Bayonetta

Developed by Platinum Games, Bayonetta is an action game that has an unusual heroine and a very engaging combat system. The action, however, is constantly interrupted by long cutscenes that tell a boring, barebones story.

The main character, Bayonetta, suffers from amnesia, only knowing that she is an Umbra Witch – a European sect in collusion with demons that is locked in eternal war with the forces of Paradise and the Lumen Priests. Nowadays, the witches are virtually extinct and the priests are missing. So, when Bayonetta discovers that a mystical artifact of her sect, the Eyes of the World, has appeared on the black market, she sees the opportunity to unravel the mystery of her past and travels to the holy city of Vigrid.

Bayonetta is a striking female character due to how her sexuality is presented. It would be easy to claim that she’s objectified throughout the game as the camera is very keen to zoom in on her breasts and regularly goes down to her private parts, spinning around while she sucks a lollipop. However, her development complicates the analysis: in the story, she is a woman who appears to be both strong and independent. It’s Bayonetta who often saves her companions and not the other way around; it’s Bayonetta who often determines the course of events – often interrupting her enemies’ speeches and being the first to strike a blow. Her actions rarely take men into account and, because of her encounters with a witch named Jeanne, we can even say the game curiously passes the Bechdel test.

But there’s no denying that she’s overly sexualized: Bayonetta is sadistic and dominant, using her body to provoke and subjugate her enemies. In a revealing moment, Bayonetta comes across a doppelganger and, to prove that she is the real one, she challenges her opponent to a duel of… sexy moves. In other words, her sexuality is a matter of identity. It is fitting, then, that the source of her power forms her clothing, leaving her barely naked when in use.

Looking directly at the camera during some of her most intense movements, Bayonetta also constantly breaks the fourth wall. The goal is to subvert the male gaze typical of these camera movements: it may look like she is being treated like a trophy, but the character is actually provoking the observer. This is the game’s secret: it’s Bayonetta who is in control, challenging that male gaze.

But it’s indeed a shame to notice that the character is limited to her sexuality, having few additional traits developed by the story, besides a brief question about motherhood. In this sense, she is a flat character – like everyone in the game, by the way – that lacks a proper character arc. Bayonetta finds out more about her past eventually, but the revelation changes absolutely nothing about the way she sees and or the world, with the twist serving only the needs of the villain.

Much of this is due to the game’s story being its weakest part, achieving the feat of being one-dimensional even with the protagonist fighting for hell instead of paradise: the Lumen Priest she faces is hopelessly evil, causing the death of members of his own sect when it profits him, whereas Bayonetta protects the innocent and fights to save the world. There’s no moral complexity in the characterization here.

The start of the game is its best segment. The main mystery, the personality of the protagonist, and that of the supporting actors are all very well established – Luka, a womanizer journalist who believes Bayonetta killed his father is a highlight. Even the battle against the first boss has a proper build-up to it, with the player facing it at a disadvantage twice before the main fight, which reinforces the climax of the third confrontation.

The narrative, however, stalls right after that third clash. Nothing more is discovered about the protagonist until the last two chapters – of sixteen. And the characters often repeat the same interactions: it’s interesting, for example, to notice the journalist’s discomfort when he understands that it’s Bayonetta who has control over him and not the other way around – but only the first couple of times this happens. There’s not even a build-up to the bosses anymore, with them appearing out of nowhere in a level and being promptly defeated. Their last lines before dying are also basically the same, hammering that they are only preparing Bayonetta for the rebirth of their god – what a surprise, then, when she discovers in the last chapter that the villain was preparing her… for the rebirth of his god.

It doesn’t really matter if the plot of a game is predictable and shallow as long as it’s not the focus of the game, but that’s not the case with Bayonetta, where battles are regularly interrupted by long cutscenes. The one that finally presents the villain, for example, lasts for nothing less than eleven minutes. This particular scene is also marred by too much exposition, basically telling the whole story of the game again, explaining every detail with a huge amount of repetition – it is even possible, although not recommended, to make a drinking game with the number of times the term “the left eye” is mentioned.

The area in which the game certainly shines is the animation department, which is one of the main elements responsible for the success of the combat system. The movements Bayonetta makes during battles are impressive for their complexity and fluidity. The witch seems to be dancing while fighting, stretching her legs – with guns attached to her feet –, crossing her arms, contorting her torso, all without pause, with one movement naturally leading to the next. The combos performed by us, then, are not only useful for eliminating enemies but also create a great visual spectacle, fulfilling director Hideki Kamiya’s philosophy of “fighting with style”.

Another important element of the combat is its simplicity: there are only two main attack buttons – punch and kick – and two for support – shoot and dodge. The latter is responsible for activating the so-called “Witch Time”, when used seconds before the protagonist is going to be hit: the time pauses for a few moments, allowing Bayonetta to move freely and attack static enemies. Witch Time grants a constant element of risk and reward to the combat, challenging us to wait longer than usual to escape a blow. The combat in Bayonetta is not based on elaborate, complex combos – although they do exist – but on the study of the enemy’s attack pattern: to know when to dodge is far more vital than to know how to strike back.

With a scoring system that evaluates each battle, Bayonetta allows less experienced players to win the main challenges without many problems, but always with the reminder that they can improve. The only problem with the score lies in the Quick Time Events that appear suddenly, offer very few seconds for us to act, and punish failure with instant death, disregarding Bayonetta’s health bar. In other words, a player who achieves the best possible score in each battle of a chapter can have their total score greatly reduced by a single mistake in a QTE, which is a shame.

Finally, a point worthy of praise is the unusual soundtrack, which prefers to capture the protagonist’s irreverence rather than follow the furious mood of the battles. So, instead of an epic instrumental track, the fights are accompanied by jazz and, especially, energetic J-pop songs, with the highlight being the brilliant remix of Fly Me To the Moon.  The epic orchestral score only comes into play during boss battles, generating a contrast with the rest of the game that increases the tension of these climactic clashes.

Bayonetta is a great action game with a curious protagonist, and an engaging combat system, that is ultimately dragged down by its boring and repetitive story.

December 16, 2024.