As I've stated, Bayonetta Origins was my favorite original game of 2023, but I wasn't sure if it would be an all-timer yet. I think this was one of those games that I needed to sit on for a bit, see how I'd look back on it after about a year. Recently, the official soundtrack for the game finally released and I decided to give it a listen, and before I knew, all the memories suddenly came flooded back. The stunning visuals, the incredible bosses, the countless memorable moments, the powerful emotional payoff that was the final act. Yeah, Bayonetta Origins is an all-timer.
Bayonetta Origins is honestly one of the most interesting enigmas of a game I've seen lately, to the point where I'm still a bit surprised that it even exists. Of course, this is a Bayonetta game that replaces the sex, gore, and constant flashy action that the series is known for with slow-paced puzzle adventure, celtic fairytale whimsy, and light-hearted visuals. But on a larger scale, it also marks Platinum Games going outside their comfort zone that making a far more experimental adventure title than the character action games they usually make, the likes of which we haven't seen from them since Okami. I wouldn't say that Bayonetta Origins shouldn't work, but I will say that it felt like a game that many people just ignored. It's a niche game within an already niche series, who is Bayonetta Origins even for?
Well, me. I'm who it's for. I'm someone who doesn't shy away when expressing if a spinoff happens to do more for me than the main entries. Crystal Chronicles is my favorite Final Fantasy, I like the Mystery Dungeon games more than mainline Pokemon, and while I do really enjoy character action games, Bayonetta Origins clicks with me on a level that the main trilogy just doesn't. I love Zelda-style adventure games, I love unconventional dual-stick control schemes, I love ethereal naturalistic landscapes and uniquely stylistic artstyles, and most of all, I love when relatively notable studios like Platinum Games go outside of their comfort zone and take a huge chance. We really don't get many games like Bayonetta Origins anymore, it really feels like one of those experimental AA PS2 titles, you know? Like Ribbit King, or Stretch Panic, or Chulip, or Robot Alchemic Drive, or of course God Hand and Okami.
Bayonetta Origins immediately sticks out for its beautiful watercolor artstyle that gives off the impression that you're playing through a coloring book. It's a frankly timeless look that plays to the Switch's strengths, with bold and vivid coloring that look especially stunning on the OLED, and using the console's distinctive aliasing to create a soft and fuzzy look to everything. Frankly, the entire presentation is immaculate, from how all the menus are these dripping watercolor paintings, to the surreal Tir Na Nogs and how they shatter so convincingly, to the dynamic camerawork that knows when to put you right in Cereza's shoes and when to zoom out and let you focus on the game. And of course, the soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous. I did not give it enough credit at first, but Bayonetta Origins' OST is incredible. Most of it keeps things fairly light-hearted with lush orchestral pieces (A New Adventure Awaits, Reach For The Moon), but it always makes sure to take things up a notch for the phenomenal battle music (Tussle With The Tricksy Faeries, The Circus Of Horror, How To Slay A Dragon). And pretty much the entire final act is just wall-to-wall incredible, emotional powerful tracks (Clash Of Wills: Unbound, A New Witch Is Born), culminating in the hauntingly beautiful lyrical ending theme, Together In The Moonlit Forest. The only other ending theme to catch me this off-guard was that of Ico, which is insanely high praise.
Bayonetta Origins has a fairly simple story, all things considered. It's a coming of age story about a young Cereza who ventures into a dangerous forest to prove herself as a witch, only to accidentally turn her stuffed animal into a familiar forcing them to get a lot. You already know that by the end, Cereza and her new familiar Cheshire will get along, and Cereza will become the powerful Umbra witch we all know and love, but it's the way Origins goes about executing this arc that makes all the difference. This game makes sure that Cereza and Cheshire earn their development by the end, and it does so by putting them in a number of memorable conflicts that push their relationship in different directions. It's a real emotional rollercoaster of a game. It starts light-hearted enough as you get to enjoy the very entertaining banter between Cereza and Cheshire, then you get the satisfaction of seeing them finally work together to defeat the Jabberwock, but then they have a nasty falling out that I'd say works as one of the more effective third-act breakups I've seen, but then Cereza saves Cheshire all on her own in quite the tense stealth mission, leading to an absolutely glorious final act that has the two working in tandem to take down Cereza's evil teacher, Morgana. It says a lot that I'm able to so easily recap most of Origins' major story beats almost a year after playing it, it's all just so well delivered.
Man, all that and I haven't even talked about the gameplay yet. Well, don't worry, Bayonetta Origins plays wonderfully. The main hook of Origins is that you play as Cereza and Cheshire at the same time, controlling the former with the left side of the Switch and the latter with the right side of the Switch. Cereza can cast certain spells and walk through areas that Cheshire can't navigate, while Cheshire can get around easier and actually attack enemies. Both the game's platforming puzzles and combat will require you to master using both characters in tandem with each other, and while there's certainly a bit of a learning curve to it, it feels really good being able to master controlling both of them at the same time. Though, of course, you could always have a friend join and make this a co-op game too, it works just as well. The adventure side of Origins is generally pretty stellar, it's always fun to try and get both characters to your destination, and there's a number of fun traversal moves like a sling that lets you fling yourself across platforms. The combat, on the other hand, does take a bit to really get going since you start out with fairly little moves. However, once you start gaining more elemental abilities and working your way up the skill tree, Origins' combat system does develop a lot of depth and a satisfying sense of flow that definitely lives up to Platinum Games' legacy of fantastic combat systems.
In terms of its overworld, Bayonetta Origins has a metroidvania/Zelda sort of approach to it where you learn more abilities over the course of the game that you can use to access areas you've previously missed, and there's a lot of optional collectibles for those who want to explore and backtrack. A highlight for me are definitely the Tir Na Nogs, these challenge rooms that remind me a lot of the Shrines from Zelda, though without any of the filler. Though while the exploration is great, Origins is also able to pull off some really memorable linear segments too. The Fairieland Tower is an early highlight for being this veritable jungle gym with trains to dodge and fun vertical navigation, but there's also the aforementioned rescue mission where you play solely as Cereza. If you're just going from start to finish, Bayonetta Origins is an incredibly tight experience that constantly tosses new visuals and environments for you to explore. But if you want to go for full completion, there's also a lot to dig into, especially if you're also delving into the time trials, costumes, and the postgame Jeanne chapter.
But then, there's the icing on the cake. This is a Platinum Game after all, even Origins has some of the coolest bosses I've fought in years. The boss fights in Bayonetta Origins aren't especially frequent, but they are easily the biggest highlights of the game, perfectly toeing the line between being exhilirating linear spectacles and genuine skill checks. The Jabberwock is an early highlight for how you spend so much of the fight on the backfoot, it's a real difficulty spike that really complements how in over their heads Cereza and Cheshire are at this point. Puca & Affinity stand out for the fun chase sequences that really test your ability to control Cereza & Cheshire at the same time. Lukaon is easily my favorite fight in the game for how he uses all the elemental powers you've learned against you, the utterly bonkers Cereza-only setpieces in the first half, and the incredible face-to-face fight that has you getting back your abilities one by one Okami-style. In any other game, this would be one of the greatest final bosses ever made, but of course, Platinum still wasn't done. The final encounter with Morgana is a bit more spectacle-driven, but between the heart-pumping chase sequences at the start, the trippy antigravity arenas, and the final phase itself which finally gives you Witch Time and lets you go all out as if it was an actual mainline Bayonetta game, it still stands out as an incredibly satisfying and thrilling finale.
Bayonetta Origins was a game I had fallen head over heels for the moment I gave its demo a shot, and I grew to adore it increasingly more on the game went on. On the surface, it's a wonderful adventure game with inventive gameplay, show-stopping bosses, a ton of content, a charming and well-written story, and a beautiful presentation. But even more than that, it's an experimental shot in the dark that fully paid off, taking an established series in a radically different series and executing the shift pretty much flawlessly. Bayonetta Origins is the definition of a sleeper hit, it's an absurdly niche title that came out with pretty much zero fanfare, but it somehow managed to stick with more than any other game I've played last year.
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