Bayonetta Review

Bayonetta really is a gorgeous game

While plenty of moves are available from the start, new combos, attacks and weapons are unlocked and can be bought. Halo-like rings are the game's currency, dropped by fallen enemies and awarded for performing well in each chapter. Racking up these rings is easier said than done, with the game requiring some nifty skills if you want to earn the biggest bonuses. Achieving the top Platinum medal in a single verse (each chapter consists of numerous scored sections) requires a sustained combo and for Bayonetta to have avoided all enemy attacks. Thankfully for beginners the easier difficulty modes make combos easier to perform, so relative newcomers to the genre needn't miss out.

It's a testament to the game's design that it can be loved equally by hardcore gamers and beginners alike, and in an age when games cost millions of pounds to develop this is more or less essential. Developer Platinum Games has definitely made a game here that will go down in history as one of the most hardcore ever, though, if you choose to play it that way. With online leaderboards for every verse in the game, there is a ton of replay value here too, even after you've managed to get platinum statues for each chapter.

All this thrilling gameplay is wrapped up with some stunning presentation. In the Xbox 360 version (the only version I've played), the world is always a delight to play in, whether bathed in glorious sunlight or being pelted with heavy rain. Enemies can occupy so much space they can't be fully seen on your TV, attacks are chained together as fluidly as any hack 'n' slash has managed, and it all runs at a lightning fast frame rate. Long-time gamers will even spot the odd homage to some gaming classics, hammering home the feeling that Bayonetta was made by a game design legend primarily for true gamers. Even the loading screen, which presents you with the option to practice your moves, has been designed to keep you playing and improving.

Cult status guaranteed

For all its gameplay brilliance, Bayonetta is not perfect. For many the cutscenes (especially those that resemble comic panels) and general almost comedic storytelling will feel at odds with the visceral combat, while the voice acting varies from excellent to downright cheesy. The lollipop concocting screen, where you can create new lollies by mixing collected items, is clunky, the Gates of Hell store requires an obscene amount of rings to buy the best new attacks, and the way one of the main NPCs speaks is so annoying I felt like skipping most of his cutscenes. Small criticisms, but the game just didn't gel together quite as well as I'd have liked.

Is Bayonetta a big step beyond what we were playing eight years ago? Perhaps not quite the leap forward Kamiya would have us believe, but the sassy witch still represents one of the finest hack 'n' slash games I've ever played. It's fast, thrilling, gorgeous, punishing, rewarding and tremendous fun. It's an old-fashioned game at heart, will test your skills to their limit, and more than lives up to its billing.