is a 2009 action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Sega. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan in October 2009, and in North America and Europe in January 2010. It was released on Wii U in September 2014, Windows in April 2017, Nintendo Switch in February 2018, and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in February 2020.
Bayonetta takes place in Vigrid, a fictional city in Europe. The game stars the eponymous character, a witch who is capable of shapeshifting and using various firearms. She possesses magical attacks and she can use her hair to summon demons to dispatch her foes.
The game features a rating system, which gives players a grade based on their performance, and a combat system similar to the Devil May Cry series. Although unlike Devil May Cry, which features a live Style Rank to directly judge the player, Bayonetta (and subsequent Platinum action games) feature an arena based ranking system, which judges players based on variables such as time, combo size and damage at the end of each individual fight which then gets tallied up at the end of each chapter to determine the final rank.
Bayonetta was the third project released by PlatinumGames, which was founded by former Clover Studio employees. Development began in January 2007, with Hideki Kamiya as the director. The development team's name, "Team Little Angels," is a play on the name of the team who developed the first Devil May Cry game, "Team Little Devils." According to Kamiya, Bayonetta was completely original, though he drew some inspirations from Scandinavian mythology and played Devil May Cry 4 for reference. The game was designed to have a core theme of "sexiness" and to feature "fashionable" characters. To this end, Kamiya and artist Mari Shimazaki spent more than a year creating Bayonetta's design. Several demos were released prior to launch.
Bayonetta received generally positive reviews. The game was praised for its combat, presentation, and soundtrack, but drew criticism for its story and quick time events. The game was nominated for and won several end-of-the-year accolades, had sold over a million units worldwide by 2010, and has been cited as one of the best video games ever made. An anime film adaptation by Gonzo, Bayonetta: Bloody Fate, was released in Japan in November 2013. The game was followed by Bayonetta 2 (2014) and Bayonetta 3 (2022).
Gameplay
Bayonetta is a single-player, third-person 3D action and hack and slash game. The player controls a witch named Bayonetta, is able to use melee and long ranged attacks and is able to select multiple weapons. By pressing a combination of buttons, they are able to use "Wicked Weave" attacks and they are also able to use "Torture Attacks" in which Bayonetta summons a variety of devices to deal strong damage to enemies. Such devices range from chainsaws to iron maidens. One ability Bayonetta has is "Witch Time", which activates when the player makes a well-timed dodge to an attack. This temporarily increases her speed, causing enemies to appear to move in slow-motion, allowing Bayonetta to inflict massive amounts of counter damage before the enemies can react.
The player can double jump for extra height, perform evasive backflips, and destroy background objects and doors. Camera views can be rotated, enemy targets can be locked on, and weapons can be switched during play. With unlockable transformations, the player can make Bayonetta become a panther or one of various other living creatures to enhance her abilities. Lollipops can be used to heal her, replenish her magic, induce invincibility or increase her strength, although using these items, as well as dying, lowers the score for that chapter. By finding various component items, the player can combine them into new items. Many enemies and objects drop halos when destroyed, which the player can use to buy items, techniques and weapon upgrades. The player can use enemy weapons, either to directly attack or as props for movement. Bayonetta's strongest attacks allow her to summon parts of Madama Butterfly and other demons with her hair.