Everybody’s favorite séxy witch is back. After teasing fans for months, Nintendo and Platinum Games have finally announced a release date for Bayonetta 3. The stylish hack and slash game is releasing October 28, just in time for Halloween. In addition to the release date, a new trailer dropped that gave us a look at new enemies, allies, and the titular witch herself. Here are the most important things we learned from the new trailer, including hints that the game could introduce an MCU twist to the franchise.
New enemies to beat the crap out of
The trailer opens with Bayonetta absolutely wrecking some new enemies on a cruise ship. But unlike past entries in the series, these baddies aren’t angels or demons. These creatures are called Homunculi and are “man-made bioweapons” that threaten to wipe out reality.
Beyond just being man-made, they are part human. The danger of the Homunculi comes from their ability to channel the powers of angels and demons, despite being neither.
Welcome to the masquerade
Gameplay slices in the new trailer show Bayonetta transforming using a new ability called the Demon Masquerade. The official press release states that Demon Masquerade will let players tap into Bayonetta’s “naughtier side” and channel the demon linked to her weapons.
Using the Demon Masquerade looks to make battles against larger enemies particularly exciting. This will be a major contributor to the “larger-than-life battles where you directly control the action” that Nintendo is advertising.
Old friends
Luka Redgrave, also known by his alias Cheshire, makes a brief appearance in the trailer. In Bayonetta 2 Luka is a vital source of information on the Trinity of Realities, the cosmology of the Bayonetta universe. The three realms are Paradiso (heaven), Inferno (hell), and the human world.
The trailer mentions that the Homunculi are threatening the Trinity, so Luka could be an invaluable ally to Bayonetta in her attempts to stop the very fabric of reality from crumbling.
Mysterious allies
A big part of this trailer was the spotlight placed on the new character Viola. She is a witch in training, and seems to know more about the imminent threat to the world than Bayonetta herself. The overall aesthetic of Viola is that of a punk rocker. There is also a connection between Viola and Luka that neither of them seems to fully understand, they both meet at one point in the trailer and act as if some part of them knows the other, but neither can truly remember. Viola has a feline companion named Cheshire, just like Luka’s alias.
Moments in the trailer show Viola being a playable character, with a grappling hook ability that she can use to traverse obstacles. This dual protagonist story could be pulled from games such as Devil May Cry 5. However, Viola may have more in common with Ciri in The Witcher 3.
Familiar faces
The biggest shock of the trailer is when Bayonetta is rescued from a demon and pulled aboard a moving train by none other than... another Bayonetta? Wilder still is that as the trailer continues, we see a third Bayonetta variant (to borrow terminology from the MCU).
This trailer confirms the theory that Bayonetta 3 will follow the witch through a multiverse in search of some way to defeat the enemy. Many characters throughout the trailer allude to their being different worlds or versions of the universe, each with its own Bayonetta as protector.
Nintendo says players will “meet a virtual coven of Bayonettas each more fabulous than the last” over the course of the game's plot. In the trailer, we see a version of Bayonetta with an eyepatch and scars, as well as one with long white hair (as opposed to the traditional black).
The introduction of Viola suggests she comes from one of these multiverses, due to her knowledge of the situation. The game may see players switching between Viola and Bayonetta in parallel stories, much like The Witcher 3 did to tell its story about the multiverse. One of the goals Viola gives Bayonetta is to locate a scientist on a world named Sigurd. Like many names in the series, Sigurd comes from a Nordic myth about a legendary hero who slays a dragon.
Bayonetta 3 looks to offer fans as much Bayonetta as they could ever want. In addition to the addictive hack and slash gameplay, the series is known for, the new additions of Demon Masquerade and an entirely new playable character look to make this new entry a standout. October can’t come soon enough.
Bayonetta 3 comes to Nintendo Switch on October 28, 2022.
