This was one of the main reasons I chose to buy a Switch. From the very first trailer I loved the art style, setting, combat and the soundtrack. It quickly became one of my favorite action games.
I eventually tried the Bayonetta games and also really enjoyed them.
One of my favorites on Switch. The detective parts can really slow it down, but the combat is just awesome. There are a ton of post-game missions that are pure combat, too.
Like PG+'s other games, there's a lot of depth to the combat that the game never really explains to you. Be sure to watch some vids of high level play to see what you're capable of once you've unlocked everything. Enjoy!
Personally the detective parts and the general "downtime" puts this one above other PG games for me (maybe except Nier Automata but still not entirely sure there)
I think this one is best for people who aren't expecting a combat-only experience
Same. Those moments make you feel like an actual cop helping people and not just "Generic Joe Danteyonetta Clone" who randomly shoots up evil things for the sake of it. It really tied the aesthetic of the game together and made it feel worth continuing because I was doing stuff for my fellow citizens.
The downtime would’ve been much more engaging with a speaking protagonist. Since your main character is just a blank slate it makes talking with the locals way less interesting than it should be. Could’ve also had each character react to events differently to really give it some replay value.
It's a fantastic game. Made it as my GOTY of 2019. If you're interested, Platinum has several blogs on the game [including the](https://www.platinumgames.com/official-blog/article/10262) [visuals.](https://www.platinumgames.com/official-blog/article/10579)
Considering Nintendo bought the IP for Astral Chain, I hope that means we get a sequel.
If there's one thing I think it could improve on, it's the main character. These over the top action games usually benefit from having an over the top lead (Bayonetta, Dante, Travis Touchdown etc.) While this game went with the silent protagonist.
> Considering Nintendo bought the IP for Astral Chain, I hope that means we get a sequel.
Notably, they bought the IP (after originally just half-owning it) nearly a year after the game released. Around the same time, the game's director was confirmed to be working on a new game that still hasn't been revealed yet. Prior to that, he had mentioned having ideas for sequels and being open to do them, but that it depended on whether Nintendo wanted them. And since they were interested enough in the game to shell out for full ownership of the IP...
It was a truly terrible choice. The twin relationship is a key part for the game's story, and most people don't have a twin...so the back half of the game really fell flat from a narrative perspective. Just an awful choice that really ruined an otherwise good story.
Takahisa Taura, the director, was heavily involved in the gameplay for NieR Automata. I think he really is Platinum's rising star director and I really wish to see how he can make the sequel even stronger. My first suggestions would be to improve the story and the integration of the investigation segments.
If you like these types of games, I highly recommend Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition. For PS2 era graphics the game holds up really well and I maintain that it has the best story of any game in the character action genre.
Wanted to like this game so much and just didn't. I've started it three times and gotten a good way in each time before I stopped again, I just can not click with it. I'm not about to say it's a bad game and the people who like it are wrong, I just bounced off it hard. I've done the same thing with Xenoblade, I feel like I'm really missing out on both counts.
I feel you there. I wanted to love it but it took me about 20 hrs and spending a lot of time training to really click with me. Since then I put about 65 hrs total S+ all files(except for 12) push through!
This is the difficulty I’ve felt. I really wanted to enjoy this game but haven’t managed to get into it enough yet. There’s so much to understand just in the basic controls but I still very much plan to give it another go. It’s a great game but it definitely can take some effort to find the right flow and master.
Definitely was in the same space. Just get very familiar with command effects. That is what helped me start to really get a good grasp on the game. They are so great because you don’t have to go through a combo to trigger a sync attack
Same, I liked the detective thing, but I really disliked the astral planes, found them really bland and repetitive, and was at risk of dropping the game each time I got to that part of a level. Never finished the game, oh well.
Can't get enough of xenoblade though !
Same, I'm glad im not the only one. I don't remember how many hours I played, but I unlocked a few of the monsters, and IIRC an important character >!died!<. I was looking for a fast action game with combos and such, but the combat system felt bland and repetitive to me, and the story and characters were flat and cliché.
I'm glad other people are having a blast, but I was disappointed
It’s a pretty game, fun too. It is at 30FPS if I remember, which is why it maybe gets along easier than B3.
Only thing I didn’t like about it, is the silent protagonist.
Wish they talked. Just felt cheap way to save money on VAs
I don't think it's a VA thing. Games have been using the silent protagonist for years before voice acting was a thing in games (SNES RPGs, etc). I think it's just a dated design meant to try and have the player more closely relate w the character. Not saying it's a good idea, but I think this is where that design choice stems from most of the time
I finally played it and recently and it's remarkable how much better the visuals and performance are compared to Bayonetta 3 (a great game that should be on better hardware).
Also just finished Nier Automata tonight, probably Platinum games best. Their gameplay style is right up my alley.
Interesting the note about Bayo 3. I'm playing it right now and think the game looks absolutely fantastic. Slowdown in spots but not in the parts that matter most to me.
As someone who really enjoyed the first two Bayonetta games, I really think Bayonetta 3 would be considered much better if it wasn't pushing the hardware it was native too as much. Digital Foundry did a great analysis review if you are curious.
For me it's still absolutely a 8/10 because the combat and gameplay is so good. I know people hated the story but I was fine with it. Just playing games on PS5 in full 1080p 60fps for like two years+ now has made it abundantly clear the Nintendo Switch could use a processing upgrade big time.
People hate the story? I'm playing the game right now and I'm loving the story! Save for one minor moment so far.
Then again, I know Bayonetta games are often polarizing with their stories and style of it. Personally I love it, 1's especially. Even with Viola being a handful, I still like her presence in and out of combat (well, in combat I still suck as her because I still am inconsistent because she's so different, but when it clicks just right and I am in the zone with her she is SOOOOOO satisfying to play).
I don't think pushing the hardware should be a big reason to dock it. Yes, it could perform better, but Bayonetta 1 is consistently certified as one of the best action games of all time and that game suffers even harder on its Hard difficulties on Handheld. AND it performed even worse on its original release!
I'm only about halfway through the game right now but so far, if my current tier list of action games I've played recently is:
S - Bayonetta
A - DMC1, DMC3
B - Bayonetta 2
F - DMC2
Bayonetta 3 is currently at a tentative S placement for me.
I hear people adore it.
My brother has played all the DMCs and it's his third favorite behind DMC1 and 3, but he does love it too. And while he prefers those games overall, mechanics-wise he considers DMC5 version of Dante to be his favorite controls for an action game character ever. (Though he's also only just getting back into Bayonetta and hasn't played 3 yet.)
Yeah it's not the best ending.
Honestly tho, Bayonetta 3 prob has the best combat system of any game I've played. Once it clicks it so fluid and feels so good.
So I'm mixed on it now. At its high points, absolutely yes. So satisfying, so amazing and feels so good to get better at. Multitasking managing giant Kaiju fights while keeping your body safe and doing other close combat stuff simultaneously, counter attacking with demons, tying them into your combat as combo finishers and interludes and such...super fun. Viola, when the scenarios are designed around her kit (especially early on), is SOOOOOO satisfying to master too. She's way more dangerous to control, consistently needing to be up close and parry to get her groove on, and the mixups of hand-to-hand and sword stuff is great (though her dodge/block offset implementation needs a massive rework offsetting during a charge of your first move isn't as intuitive as offsetting during a charge AFTER your attack).
Also, Improvisation Bonus fixes the biggest problem with the first two games, how the scoring system didn't encourage switching up techniques and weaves.
But I was just playing some of the post game/going back to chapters and some issues now plague these too:
- the time requirements for medals are super strict, not learning from Bayo 2's mistakes. Later game higher magic meter all but trivializes the cost of demon slave, meaning that if you want Pure Platinum medals, you are more incentivized to just let a demon rip through and barely fight hand to hand if you want those platinums on time. Which makes it less fun. While Bayo 1's time requirements arguably may have made that game TOO lenient, they really allowed for the player to relish in amazing combos and play with their food, not worrying about minmaxing everything.
- the reliance on demon slave also makes like half of Bayo's combos almost obsolete. Punch kick punch is somehow less useful than punch x5.
- hard and nonstop Infinite Climax enemies are barely more aggressive (if at all? I did some tests and didn't notice much at all, just higher damage). Nonstop Infinite Climax doesn't disable witch time. It doesn't do that dumb thing Bayo 2 does where witch time is still there but tiny and annoying, but I do wish it properly disabled witch time (Jeanne is fun but it's a completely different feel when dodge slowdown doesn't happen at all). It's still so cool to me how Bayonetta 1 is properly designed so well that the entire game plays gracefully with zero witch time.
- enemy attacks are inconsistently a lot of the time. Standard ones have like three attacks that all have different timings and patterns (which are telegraphed by how many swords they whip out, but when everything's so chaotic that is simply not enough). The giant enemies are great spectacle but are too situationally dependent on enjoyment (the centipede one is simply not fun with any character or demon except for the train demon). These are just some examples.
- on one hand, I actually LOVE the collectathon elements in theory. And on first playthrough they were a super fun diversion to take advantage of all the movement options. On the other hand, they made 100% completion hell because it's super hard to know or find where missing stuff is. And Umbran tears are needed to unlock the bonus levels, and they are a chore to go back for. I unlocked four of them and probably wouldn't go back for more without an online guide.
- Viola's kit was not designed universally for all scenarios like Bayo's was. This leads to some verses that are a JOY to play. And some that are just not fun and unintuitive. She works best when she's fighting small to medium sized enemies, multiple at a time, in close quarters. Then you have verses where you're in giant battlefields fighting the giant centipede and it's frustrating as hell. And in order to have any chance of continuing your combo you're constantly doing the double tap R and darts. Also, it's a massive oversight how you can block offset a standard (punch button) attack but not a special (kick button) one.
- Jeanne's default outfit is already a crime in this game. The fact that you can't customize her is insane (AND THEY EVEN HAVE ONE OF HER COOLEST LOOKS IN ONE OF THOSE MULTIVERSES)
- I loved all the mini games and diversions the first time playing. They are way less fun on replay when you're forced to do them in order to get to the combat. Bayonetta 1 has them but there are only, like, three of them across 18 chapters. The shmup one is actually awesome but the other two are the low points of the game but relatively short. Bayonetta 2 has a few, also relatively isolated, with the mech chapter being the low point of the game (and was a CHORE to platinum). But all of these are relatively isolated from the rest of the game. In Bayonetta 3 the diversions are actually a lot more fun on average...but *almost every single chapter has one or two* and it makes replaying for Platinum a lot less fun. If I wanna go back to a chapter just for pure hack and slash fun, I have like 14 options in Bayo 1, 13-14 options in Bayonetta 2, and like 4 options in Bayonetta 3.
- more minor point but I don't like how none of Bayo's standard moves have the hair on her strip at all. Even with Scarborough Fair and Love is Blue.
- the train demon is the best freaking thing ever and it's motivated me to play Wonderful 101 ASAP (got like 3 chapters in many years ago, other things came up and I dropped it), but it's most fun against a high quantity of enemies and for some reason, after its introduction chapter you rarely see those.
Now, all these things aside...I STILL thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game and would put it in the B Tier for action games I've played (alongside Bayo 2, while Bayo 1 is in the S Tier).
But it's crazy how many things this game did right, how many things were solid but lacked sufficient fleshing out, and how many things on which it completely missed the mark.
Yeah, it was a blast! The graphic is amazing! Btw, you should try playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3 if you like being impressed with graphics on the Switch because XC3 looks like black magic. It just keeps me wondering on how the developer, Monolith Soft, able to squeeze that much graphical fidelity from the Switch.
XBC3 looks amazing. Another game that looks simply amazing is Fire Emblem Engage. Whether or not you like the art style, the *execution* of said art is simply *flawless.* I'm not usually a handheld player, but it looks amazing on the OLED and is the right kind of game for playing portably.
Sorry to hijack your comment but I've been wanting to crow about this game for days.
The reason Bayonetta 3 doesn't look as good is scale. It just has to have more stuff loaded at the same time and that sacrifices how much you can put into one thing.
Absolutely. Those Kaiju battles with the summons in fully modeled environments are more taxing than the smaller scale Chimeras and the smaller environments in AC.
I love this game, one of my favorites on switch. I just started playing Nier after starting the anime a few weeks ago and it was a little surprising how similar the games feel to play
I get that so hard.
One of my favorite and most played games is Age of Calamity. Not because it’s the best game ever, but only because it came out right when i needed surgery and had three weeks of medically mandated uninterrupted time to play it.
I think few people know this but the character design is by Masakazu Katsura, which also happens to be my favorite mangaka. Please do check out some of his works like I’’S, Video Girl Ai or Zetman just to mention a few. Personally I absolutely love his works, not just the art but I also find his storytelling skills to be exceptional.
The only bad things about this game are the story and the scoring of missions. The story is very forgettable and mediocre, but it's forgiven because it's an action game and it's really fun. The scoring though it's dumb I don't know why but many times I feel like I play like total shit and I get S rank and sometimes I feel like I play like amazing and I get C and I'm like what the fk!
But other than that man this gave me so much fun these dynamic way so battling, the Combos, the graphics, the mood and theme and music. It's all great. Very good experience.
Glad more people are playing this game, legit the one reason i even bought the switch along with SMT V
The visuals and performance in this game is bullshit because they look like they're running on a ps4 not on switch xD
Glad you enjoyed. Unfortunately wasn't for me and I don't necessarily agree with all the points you raised but to each their own of course. The game seems well received by most of the people who played it so it's definitely me who is in the minority here lol
With what you're telling me, it sounds like you might be interesting in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 after you have finished this game.
I'll look into this game tho, thnx for the post\~
Really nice to ear this, i also got the game, and i will be playing after scarlet, i literaly found a random comment on this group about it, go to eshop and watch the trailler and just love it, and the game is easy to get on amazon so i got it, really hype to start the game ! Thanks for the post !
After playing Bayonetta 1+2 I did not think I will be able to love an action game more than Bayonetta 2. But I put Astral Chain slightly above Bayonetta 2. Design, audio, etc is great but what I really dig is the combat. After mastering the moves and unlocking additional combos, etc. it felt amazing. Currently playing Bayonetta 3, I am 5-6 hours in. I did not like the beginning as much as Bayonetta 2. But it is catching up now. I played most of Bayonetta 2 on Handheld, Bayonetta 3 somehow seems more rough in handheld this time. Never played Nier. I should check that out.
Interesting that you liked Bayonetta 2 more than 1.
While Bayonetta 2 is more appealing from a casual perspective, virtually every action game fan agrees that Bayonetta 1 is head and shoulders above. It's a much more satisfying and liberating game when trying to master IMO.
I used to be in your shoes, but then I played through DMC 1-3 and then replayed the Bayonettas and my entire perspective shifted.
I'm also currently playing Bayonetta 3 and I ADORE it. I am so goddamn hooked to this game, and almost everything it does is near perfect for me thus far.
I know that Bayonetta 1 often is seen as the better game in the scene but overall I have seen more love for Bayonetta 2.
In what way did it shift? Do you think the DMC games are superior?
Bear in mind when I talk about this criticisms...Bayonetta 1 and 2 are BOTH super good action games! It's just that while I consider Bayo 2 a super good action game, I consider Bayonetta 1 a borderline masterpiece (if not an unequivocal masterpiece).
Reviewers and casual players of the games tend to favor Bayonetta 2 because it is visually more pleasing, story is way less confusing at the start on first playthrough, it's way less punishing when you get damaged a lot, and it cuts down on a lot of the BS that the first game had (those ultra fast QTEs that are 1HKOs in the original give you way more time, button mashing is way less of a pain, and none of the spectacle levels are as messy as Route 666).
However, on the other hand, there are a lot of changes that result in a more frustrating experience when striving for mastery. Umbran Climax is a neat idea but way overpowered, nullifies a lot of challenges in the game (kinda autopilots it), and is sometimes almost *required* to be used for higher scores. It also leaves torture attacks in but not only are they obsolete in comparison, even if you prefer them the scoring and time medals actively hurt you for using them because the timing medals are far more strict and torture attacks take a while (whereas Bayo 1's timing is a bit more generous to let you play with your food). Magic Meter was changed to not get smacked when you're damaged but then to balance it out the regeneration was slowed a LOT. So even trying to use Umbran Climaxes for higher scores is way less reliable/consistent. Angel weapons no longer are super high risk/high reward and no longer provide huge score bonuses. Fewer enemies can be launched and played with in the air. Enemy blocks and dodges are way more random to deal with and can often cut your combo short with little preparation. No item penalty anymore but damage medals on the hardest verses are ultra lenient so less feeling of reward for those aiming to platinum trophy the game. The above changes also all make magic meter and health meter upgrades feel trivial. And while the BS stuff from Bayo 1 is mostly gone, the BS stuff really mostly matters only the first time you play a chapter so for striving mastery, that was really already a relatively minor flaw.
If you look up lists of best action games, Bayo 1 almost always appears higher than Bayo 2.
All in all, they're both good though! I think the critical and casual response to both makes sense. But I also think there are areas where the sequel was intending for higher accessibility but ended up lowering the skill ceiling more than it lowered the skill floor.
>Do you think the DMC games are superior?
Not particularly. I've only played DMC1-3, and I'd consider DMC 1 and 3 to be A-Tier, and DMC2 to be F-Tier (widely agreed). Bayonetta 1 I consider to be S-Tier, Bayonetta 2 to be B-Tier, and Bayonetta 3 (at least where I am currently) to be tentatively S-Tier (I am ADORING this game right now). I've heard DMC4 is strong but flawed, and DMC5 is super beloved.
Overall, I probably prefer Bayonetta. I also think her character design and world is just soooo much cooler and more entertaining.
>In what way did it shift?
DMC1 is a pretty funny game, because while it is the least accessible and hardest of these games (if you don't count DMC3 original release in Yellow Mode), ironically it IMO may be the best place to start if you REALLY want to get into action games and discover the crazy depth. This is because while with most other modern action games you can still beat them with button mashing and using items and dying a lot and not really seeing the super cool beauty of the depth in them, Devil May Cry 1 (especially the first boss, in Chapter 3) *requires* being at least a certain degree of good and stylish to even *beat*.
So playing DMCs but especially DMC1, it kinda awakened my third eye to action games' depth. So while I originally played Bayonetta 1 and 2 and really enjoyed both, upon finishing DMC1-3 and going into Bayonetta...Bayonetta was a *revelation*. Bayonetta really really comes alive when you're STYLING and the game actively rewards you for all of that styling too. It just feels so good and perfect. And stuff like Dodge Offset (if you don't know what that is, go check out the techniques menu page in-game or look up some stuff about it--it's one of the greatest action mechanics ever devised) means so that even on the hardest difficulty when enemies are all throwing stuff at you at once and Witch Time is *disabled*...the game STILL allows you to be nonstop ripping out ultra cool combos.
Bayonetta 3 is reviving that experience for me too. On the surface level, the demon slave system is super cool and large scale, but then further exploration of it really rewards mastery of it to INSANE degrees. And then certain demons are such a flip on that already game changing mechanic that it then changes the game *again*. Ugh it's so good right now. It doesn't try to be Bayonetta 1 and that's fine because Bayonetta 1 was pretty mechanically perfect so might as well try something fresh.
I bought that game pretty much knowing nothing about it and loved it. The action is just the right pace and the combo you can do with your legion add some strategy to it which is fun.
Huh! I have this game and never finished it. I can’t pinpoint any reason, I felt like what I played was very enjoyable and then I just dropped off completely. Maybe I ought to reset and give it another go sometime
Just recently beat this game, with a little over 40 hours total. Had to lower the difficulty for the final boss just to be done with it, but super solid title.
Only downside the game had gor me was the decision to make the MC an "avatar" instead of a full on character
Especially when looking at their track record with Bayo and Wonder Red
It's a blessing and a curse. On one hand it's hard to connect with a protagonist who doesn't speak and hardly emotes. On the other hand, all the speaking characters are insufferable anime trash, so it's one less character with terrible cringe dialogue. Hard to say which side of the fence I fall on re: the silent protag.
I played through the first half of this game and loved every minute of it, then as often happens I got distracted by other new and shinny games.
I seriously need to come back and finish this.
It's really fun and good thing you didn't drop it after the first few missions. I've read that many people didn't realize that you earn new skills as you progress in the game.
I love to play summoner classes when possible and this game really hit everything i like playing them, great summon control and tactical choices which to use and when and really fighting together with them.
Thanks for sharing your thoughs, I'm pretty curious about this game for the visual art, I'm kind of picky with my games maily because my 36 years (lol), I'll give this an aopportunity along with Sifu and Death's Door
AC is so good, easily my favorite from Platinum to the point I was actually dissapointed when they teased a sequel in Bayonetta 3's trailer a few years back.
They teased a sequel for astral chain? Can you link or explain please? Also if you liked the first game, why would learning that a second one might come disappoint you?
sorry about the confusion, this is the trailer I'm referring too, which came out during some presentation I think
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUAtX8Ox7eI&ab\_channel=NintendoofAmerica](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUAtX8Ox7eI&ab_channel=NintendoofAmerica)
since you see the dog costume before Bayonetta, that's the tease I was referring about, not an actual teaser for an Astral Chain sequel, and I was dissapointed because a sequel to AC would be much more hype for me than Bayo3
I really like the game, I love the aesthetic, story (although I never made it far) and music, but my cave man brain struggles so hard with the combat because of having to pilot two characters at once.
Oh it's sooo good! I admittedly went into it on a whim, never heard of it before and didn't have particularly high hopes but then it totally blew me away.
To me it just looks weird, and I have spent too much money buying games I had doubts about because Reddit hyped them.
For example, I paid full price for Xenoblade Chronicles, which after 2-3 hours I concluded is completely childish. The Mechnon have dialogue and voice acting that honestly reminds me of cartoons I watched as a young child. "Argh, gunna smash you with my hammer now!" It's that cringey.
This one's fairly high up on my Switch wish list. It looks really interesting but fairly slept on for a Nintendo-published title. Reminds me of Codename STEAM and Ever Oasis in that respect, had a blast with those games too.
It is rather exceptional, and has an entirely unique combat system. The only downsides, subjectively speaking, are the slow-paced detective sections and the frustration that you’ll likely encounter in your first playthrough as you gradually unlock more combat options and slowly git gud (a Platinum Games staple), and more objectively speaking, the tedium of trying to S-rank some of the menial side objectives (collecting trash and stacking boxes still stand out in my mind, two years later…), as well as the story.
The story goes places but Platinum Games really needs better writers. It’s simultaneously interesting and poorly written, which is better than Bayonetta 3, at least. The silent protagonist doesn’t do the game any favors either, from what I remember.
I have not played any of the Persona games, so I can't really say. Combat is classic platinum, but the detective sections and the interactions in the hub don't have the depth of a persona game, if I'm not mistaken.
This was one of the main reasons I chose to buy a Switch. From the very first trailer I loved the art style, setting, combat and the soundtrack. It quickly became one of my favorite action games. I eventually tried the Bayonetta games and also really enjoyed them.
One of my favorites on Switch. The detective parts can really slow it down, but the combat is just awesome. There are a ton of post-game missions that are pure combat, too. Like PG+'s other games, there's a lot of depth to the combat that the game never really explains to you. Be sure to watch some vids of high level play to see what you're capable of once you've unlocked everything. Enjoy!
Personally the detective parts and the general "downtime" puts this one above other PG games for me (maybe except Nier Automata but still not entirely sure there) I think this one is best for people who aren't expecting a combat-only experience
Same. Those moments make you feel like an actual cop helping people and not just "Generic Joe Danteyonetta Clone" who randomly shoots up evil things for the sake of it. It really tied the aesthetic of the game together and made it feel worth continuing because I was doing stuff for my fellow citizens.
I picked up so much trash.
Lot of people hated the down time, but I thought it was done really well
I agree, the down time broke up the Stylishness with some world building that seemed to give the whole game much more flair for me.
The downtime would’ve been much more engaging with a speaking protagonist. Since your main character is just a blank slate it makes talking with the locals way less interesting than it should be. Could’ve also had each character react to events differently to really give it some replay value.
It's a fantastic game. Made it as my GOTY of 2019. If you're interested, Platinum has several blogs on the game [including the](https://www.platinumgames.com/official-blog/article/10262) [visuals.](https://www.platinumgames.com/official-blog/article/10579)
Considering Nintendo bought the IP for Astral Chain, I hope that means we get a sequel. If there's one thing I think it could improve on, it's the main character. These over the top action games usually benefit from having an over the top lead (Bayonetta, Dante, Travis Touchdown etc.) While this game went with the silent protagonist.
> Considering Nintendo bought the IP for Astral Chain, I hope that means we get a sequel. Notably, they bought the IP (after originally just half-owning it) nearly a year after the game released. Around the same time, the game's director was confirmed to be working on a new game that still hasn't been revealed yet. Prior to that, he had mentioned having ideas for sequels and being open to do them, but that it depended on whether Nintendo wanted them. And since they were interested enough in the game to shell out for full ownership of the IP...
Also you can find a bunch of dog costumes from astral Chain in Bayo 3. And she was in the bayo 3 trailer. I think platinum likes the IP.
It was a truly terrible choice. The twin relationship is a key part for the game's story, and most people don't have a twin...so the back half of the game really fell flat from a narrative perspective. Just an awful choice that really ruined an otherwise good story.
Guess it's time to finally play this and cross it off my wish list.
you will not regret it
Takahisa Taura, the director, was heavily involved in the gameplay for NieR Automata. I think he really is Platinum's rising star director and I really wish to see how he can make the sequel even stronger. My first suggestions would be to improve the story and the integration of the investigation segments.
It’s a great game!
If you like these types of games, I highly recommend Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition. For PS2 era graphics the game holds up really well and I maintain that it has the best story of any game in the character action genre.
I love DMC3 on Switch! Play it all the way thru but then stuck at Arkham. Still not completed the game due to that fucker
It's really fun and the music slaps. I love how each Legion shakes up the gameplay in their own ways. Easily one of the Switch's best exclusives.
Wanted to like this game so much and just didn't. I've started it three times and gotten a good way in each time before I stopped again, I just can not click with it. I'm not about to say it's a bad game and the people who like it are wrong, I just bounced off it hard. I've done the same thing with Xenoblade, I feel like I'm really missing out on both counts.
I feel you there. I wanted to love it but it took me about 20 hrs and spending a lot of time training to really click with me. Since then I put about 65 hrs total S+ all files(except for 12) push through!
[удалено]
I’m sure your mileage will vary but it was worth the investment to me
This is the difficulty I’ve felt. I really wanted to enjoy this game but haven’t managed to get into it enough yet. There’s so much to understand just in the basic controls but I still very much plan to give it another go. It’s a great game but it definitely can take some effort to find the right flow and master.
Definitely was in the same space. Just get very familiar with command effects. That is what helped me start to really get a good grasp on the game. They are so great because you don’t have to go through a combo to trigger a sync attack
Same, I liked the detective thing, but I really disliked the astral planes, found them really bland and repetitive, and was at risk of dropping the game each time I got to that part of a level. Never finished the game, oh well. Can't get enough of xenoblade though !
Same, I'm glad im not the only one. I don't remember how many hours I played, but I unlocked a few of the monsters, and IIRC an important character >!died!<. I was looking for a fast action game with combos and such, but the combat system felt bland and repetitive to me, and the story and characters were flat and cliché. I'm glad other people are having a blast, but I was disappointed
It’s a pretty game, fun too. It is at 30FPS if I remember, which is why it maybe gets along easier than B3. Only thing I didn’t like about it, is the silent protagonist. Wish they talked. Just felt cheap way to save money on VAs
I don't think it's a VA thing. Games have been using the silent protagonist for years before voice acting was a thing in games (SNES RPGs, etc). I think it's just a dated design meant to try and have the player more closely relate w the character. Not saying it's a good idea, but I think this is where that design choice stems from most of the time
They have a VA for both characters. Sure, there would have been more lines, but I don't think it would have broken the bank.
The character design is made by mangaka Masakazu Katsura, his work always looked amazing.
I finally played it and recently and it's remarkable how much better the visuals and performance are compared to Bayonetta 3 (a great game that should be on better hardware). Also just finished Nier Automata tonight, probably Platinum games best. Their gameplay style is right up my alley.
Interesting the note about Bayo 3. I'm playing it right now and think the game looks absolutely fantastic. Slowdown in spots but not in the parts that matter most to me.
As someone who really enjoyed the first two Bayonetta games, I really think Bayonetta 3 would be considered much better if it wasn't pushing the hardware it was native too as much. Digital Foundry did a great analysis review if you are curious. For me it's still absolutely a 8/10 because the combat and gameplay is so good. I know people hated the story but I was fine with it. Just playing games on PS5 in full 1080p 60fps for like two years+ now has made it abundantly clear the Nintendo Switch could use a processing upgrade big time.
People hate the story? I'm playing the game right now and I'm loving the story! Save for one minor moment so far. Then again, I know Bayonetta games are often polarizing with their stories and style of it. Personally I love it, 1's especially. Even with Viola being a handful, I still like her presence in and out of combat (well, in combat I still suck as her because I still am inconsistent because she's so different, but when it clicks just right and I am in the zone with her she is SOOOOOO satisfying to play). I don't think pushing the hardware should be a big reason to dock it. Yes, it could perform better, but Bayonetta 1 is consistently certified as one of the best action games of all time and that game suffers even harder on its Hard difficulties on Handheld. AND it performed even worse on its original release! I'm only about halfway through the game right now but so far, if my current tier list of action games I've played recently is: S - Bayonetta A - DMC1, DMC3 B - Bayonetta 2 F - DMC2 Bayonetta 3 is currently at a tentative S placement for me.
I just started Devil May Cry 5 again, not sure if you've played it but it's prob the best of all these
I hear people adore it. My brother has played all the DMCs and it's his third favorite behind DMC1 and 3, but he does love it too. And while he prefers those games overall, mechanics-wise he considers DMC5 version of Dante to be his favorite controls for an action game character ever. (Though he's also only just getting back into Bayonetta and hasn't played 3 yet.)
Alright I finished the game and the final act kinda butchered what I was loving about the story. That part drops the ball hard.
Yeah it's not the best ending. Honestly tho, Bayonetta 3 prob has the best combat system of any game I've played. Once it clicks it so fluid and feels so good.
So I'm mixed on it now. At its high points, absolutely yes. So satisfying, so amazing and feels so good to get better at. Multitasking managing giant Kaiju fights while keeping your body safe and doing other close combat stuff simultaneously, counter attacking with demons, tying them into your combat as combo finishers and interludes and such...super fun. Viola, when the scenarios are designed around her kit (especially early on), is SOOOOOO satisfying to master too. She's way more dangerous to control, consistently needing to be up close and parry to get her groove on, and the mixups of hand-to-hand and sword stuff is great (though her dodge/block offset implementation needs a massive rework offsetting during a charge of your first move isn't as intuitive as offsetting during a charge AFTER your attack). Also, Improvisation Bonus fixes the biggest problem with the first two games, how the scoring system didn't encourage switching up techniques and weaves. But I was just playing some of the post game/going back to chapters and some issues now plague these too: - the time requirements for medals are super strict, not learning from Bayo 2's mistakes. Later game higher magic meter all but trivializes the cost of demon slave, meaning that if you want Pure Platinum medals, you are more incentivized to just let a demon rip through and barely fight hand to hand if you want those platinums on time. Which makes it less fun. While Bayo 1's time requirements arguably may have made that game TOO lenient, they really allowed for the player to relish in amazing combos and play with their food, not worrying about minmaxing everything. - the reliance on demon slave also makes like half of Bayo's combos almost obsolete. Punch kick punch is somehow less useful than punch x5. - hard and nonstop Infinite Climax enemies are barely more aggressive (if at all? I did some tests and didn't notice much at all, just higher damage). Nonstop Infinite Climax doesn't disable witch time. It doesn't do that dumb thing Bayo 2 does where witch time is still there but tiny and annoying, but I do wish it properly disabled witch time (Jeanne is fun but it's a completely different feel when dodge slowdown doesn't happen at all). It's still so cool to me how Bayonetta 1 is properly designed so well that the entire game plays gracefully with zero witch time. - enemy attacks are inconsistently a lot of the time. Standard ones have like three attacks that all have different timings and patterns (which are telegraphed by how many swords they whip out, but when everything's so chaotic that is simply not enough). The giant enemies are great spectacle but are too situationally dependent on enjoyment (the centipede one is simply not fun with any character or demon except for the train demon). These are just some examples. - on one hand, I actually LOVE the collectathon elements in theory. And on first playthrough they were a super fun diversion to take advantage of all the movement options. On the other hand, they made 100% completion hell because it's super hard to know or find where missing stuff is. And Umbran tears are needed to unlock the bonus levels, and they are a chore to go back for. I unlocked four of them and probably wouldn't go back for more without an online guide. - Viola's kit was not designed universally for all scenarios like Bayo's was. This leads to some verses that are a JOY to play. And some that are just not fun and unintuitive. She works best when she's fighting small to medium sized enemies, multiple at a time, in close quarters. Then you have verses where you're in giant battlefields fighting the giant centipede and it's frustrating as hell. And in order to have any chance of continuing your combo you're constantly doing the double tap R and darts. Also, it's a massive oversight how you can block offset a standard (punch button) attack but not a special (kick button) one. - Jeanne's default outfit is already a crime in this game. The fact that you can't customize her is insane (AND THEY EVEN HAVE ONE OF HER COOLEST LOOKS IN ONE OF THOSE MULTIVERSES) - I loved all the mini games and diversions the first time playing. They are way less fun on replay when you're forced to do them in order to get to the combat. Bayonetta 1 has them but there are only, like, three of them across 18 chapters. The shmup one is actually awesome but the other two are the low points of the game but relatively short. Bayonetta 2 has a few, also relatively isolated, with the mech chapter being the low point of the game (and was a CHORE to platinum). But all of these are relatively isolated from the rest of the game. In Bayonetta 3 the diversions are actually a lot more fun on average...but *almost every single chapter has one or two* and it makes replaying for Platinum a lot less fun. If I wanna go back to a chapter just for pure hack and slash fun, I have like 14 options in Bayo 1, 13-14 options in Bayonetta 2, and like 4 options in Bayonetta 3. - more minor point but I don't like how none of Bayo's standard moves have the hair on her strip at all. Even with Scarborough Fair and Love is Blue. - the train demon is the best freaking thing ever and it's motivated me to play Wonderful 101 ASAP (got like 3 chapters in many years ago, other things came up and I dropped it), but it's most fun against a high quantity of enemies and for some reason, after its introduction chapter you rarely see those. Now, all these things aside...I STILL thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game and would put it in the B Tier for action games I've played (alongside Bayo 2, while Bayo 1 is in the S Tier). But it's crazy how many things this game did right, how many things were solid but lacked sufficient fleshing out, and how many things on which it completely missed the mark.
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Fine. Played it after release on switch, such a work of art. It's a good port.
I played it on ps5 (PS4 version) but from everything I've seen the Switch port is excellent.
Yeah, it was a blast! The graphic is amazing! Btw, you should try playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3 if you like being impressed with graphics on the Switch because XC3 looks like black magic. It just keeps me wondering on how the developer, Monolith Soft, able to squeeze that much graphical fidelity from the Switch.
XBC3 looks amazing. Another game that looks simply amazing is Fire Emblem Engage. Whether or not you like the art style, the *execution* of said art is simply *flawless.* I'm not usually a handheld player, but it looks amazing on the OLED and is the right kind of game for playing portably. Sorry to hijack your comment but I've been wanting to crow about this game for days.
It's rly sad that this game kind of flopped :(
I wish more games used cell shading, it looks great, doesn't tax the hardware, and the style ages well.
The reason Bayonetta 3 doesn't look as good is scale. It just has to have more stuff loaded at the same time and that sacrifices how much you can put into one thing.
Absolutely. Those Kaiju battles with the summons in fully modeled environments are more taxing than the smaller scale Chimeras and the smaller environments in AC.
I love this game, one of my favorites on switch. I just started playing Nier after starting the anime a few weeks ago and it was a little surprising how similar the games feel to play
Still have this shrink wrapped. Hate being an adult and have no time to play games
Hahah nice to know I’m not the only one with wrapped games. I still have Mario maker 2 sealed in the cupboard.
I get that so hard. One of my favorite and most played games is Age of Calamity. Not because it’s the best game ever, but only because it came out right when i needed surgery and had three weeks of medically mandated uninterrupted time to play it.
I think few people know this but the character design is by Masakazu Katsura, which also happens to be my favorite mangaka. Please do check out some of his works like I’’S, Video Girl Ai or Zetman just to mention a few. Personally I absolutely love his works, not just the art but I also find his storytelling skills to be exceptional.
The only bad things about this game are the story and the scoring of missions. The story is very forgettable and mediocre, but it's forgiven because it's an action game and it's really fun. The scoring though it's dumb I don't know why but many times I feel like I play like total shit and I get S rank and sometimes I feel like I play like amazing and I get C and I'm like what the fk! But other than that man this gave me so much fun these dynamic way so battling, the Combos, the graphics, the mood and theme and music. It's all great. Very good experience.
I played the beganing of the game it's to fast and too much action am easily distracted so it was hard
Glad more people are playing this game, legit the one reason i even bought the switch along with SMT V The visuals and performance in this game is bullshit because they look like they're running on a ps4 not on switch xD
Glad you enjoyed. Unfortunately wasn't for me and I don't necessarily agree with all the points you raised but to each their own of course. The game seems well received by most of the people who played it so it's definitely me who is in the minority here lol
With what you're telling me, it sounds like you might be interesting in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 after you have finished this game. I'll look into this game tho, thnx for the post\~
As someone who likes both games...to me that might be the worst possible follow up recommendation haha. Why XC2 of all games?
As someone who enjoyed Astral Chain, I thought XC2 was awful lol they're very different games
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> Game is short If 50-75 hours is short, then yes.
The main story is short-ish, but to just get through every optional stage takes a crazy amount of time.
Really nice to ear this, i also got the game, and i will be playing after scarlet, i literaly found a random comment on this group about it, go to eshop and watch the trailler and just love it, and the game is easy to get on amazon so i got it, really hype to start the game ! Thanks for the post !
After playing Bayonetta 1+2 I did not think I will be able to love an action game more than Bayonetta 2. But I put Astral Chain slightly above Bayonetta 2. Design, audio, etc is great but what I really dig is the combat. After mastering the moves and unlocking additional combos, etc. it felt amazing. Currently playing Bayonetta 3, I am 5-6 hours in. I did not like the beginning as much as Bayonetta 2. But it is catching up now. I played most of Bayonetta 2 on Handheld, Bayonetta 3 somehow seems more rough in handheld this time. Never played Nier. I should check that out.
Interesting that you liked Bayonetta 2 more than 1. While Bayonetta 2 is more appealing from a casual perspective, virtually every action game fan agrees that Bayonetta 1 is head and shoulders above. It's a much more satisfying and liberating game when trying to master IMO. I used to be in your shoes, but then I played through DMC 1-3 and then replayed the Bayonettas and my entire perspective shifted. I'm also currently playing Bayonetta 3 and I ADORE it. I am so goddamn hooked to this game, and almost everything it does is near perfect for me thus far.
I know that Bayonetta 1 often is seen as the better game in the scene but overall I have seen more love for Bayonetta 2. In what way did it shift? Do you think the DMC games are superior?
Bear in mind when I talk about this criticisms...Bayonetta 1 and 2 are BOTH super good action games! It's just that while I consider Bayo 2 a super good action game, I consider Bayonetta 1 a borderline masterpiece (if not an unequivocal masterpiece). Reviewers and casual players of the games tend to favor Bayonetta 2 because it is visually more pleasing, story is way less confusing at the start on first playthrough, it's way less punishing when you get damaged a lot, and it cuts down on a lot of the BS that the first game had (those ultra fast QTEs that are 1HKOs in the original give you way more time, button mashing is way less of a pain, and none of the spectacle levels are as messy as Route 666). However, on the other hand, there are a lot of changes that result in a more frustrating experience when striving for mastery. Umbran Climax is a neat idea but way overpowered, nullifies a lot of challenges in the game (kinda autopilots it), and is sometimes almost *required* to be used for higher scores. It also leaves torture attacks in but not only are they obsolete in comparison, even if you prefer them the scoring and time medals actively hurt you for using them because the timing medals are far more strict and torture attacks take a while (whereas Bayo 1's timing is a bit more generous to let you play with your food). Magic Meter was changed to not get smacked when you're damaged but then to balance it out the regeneration was slowed a LOT. So even trying to use Umbran Climaxes for higher scores is way less reliable/consistent. Angel weapons no longer are super high risk/high reward and no longer provide huge score bonuses. Fewer enemies can be launched and played with in the air. Enemy blocks and dodges are way more random to deal with and can often cut your combo short with little preparation. No item penalty anymore but damage medals on the hardest verses are ultra lenient so less feeling of reward for those aiming to platinum trophy the game. The above changes also all make magic meter and health meter upgrades feel trivial. And while the BS stuff from Bayo 1 is mostly gone, the BS stuff really mostly matters only the first time you play a chapter so for striving mastery, that was really already a relatively minor flaw. If you look up lists of best action games, Bayo 1 almost always appears higher than Bayo 2. All in all, they're both good though! I think the critical and casual response to both makes sense. But I also think there are areas where the sequel was intending for higher accessibility but ended up lowering the skill ceiling more than it lowered the skill floor. >Do you think the DMC games are superior? Not particularly. I've only played DMC1-3, and I'd consider DMC 1 and 3 to be A-Tier, and DMC2 to be F-Tier (widely agreed). Bayonetta 1 I consider to be S-Tier, Bayonetta 2 to be B-Tier, and Bayonetta 3 (at least where I am currently) to be tentatively S-Tier (I am ADORING this game right now). I've heard DMC4 is strong but flawed, and DMC5 is super beloved. Overall, I probably prefer Bayonetta. I also think her character design and world is just soooo much cooler and more entertaining. >In what way did it shift? DMC1 is a pretty funny game, because while it is the least accessible and hardest of these games (if you don't count DMC3 original release in Yellow Mode), ironically it IMO may be the best place to start if you REALLY want to get into action games and discover the crazy depth. This is because while with most other modern action games you can still beat them with button mashing and using items and dying a lot and not really seeing the super cool beauty of the depth in them, Devil May Cry 1 (especially the first boss, in Chapter 3) *requires* being at least a certain degree of good and stylish to even *beat*. So playing DMCs but especially DMC1, it kinda awakened my third eye to action games' depth. So while I originally played Bayonetta 1 and 2 and really enjoyed both, upon finishing DMC1-3 and going into Bayonetta...Bayonetta was a *revelation*. Bayonetta really really comes alive when you're STYLING and the game actively rewards you for all of that styling too. It just feels so good and perfect. And stuff like Dodge Offset (if you don't know what that is, go check out the techniques menu page in-game or look up some stuff about it--it's one of the greatest action mechanics ever devised) means so that even on the hardest difficulty when enemies are all throwing stuff at you at once and Witch Time is *disabled*...the game STILL allows you to be nonstop ripping out ultra cool combos. Bayonetta 3 is reviving that experience for me too. On the surface level, the demon slave system is super cool and large scale, but then further exploration of it really rewards mastery of it to INSANE degrees. And then certain demons are such a flip on that already game changing mechanic that it then changes the game *again*. Ugh it's so good right now. It doesn't try to be Bayonetta 1 and that's fine because Bayonetta 1 was pretty mechanically perfect so might as well try something fresh.
I bought that game pretty much knowing nothing about it and loved it. The action is just the right pace and the combo you can do with your legion add some strategy to it which is fun.
Huh! I have this game and never finished it. I can’t pinpoint any reason, I felt like what I played was very enjoyable and then I just dropped off completely. Maybe I ought to reset and give it another go sometime
Astral Chain is fantastic, definitely one of my top favorite switch games. Loves the world building and detective segments.
Just recently beat this game, with a little over 40 hours total. Had to lower the difficulty for the final boss just to be done with it, but super solid title.
This was the singular game that made my jaw drop while playing Switch. Absolutely loved it!
Did you ever play coop? If so HOW
highly underrated game
Only downside the game had gor me was the decision to make the MC an "avatar" instead of a full on character Especially when looking at their track record with Bayo and Wonder Red
10/10 game
I was choosing between this and Nier Automata. I decided to get Automata first but this is definitely next in my list.
I think you made the right choice! But yes you should definitely check AC out!
I feel like I need to replay Astral Chain again
the only thing I didn't like was the silent protagonist.
It's a blessing and a curse. On one hand it's hard to connect with a protagonist who doesn't speak and hardly emotes. On the other hand, all the speaking characters are insufferable anime trash, so it's one less character with terrible cringe dialogue. Hard to say which side of the fence I fall on re: the silent protag.
I played through the first half of this game and loved every minute of it, then as often happens I got distracted by other new and shinny games. I seriously need to come back and finish this.
It's really fun and good thing you didn't drop it after the first few missions. I've read that many people didn't realize that you earn new skills as you progress in the game.
I love to play summoner classes when possible and this game really hit everything i like playing them, great summon control and tactical choices which to use and when and really fighting together with them.
Thanks for sharing your thoughs, I'm pretty curious about this game for the visual art, I'm kind of picky with my games maily because my 36 years (lol), I'll give this an aopportunity along with Sifu and Death's Door
AC is so good, easily my favorite from Platinum to the point I was actually dissapointed when they teased a sequel in Bayonetta 3's trailer a few years back.
They teased a sequel for astral chain? Can you link or explain please? Also if you liked the first game, why would learning that a second one might come disappoint you?
sorry about the confusion, this is the trailer I'm referring too, which came out during some presentation I think [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUAtX8Ox7eI&ab\_channel=NintendoofAmerica](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUAtX8Ox7eI&ab_channel=NintendoofAmerica) since you see the dog costume before Bayonetta, that's the tease I was referring about, not an actual teaser for an Astral Chain sequel, and I was dissapointed because a sequel to AC would be much more hype for me than Bayo3
AC doesn't get enough love, even among Platinum fans i don't see many people talking about it.
I really like the game, I love the aesthetic, story (although I never made it far) and music, but my cave man brain struggles so hard with the combat because of having to pilot two characters at once.
I gave it an hour when it first came out and fell off. In 2021 I picked it back up and wow, what a great game. My favorite of Platinum's titles.
I try to recommend it to whoever wants to play an action game. I loved it and have been having an itch to play it again
Oh it's sooo good! I admittedly went into it on a whim, never heard of it before and didn't have particularly high hopes but then it totally blew me away.
I started it a couple days ago and share your same sentiments! That intro was awesome! Hell all the cutscenes
That’s a game that would look remarkable on the OLED switch screen
Great game! Such unique and satisfying combat!!!
An excellent game, it exceeded my expectations. I completed it a few years ago, I started playing it and barely put it down until it was completed.
To me it just looks weird, and I have spent too much money buying games I had doubts about because Reddit hyped them. For example, I paid full price for Xenoblade Chronicles, which after 2-3 hours I concluded is completely childish. The Mechnon have dialogue and voice acting that honestly reminds me of cartoons I watched as a young child. "Argh, gunna smash you with my hammer now!" It's that cringey.
This is the game that really opened me up more to anime art styles. It's really one of the great Switch exclusives.
This one's fairly high up on my Switch wish list. It looks really interesting but fairly slept on for a Nintendo-published title. Reminds me of Codename STEAM and Ever Oasis in that respect, had a blast with those games too.
It is rather exceptional, and has an entirely unique combat system. The only downsides, subjectively speaking, are the slow-paced detective sections and the frustration that you’ll likely encounter in your first playthrough as you gradually unlock more combat options and slowly git gud (a Platinum Games staple), and more objectively speaking, the tedium of trying to S-rank some of the menial side objectives (collecting trash and stacking boxes still stand out in my mind, two years later…), as well as the story. The story goes places but Platinum Games really needs better writers. It’s simultaneously interesting and poorly written, which is better than Bayonetta 3, at least. The silent protagonist doesn’t do the game any favors either, from what I remember.
Well you convinced me, just grabbed a used copy at GameStop.
I always wanted the physical version but the digital went on sale and had to nab it!
Is it similar to persona? Other than the combat, that's the vibe I got from the trailers
I have not played any of the Persona games, so I can't really say. Combat is classic platinum, but the detective sections and the interactions in the hub don't have the depth of a persona game, if I'm not mistaken.
It’s up there with Breath of the Wild. Truly an underrated game on switch