The demo of Platinum Games’ Bayonetta 2 available to play at MCM London Comic Con appears to be the same one that first appeared at E3 and has since been doing the rounds at many major events. Nevertheless, her arrival at MCM means that attendees here can finally get their hands on… the Umbra witch.
It’s been a while since having to contend with Bayonetta and the change of a PS3 controller to a Wii U one does take a bit of getting used to, with a few instances of having to actually look down at the controller (curiously I was not the only one doing this). Thankfully there is a tutorial on hand. Newcomers who have never played the previous instalment can also make use of the touch screen option on the Wii U pad, which should make things easier.
The demo itself consists of three verses and begins with Bayonetta fighting angels on a humongous fighter jet that’s flying through the city (no idea who the pilot is). Such is the absurd over-the-top nature that Jeanne comes flying in (on the back of another fighter jet no less) to lend a hand.
The game itself proves to be easy enough to get into. ZL allows you to lock onto enemies, after which you can use X to punch and A to kick. From stringing the buttons together you can perform a variety of outlandish combos. Even when watching fellow players it didn’t take long for them to suddenly start busting out fantastic combos. Pressing ZR allows you to go into Witch Time, while tapping L will allow you to go into Umbran Climax mode (activated when Bayonetta’s magic is full), turning each attack into a powerful Wicked Weave attack for a short duration. Torture attacks are also still here.
After the jet Bayonetta is riding on gets chopped in half (!) she lands on a speeding train and has to battle a boss, Belief, that’s chasing from behind. It’s a battle that could see some players succeed due to simple button mashing on Easy mode, but Normal mode certainly requires a bit more skill. During the fight an angel destroys part of the train track causing Bayonetta (who is now joined by Jeanne) to fight Belief on a large part of debris. If you’re good enough and haven’t died yet then you’ll see Bayonetta summon Gomorrah to chomp away at Belief. Strangely Gomorrah escapes and tries to attack Bayonetta, only to end up dragging Jeanne’s soul down to Inferno.
As well as her pistols, Bayonetta also has a pair of swords at her disposal (you can press R to switch weapons), which are also worth experimenting with during the boss battles. Upon fighting Gomorrah, Bayonetta sprouts the winds of Malphas, and takes to the air, with the two battling it out as they ascend the side of a skyscraper. While the action looks frantic and complicated, it’s again fairly straightforward to move in close and get hits in.
Looking glorious and chaotic in equal measure, it’s the fast-paced, ridiculously over-the-top quality of the game that shines through. The strength of the demo bodes well for what the rest of the game might offer, and with that in mind, Bayonetta 2 could very well be the killer app that ends up shifting plenty of Wii U consoles.
Bayonetta 2 is available to play at the Nintendo stand at the MCM London Comic Con.
Originally published on MCM Buzz on 25 October 2013.
