Bayonetta Origins: the childhood of a video game icon

UPGRADE DAY

After three fueling chapters of outrageous violence and omnipresent sexuality, Bayonetta (re)become chaste and pure with a charming and frankly cute ante-episode… but unfortunately weighed down by tedious and undrinkable control mechanics .

Players are familiar with Bayonetta, this European witch who entered our consoles in 2009. Wielding both weapons and self-defense techniques, she has been tracking and hunting angels for so long. than demons, sometimes to shed light on its hazy past, sometimes for more universal issues. 

But now we are lifting the veil on this nebulous past, offering players the opportunity to explore our heroine's childhood with Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, launched on Friday. p>

Forbidden Forest

So we find Cereza – the original name of the character – when she is just a kid trying to develop her powers and skills. His ultimate goal? Free his mother, imprisoned by her sisters following her forbidden romance with a wise man from an opposing clan. To do this, our heroine will have to venture for the very first time into the Forbidden Forest of Avalon, where she will deepen her skills in magic in order to achieve her goal. 

To help her in her quest, the young witch can also count on the help of her favorite cuddly toy, named Chouchou – pronounced with a British accent -, now possessed by a power-hungry demon. As his adventure progresses, this ally will gain skills, helping him in the main fights with his powerful attacks. 

Drastic change

From the first minutes of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, one thing is clear: we are miles away from the classic universe of the Bayonetta saga, which is characterized by its incredible violence and its exaggerated and omnipresent sexuality. These elements are this time almost completely evacuated in favor of an absolutely charming childish universe, reminiscent of various classic fairy tales. And that is downright cute and welcoming. But it is also, like many of these tales, extremely talkative. The dialogues are endless at times, in addition to being only available in English (or Japanese, if you feel like it).

But the main weakness of the game lies in its control mechanics confusing where the left stick moves Cereza, while the right one controls Chouchou. We may have put all our good will into it – in addition to long hours – but nothing helps: we don't get used to these counter-intuitive controls at all. 

The fights and puzzle solving quickly become messy and confusing, in addition to losing much of the fun they were meant to give players. Too bad.

• Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon ★★★☆☆

Available on Nintendo Switch