of the original Bayonetta, a sequel was announced three years later in 2012, but this time exclusive to Nintendo’s Wii U console. The reason was later revealed to be that Nintendo was the only company willing to greenlight a sequel in the first place, hence the exclusivity. Since I didn’t own a Wii U at the time and didn’t want to get what I viewed as a DOA console solely to play one game, I didn’t end up playing it, not even with the incentive of first run copies including a Wii U port for the original Bayonetta. It wasn’t until the announcement of Bayonetta 3 as a Nintendo Switch exclusive that I finally caved and picked up the physical Switch port of Bayonetta 2, if only so I could actually keep up with the series. Now that I’ve finally played it, it feels like PlatinumGames managed to improve on the original in just about every way.

Only a few months after the events of the original game, Bayonetta is out Christmas shopping when she and Jeanna are attacked by a group of angels. All goes well until one of Bayonetta’s demons breaks free of her command and begins to attack her as well. Although she overpowers the demon, Jeanne’s soul is removed from her body and dragged down into Inferno. While Rodin does what he can to delay Jeanne’s death, he informs Bayonetta that she will need to travel to a sacred mountain named Fimbulventr, where she can enter the real Gates of Hell and retrieve her friend’s spirit. When she arrives in the town of Noatun to begin her journey to the mountain, she runs into a boy named Loki, who seeks the mountain for reasons he can’t remember and is being chased by a masked Lumen Sage.

Loki joins Bayonetta on her journey to Fimbulventr.

The story of Bayonetta 2 is better executed than in the first game, due largely in part to a more streamlined story that easier to follow. It also manages to expand on many of the concepts introduced in the previous game without betraying previously established lore or sacrificing the charm and personality of the original. Returning characters remain consistent to their characterizations and character growth from the original, while returning character Luka is also able to display a somewhat more mature side. At the same time, the plot threads which expanded on in later parts of the game manage to slot in the events of the story to fit in with and help explain the time travel elements from the first game.

While Bayonetta 2’s story is improved, I noticed that some of the story beats seem to echo ones from the previous game. In particular, Bayonetta once again travels with a child (in this case someone she believes is a child), with Loki filling the role in place of Cereza. The plot once again involves some sort of time travel aspect, as well as someone looking for the Eyes of the World, and the final boss is ultimately defeated in a similar fashion to Jubileus, though perhaps not as memorable in execution. I’m not saying these beats are bad to echo, in fact they are handled differently and very well in their own right, but it was noticeable after playing this game immediately after completing the original.

The idea that Bayonetta 2 is similar to, but greatly improves upon, the original also extends to the core gameplay. The mechanics of the game are largely unchanged, though each one has received an upgrade or some quality of life improvements. For one, Bayonetta begins with a god number of skills earned from the previous games, including the beast transformations. These transformations are expanded upon by including the addition of a Snake Within that allows for better maneuverability during underwater sections, itself a new feature to the game, and the transformations in general are incorporated more into the larger, more open level designs.

Bayonetta's new Snake Within form.

The magic system has received some noticeable improvements as well. Taking damage no longer drains the magic gauge and reaching a full gauge now gives the choice of either executing a Torture Attack or activating an Umbran Climax, which heavily increases the damage output of Bayonetta’s weapons. Each weapon is affected differently during an Umbran Climax, though it otherwise turns every attack into a Wicked Weave attack. Crafting is also handled differently, requiring the player to select a recipe book and then select a recipe to craft from instead of manually mixing all of the ingredients. As for other general quality of life improvements, they include, but are not limited to, the lack of instant death QTEs and a much larger window for remaining QTEs, a more forgiving window for activating Witch Time (in exchange for a slightly shorter duration) and item use no longer affecting the Chapter score.

While the enemies in Bayonetta 2 are a lot more varied than in the first, both in terms of the number of Angels and Infernals and their designs, the combat generally felt easier. Certain enemies still present a challenge, including some which return from the first game, but throughout my entire playthrough on Normal, I suffered far fewer resets than in the first. Basically, the game in general is more forgiving. However, the encounters with the Masked Lumen Sage, among others, also present themselves with a larger scale than their counterparts from the original, including having summons fighting each other in the background.

Bayonetta must now do battle with Infernals as well.

The default control scheme is a bit different from the original, mainly flipped functionality of the shoulder buttons, and takes some getting used to. While I was able to adjust, I was once again playing using the Joy-Cons in a separate Joy-Con Grip. Given the somewhat cramped layout of the controller and the shape of the L and R buttons, it was incredibly easy to accidentally switch weapon sets during combat and unintentionally activate Umbran Climax when I really wanted to use a Torture Attack. As before, this game also has a touchscreen control scheme, though I would advise against it. Control changes for special segments are easier to adjust for, since these segments are now a bit shorter than the would be in the original game.

As with Bayonetta, players can visit the Gates of Hell to buy various items, weapons and techniques for use in the game. Though Halos are still the primary currency, defeating Infernals and destroying related objects will also reward the player with Orbs of crystallized demon blood which count toward the total Halo count. Recommended buys for this game are similar to the original (Air Dodge, Stiletto, Break Dance, Bat Within and Crow Within), but the new Charge Bullet skill is also worth buying for its ability to increase damage output with bullets, as is the Mallet of Rewards for its ability to increase the number of Halos and items the player receives from performing Torture Attacks. Also available in the Switch version is amiibo support, which also provides a way for the player to obtain the Chain Chomp weapon, which is highly recommended for a weapon loadout alongside Salamandra; I used both in my B set when able. I’ll note here that my A set of weapons was simply the default Love Is Blue guns (their names are Prelude, Minuet, Toccata and Nocturne).

In terms of graphics, Bayonetta 2 seems more polished than its predecessor. The characters all received a general update to their appearance, all of which seemed to match the lighter direction of the sequel. What helps is that the game seems to generally have a brighter color palette that moves it a little more away from the Devil May Cry-inspired art direction of the previous game. With this brighter palette, it seems to emphasize the color blue a bit more as sort of a theme color.

I’ll mention here that while every character received a general update to their look, the most drastic were Bayonetta, who now has noticeably shorter hair, and Jeanne, who now has noticeably longer hair. I personally liked the new looks, and actually found Bayonetta’s new look more aesthetically pleasing, but those who preferred the original looks will be glad to know that the Bayonetta 1 costumes are unlockable within this game.

Bayonetta (L) and Jeanne (R) received more drastic redesigns than the rest of the cast.

As for any differences between the Wii U and Switch versions of the game, I can only go off of what I’ve been able to look up. Apart from the aforementioned amiibo support, I found graphical differences from the Wii U version rather negligible, perhaps a slight upgrade at best.

There’s a multiplayer mode called Tag Climax where two players play as one of the characters and fight groups of angels based on which unlockable Verse Cards are chosen. Each complete match uses six of these cards and players bet a certain number of Halos on each fight in an attempt to earn more; the difficulty of each fight is based on the number of Halos wagered. Players can fight alongside the CPU while waiting for someone else to play with, though this requires the second person to also own a Switch and have their own copy of the game, even if you’re playing locally. For this reason, I only tried out the CPU version and quickly concluded it would be better to play with another human being.

The music of Bayonetta 2 is also pretty good, especially with setting the mood of each segment of the game. As with the previous game, the most noticeable track is the main theme, in this case Tomorrow Is Mine, since it’s played during combat and also at the right moments within the story.

Bayonetta 2 is a good example of a sequel that’s able to improve on the original in all of the right ways. While a lot of the core gameplay is unchanged and the story follows some similar beats, the game manages to add a new layer of polish that elevates the Bayonetta series to new heights. Though the game feels easier this time around, save for trying to get Pure Platinum rankings, it still felt very much like Bayonetta. Fans of the original game are more than likely to enjoy this installment, especially in anticipation of Bayonetta 3, while Switch owners looking for a good action game should seriously take this game into consideration. Just make sure you find time to play the original as well.