Bayonetta | The Umbra Witche | Gameplay (Hard)| The Beginning

Bayonetta | The Umbra Witche | Gameplay (Hard)| The Beginning

Bayonetta is an action hack and slash video game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Sega. The game was originally released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in Japan in October 2009, and in North America and Europe in January 2010. The game was later released on the Wii U alongside its sequel, Bayonetta 2, releasing in September 2014 in Japan and worldwide the following month - the two games were later released worldwide on the Nintendo Switch in February 2018. An enhanced port for Windows was released in April 2017 with 4K support. A remastered version of Bayonetta as well as another PlatinumGames title, Vanquish, was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on February 18, 2020, as part of a compilation to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the game.

Bayonetta takes place in Vigrid, a fictional city in Europe. The game stars the eponymous character, a witch who is capable of shapeshifting and using various firearms. She possesses magical attacks and she can use her hair to summon demons to dispatch her foes. The game features a rating system, which gives players a grade based on their performance, and a combat system that is similar to the Devil May Cry series.

Development of the game was started in January 2007, with Hideki Kamiya being the game's director. According to Kamiya, the game was completely original, though he drew some inspirations from Scandinavian mythology and played Devil May Cry 4 for reference. The game's theme is "sexiness" and "partial nudity" and that the characters were designed to be "fashionable". Kamiya and artist Mari Shimazaki spent more than a year to create Bayonetta's design. Several demos were released for the game prior to its launch. Bayonetta was the third project released by PlatinumGames, which was founded by former Clover Studio employees.

Upon release, the game received generally positive reviews. The game was praised for its combat, presentation and soundtrack, but drew criticism for its story and quick time events. Bayonetta was nominated for and won several end-of-the-year accolades, and had sold over a million units worldwide by 2010. An anime film adaptation of the game by Gonzo, titled Bayonetta: Bloody Fate, was released in Japan in November 2013. A third game, Bayonetta 3, is in development for the Switch.